The food on the bottom plate is usually quiches or finger sandwiches cut into small pieces. Generally speaking, the food on the bottom tier must be easy to pick up and eat. Different from sandwiches we see in our daily life, finger sandwiches are rectangular in shape and were originally intended for royal women to pick up with three fingers.

The common flavors of finger sandwiches include egg salad, smoked salmon with capers, and British mustard sauce with cucumber. In the past, cucumber only grew in greenhouses, so it only served high-class people. In other words, cucumber was considered the ultimate food for showing the highest level of hospitality!

While the food on the bottom and top tiers is changeable based on the chefs’ signature dishes, the food on the middle tier must remain scone, the most representative dessert of British cuisine! A perfect scone is served hot and fluffy on the plate. You can tear it apart at ease even without utensils. If you want to use a spreading knife, don’t cut the scone in half thoroughly, otherwise, you’ll make a loud clunk as the knife hits against the plate.

Here’s the correct way to eat a scone: tear the scone open, spread the jam on the scone, and then spread the clotted cream. By doing this, you may prevent clotted cream from melting and taste three flavors of scones at once.

After savory food and scones, now we finally come to the most anticipated part: the dessert on the top tier! If you’re eating in an authentic British afternoon tea restaurant, a waiter would walk to you with a catering cart or a big plate with plenty of desserts for you to choose from. And most importantly, you can ask for more as long as you desire (what a fascinating service!) So don’t get too greedy for savory food and scones, otherwise, you’ll feel too full to eat any desserts!

The desserts are mostly either signature dishes or trendy desserts at the moment like macarons, mini cakes, and fruit tarts. The three kinds of dessert often appear for British afternoon tea!