In the Edwardian era, Afternoon Tea was a light meal typically eaten at 4 o'clock by those who had no need to work for a living in the 9 to 5 (or 9 to 9) sense.

In a home like Admiral Montverre's, loose tea was served from a silver teapot. Proper tea is made by pouring BOILING water OVER the tea. Thus, the tea itself was made in the kitchen and was intended to be quite strong. In a proper home (such as Admiral Montverre's), hot water was available to weaken the tea for those who did not care for it strong. There would be a silver strainer available, although a practiced pourer generally did not need one. Lemon, milk, cream and sugar would be available. (One does not use lemon and milk products in the same cup of tea.)

Afternoon tea was accompanied by various sandwiches (customarily cucumber, egg, cress, fish paste, ham, and smoked salmon), scones (with butter, clotted cream and jam) and usually cakes and pastries (such as fruit cake or Victoria sponge, and for fans of Scottish pastries, there would be Eccles cakes and Fern cakes). The food often was served from a tiered stand. (Wedgwood was still making these in the 1990s, but seems to have stopped doing so. There are some nice American versions in Depression glass.)

During the Edwardian era, High Tea was working class event. It was an early evening meal, typically eaten between 5 and 6 o'clock. It was eaten as a substitute for both afternoon tea and the evening meal. The term comes from the meal being eaten at the "high table" (the main dining table) instead of being served from a "tea table." As a general matter, high tea was a working man's meal. On farms or in other working class environments, it was the substantial meal traditionally eaten by working people after nightfall.

For some reason that I fail to comprehend, in recent years "high tea" has become the designator for "afternoon tea." Probably because of some mistaken understanding by American tourists who think "high" means "good" or "better than regular." This was not so in the early 1960s, but seems to be universal in the US now.

[This post was previously located on another thread and has been moved.]