Tea, High Tea and Afternoon Tea

文/馬庫斯·斯托特 譯/陳穎

What are the differences between tea the drink, tea the meal,high tea1high tea高茶，黃昏時吃的正式茶點，與簡單的晚餐相似，通常有一道熱菜（或三明治）和一壺茶，在英格蘭北部和蘇格蘭尤為流行。and afternoon tea?茶水、茶餐、高茶和下午茶有什么區別？

Tea the drink

There are two forms of tea that often cause confusion in the tea world: tea the drink and tea the meal. Tea the drink is made from the Camellia Sinensis plant and from the processing of the plant white, green, oolong, and black teas are produced. The basic teas are also often blended with other plants like vanilla,mint and melon as well as flavors like Oil of Bergamot to make Earl Grey Tea.The beverage is made by steeping2 processed leaves, buds, or twigs of the tea bush in hot water for a few minutes.The processing can include oxidation,heating, drying, and the addition of other herbs, fl owers, spices, and fruits.The term “herbal tea” usually refers to infusions3 of fruit or of herbs (such as rosehip, chamomile, or jiaogulan) that contain no Camellia Sinensis.

茶水

在茶界，tea的兩種含義時常引起混淆：一為“茶水”，一為“茶餐”。“茶水”所用之茶來自茶樹的葉子，對茶葉進行加工處理就有了白茶、綠茶、烏龍茶和紅茶等不同品種的茶。這幾種基本的茶還常與香草、薄荷、甜瓜等植物以及佛手柑油等香料混合，制成伯爵茶。將加工過的茶葉、芽頭或嫩枝浸泡到熱水中，幾分鐘后就可飲用。茶的加工處理包括氧化、加熱、烘干以及添加其他藥草、花卉、香料和水果。“花果茶”通常指用不含茶葉成分的水果或藥草（比如玫瑰果、甘菊或絞股藍）沖泡而成的飲品。

Tea the meal

Tea the meal on the other hand involves tea the drink as an important part but really is directed toward social and family gatherings where tea and food are often consumed together.

Generally speaking, the tea meal became most popular and refined in England but spread to English speaking countries or former English colonies as well. Tea meals are also celebrated in other countries in differing forms.

The key distinction between differing tea meals is the time of day, type of food served and the location of serving.

茶餐

說到“茶餐”，茶水是其重要組成部分，真正的茶餐是指邊喝茶邊用餐的社交和家庭聚會。

一般而言，茶餐過去在英國最為普及，也最為講究，但也傳播至英語國家或前英屬殖民地。其他國家也有不同形式的茶餐。

區分不同茶餐的關鍵是供應茶餐的時段、餐品和場所。

Afternoon tea

Afternoon tea (or Low tea) is a light meal typically eaten at 4:00 pm. It originated in Britain, though various places in the former British Empire also have such a meal. However, most Britons no longer eat such a meal.

Traditionally, loose tea would be served in a teapot with milk and sugar.This would be accompanied by various sandwiches (customarily cucumber, egg and cress4cress水芥（常放在沙拉和三明治中食用）。, tuna, ham, and smoked salmon), scones55 scone司康餅，也叫英式松餅。(with butter, clotted cream6clotted cream〈英〉（用文火把牛奶加熱而成的）濃縮奶油。產于英國西南部的德文郡（Devonshire）的最好，口感細膩，因而又稱“德文郡奶油”。clot（使乳脂）凝結成塊。and jam) and usually cakes and pastries.Traditionally the tea and food would be served on a lounge7lounge（私宅中的）起居室。(or low) table.

While afternoon tea used to be an everyday event, nowadays it is more likely to be a treat in a hotel, café, or tea shop,although many Britons still have a cup of tea and slice of cake or chocolate at teatime. Accordingly, many hotels now market and promote afternoon teas.

下午茶

“下午茶（或低茶）”特指下午4點用的簡餐。它起源于英國，而原大英帝國的不同屬地也有這種簡餐。但現在，大多數英國人都不再吃這一餐。傳統做法是將散裝茶葉沖泡在茶壺中，與牛奶和砂糖一并提供。同時還會配以各種各樣的三明治（通常會有黃瓜、水芥雞蛋、金槍魚、火腿和煙熏三文魚）、松餅（抹上黃油、濃縮奶油和果醬）以及一般都會有的蛋糕和油酥點心。以前，這些茶水和食物都是放在客廳（或低矮的）茶幾上面。

雖然下午茶在過去很平常，但如今更多在酒店、咖啡館或茶坊才能享用到。不過很多英國人還會在下午茶時間喝一杯茶、吃塊蛋糕或巧克力。于是，現在很多酒店都有下午茶的推廣促銷活動。

High tea

To the uninitiated8 “high tea” may be a confusing term.

