舌尖上的英伦风情之下午茶

　　有民谣为证：“当时钟敲响四下时，世上的一切瞬间为茶而停。”小说《贵妇画像》的作者亨利•詹姆斯(Henry James)更是赞叹道：“There are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea. (人生鲜有比全心全意享受下午茶这一仪式更令人惬意的时刻。)”下面就让我们一起来品味下午茶这一独特的英伦风情吧!

　　Afternoon Tea

　　舌尖上的英伦风情之下午茶

　　Afternoon tea, that most quintessential[i]) of English customs is, perhaps surprisingly, a relatively new tradition. While the custom of drinking tea dates back to the third millennium BC in China and was popularized in England during the 1660s by King Charles II and his wife, the Portuguese Infanta [ii]) Catherine de Braganza, it was not until the mid 19th century that the concept of “afternoon tea” first appeared.

　　Afternoon tea was introduced to England by Anna, the seventh Duchess of Bedford, in the year 1840. The Duchess would become hungry and complain of "having that sinking feeling" around four o'clock in the afternoon. At the time it was usual for people to take only two main meals a day: breakfast and dinner at around 8 o'clock in the evening. The evening meal in her household was also served fashionably late at eight o'clock, thus leaving a long period of time between lunch and dinner. The Duchess asked that a tray of tea, bread and butter and cake be brought to her room during the late afternoon. Later friends were invited to join her in her country house at Woburn Abbey and this summer practice proved so popular that the Duchess continued it when she returned to London, sending cards to her friends asking them to join her for "tea and a walking".

　　This pause for tea became a fashionable social event. During the 1880's upper-class and society women would change into long gowns, gloves and hats for their afternoon tea, which was usually served in the drawing room[iii]) between four and five o'clock.

　　Traditional afternoon tea consists of a selection of dainty[iv]) sandwiches (including, of course, thinly sliced cucumber sandwiches), scones[v]) served with clotted cream[vi]) and preserves[vii]). Cakes and pastries[viii]) are also served. Tea grown in India or Ceylon is poured from silver tea pots into delicate bone china cups.

　　Nowadays however, in the average suburban home, afternoon tea is likely to be just a biscuit or small cake and a mug of tea, usually produced using a teabag.

　　To experience the best of the afternoon tea tradition, indulge yourself with a trip to one of London's finest hotels or visit a quaint[ix]) tearoom in the West Country[x]). The Devonshire Cream Tea[xi]) is famous world wide and consists of scones, strawberry jam and the vital ingredient, Devon clotted cream, as well as cups of hot sweet tea served in china teacups. Many of the other counties in England's West Country also claim the best cream teas: Dorset, Cornwall and Somerset.

下午茶作为英国文化的精髓，是一种相对较新的传统，这也许让人惊讶。虽然喝茶的习俗最早应追溯到公元前3000年的中国，并于17世纪60年代由国王查理二世和他的妻子葡萄牙布拉干萨王朝的凯瑟琳公主在英国推广开来，但直到19世纪中期，“下午茶”这一概念才首次出现。

　　下午茶是在1840年由贝德福德公爵七世的夫人安娜引入英国的。公爵夫人经常在下午4点左右感到很饿，并抱怨自己“有一种心情低沉的感觉”。那时候，人们通常一天只吃两顿正餐——早餐和晚上八点左右的晚餐。公爵夫人家也按照这一潮流，晚餐提供得很晚，都在,8点。这样一来，午餐和晚餐之间就隔了好长一段时间。于是，公爵夫人便让人在下午晚些时候送一托盘的茶、面包、黄油和蛋糕到她房间。后来，她还邀请朋友们来她位于沃本修道院的乡间邸宅共享下午茶。事实证明，这样的夏日安排很受欢迎，于是公爵夫人在回到伦敦后便将之延续下去，给她的朋友们寄卡片邀请她们一起“喝喝茶、散散步”。

　　后来，这种茶歇就成了一种时髦的社交活动。在19世纪80年代，上流社会和社交界的女士们会换上长裙，戴上手套和礼帽去喝下午茶——通常下午4～5点在餐后休息室里进行。

　　传统的下午茶包括精选的美味三明治(其中当然有夹薄黄瓜片的三明治)，配有浓缩奶油的司康饼以及果酱，还包括蛋糕和油酥点心。还会有产自印度或锡兰的茶从银色的茶壶里被缓缓倒入精美的骨瓷茶杯里。

　　然而现在，普通郊区居民家中的下午茶可能只有一块饼干或一个小蛋糕再加一大杯通常用茶包泡的茶。

　　想要体验最地道的英式下午茶，就得放纵一下自己，去探访伦敦一家最好的酒店或是英格兰西南部某个传统而雅致的茶室。德文郡下午茶世界闻名，包括司康饼、草莓酱，以及最重要的德文郡浓缩奶油，还有瓷质茶杯中热气腾腾的甜茶。英格兰西南部许多其他郡也自称有最好的下午茶，如多塞特、康沃尔和萨默塞特。

　　[i]. quintessential [ˌkwɪntɪˈsenʃl] adj. 精华的，精髓的

　　[ii]. infanta [ɪnˈfæntə] n. (西班牙、葡萄牙的)公主

　　[iii]. drawing room: 客厅，起居室;妇女餐后的休息室

　　[iv]. dainty [ˈdeɪnti] adj. (食物)美味的，可口的;精美的

　　[v]. scone [skɒn] n. 烤饼，司康(一种源于英国用大麦或燕麦加苏打、糖、盐等烤制而成的西式茶点)

　　[vi]. clotted cream: <英> (把牛奶用文火加热而成的)浓缩奶油。clotted [klɒtɪd] adj. <英> 集中的，浓缩的

　　[vii]. preserve [prɪˈzɜːv] n. (用腌制等方法)加工成的食品(如蜜饯、果酱、罐头等)

　　[viii]. pastry [ˈpeɪstri] n. 油酥点心(如馅饼、果馅饼)

　　[ix]. quaint [kweɪnt] adj. 老式而别致的;雅致的

　　[x]. West Country: 一种非正式的说法，指英国西南部地区

　　[xi]. Devonshire Cream Tea: 德文郡下午茶，一种传统英式下午茶套餐，包括面包、司康饼、浓缩奶油和果酱。