Q. I read a lot of novels set in England. I am confused about tea time. Sometimes it seems to be an aristocratic society garden party with tiny sandwiches and pastries. Other times, it seems to be a regular meal that people eat at the end of the work day. What is the history of English tea time?
A. I loved this question because it gave me an excuse to refer to a favorite title: “What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew” by Daniel Pool.
Pool writes: “By the 1800s, tea rivaled beer in popularity even among the lower classes – it was after all, a hot item to liven up the otherwise cold meals of the poor. The fact that the water was boiled made it safe to drink.
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