High tea is an early evening meal,typically eaten between 5:00 and 6:00 pm. It would be eaten as a substitute for both afternoon tea and the evening meal. The term comes from the meal being eaten at the ‘high’ (main) table,instead of the smaller lounge (low)table. It is now largely replaced by the later meal tea.

It would usually consist of cold meats,eggs and/or fi sh, cakes and sandwiches.In a family, it tended to be less formal and is an informal snack (featuring sandwiches, cookies, pastry, fruit and the like) or else it is the main evening meal.On farms, in rural areas or other working class environments, high tea would be the traditional, substantial meal eaten by workers immediately after nightfall, and would combine afternoon tea with the main evening meal.

高茶

對于外行，“高茶”這個詞可能讓人摸不著頭腦。

“高茶”指傍晚時分所用的餐點，特指下午5點至6點的用餐。過去，高茶往往可以代替下午茶和晚餐。人們在“高”（主）桌上用餐，而不是在較小的客廳（低矮的）茶幾上，“高茶”由此得名。如今，高茶基本上被晚些時候的那頓茶餐代替了。過去的高茶一般會有冷

肉、雞蛋和/或魚、蛋糕以及三明治。在家里，高茶沒有那么多講究，可以是非正式的小食（有三明治、曲奇、油酥點心、水果等），也可以是正式的晚餐。而如果是在農場、農村地區或其他工薪階層出入的地

方，高茶往往指工人們在傍晚吃的那頓正餐，相當于把下午茶和晚上正餐合到了一起。

In recent years, “high tea” somehow became a word for exquisite afternoon tea. Such usage is incorrect. High tea is not, in traditional terms, afternoon tea.

近些年，“高茶”不知怎么變成了“精致下午茶”的代名詞，這樣的用法是不正確的。傳統上，“高茶”不是“下午茶”。

Main evening meal

Tea is the main evening meal, even if the diners are not drinking tea. It is traditionally eaten at 5 o’clock in the evening,though often it is later, as late as 9pm.

In many rural parts of the United Kingdom tea as a meal is synonymous with dinner in standard English. Under such usage, the midday meal is sometimes termed dinner, rather than lunch.

晚上正餐

tea指晚上用的正餐，即使用餐者并不飲茶。傳統上是在晚上5點，但時常會有晚至9點才用餐的情況。

在英國很多農村地區，tea（茶餐）等同于標準英語中的dinner（晚餐）。依此用法，午時用的飯（midday meal）有時就被稱為dinner，而非lunch。

The United States

The term high tea is sometimes used in the United States to refer to afternoon tea or the tea party, a very formal, ritualized gathering in which tea, thin sandwiches and small cakes are served in an exquisite setting. This usage comes from misunderstanding the term high to mean formal. Most tea drinkers understand that such usage is incorrect.

This form of tea is increasingly served in high-end U.S. hotels, often during the winter holidays and other tourist seasons, and many big-city teahouses, where it is usually correctly described as “afternoon tea”.

美國

在美國，“高茶”一詞有時會用來指下午茶或茶會（一種非常正式和講究的聚會，在優雅的環境里擺上茶水、薄切三明治和小蛋糕）。這種用法是因為人們錯把high（高）字理解成了formal（正式）的意思。大多數飲茶之人都知道，這樣的用法是不正確的。

越來越多的美國高端酒店（常常在冬季的節期和其他旅游旺季）和美國大城市的茶坊會提供高茶。在這些地方，這種茶通常被稱為“下午茶”，而這種叫法才是正確的。

Social implications

The tea party is still occasionally given in the U.S., usually for a special occasion. This occasion is a formal one,but otherwise afternoon tea is an informal gathering of friends. The tea party often became a place of intimate conversation and social intercourse.

Tea is a very important part of many people’s lives and it is important for those who drink tea or participate in tea meals to understand the correct terminology9terminology有特別含義的用語；專門用語。. ■

社會意義

在美國，人們還是會偶爾在特別的時候舉辦茶會。這種茶會是比較正式的，但其他情況下，下午茶就是朋友間隨性的聚會。茶會通常會成為人與人親密交談、開展社交的一個場合。

在很多人的生活中，茶是一個非常重要的部分。對那些飲茶或用茶餐的人來說，正確理解這些用詞至關重要。 □