前段时间电视剧《三十而已》持续刷屏。除了晒包，贵妇们聚在一起，最经常做的就是喝喝下午茶，聊聊天~

 例如，顾佳与王太太“品茶”的名场面。她一语道破low tea和high tea[1]的区别，让强撑姿态的王太太好不尴尬。

[1] high tea 高茶，黄昏时吃的正式茶点，与简单的晚餐相似，通常有一道热菜（或三明治）和一壶茶，在英格兰北部和苏格兰尤为流行。

不过，下午茶并不是贵妇们的专属消费。近年来，越来越多的小姐妹也约起了下午茶，它成为展现生活格调的一种方式。

但下午茶的讲究也很多，要想搞清楚下午茶的正确打开方式，我们先要区分的是“茶饮”和“茶餐”两个概念。在英语中这两个词都可以用tea表示，因此容易弄混。

 “茶饮”和“茶餐”

Tea the drink
茶饮

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.
在茶界，有两种形式的茶时常引起混淆：一为“茶饮”，一为“茶餐”。“茶饮”是由山茶属植物制成的，这些植物经过加工制成白茶、绿茶、乌龙茶和红茶。这几种基础茶还常与香草、薄荷、甜瓜等植物以及佛手柑油等香料混合，制成伯爵茶。

The beverage is made by steeping[2] 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, flowers, spices, and fruits.
茶饮就是将加工过的茶叶、芽头或嫩枝浸泡到热水中制成的饮品。茶的加工处理包括氧化、加热、干燥以及添加其他药草、花卉、香料和水果。

[2] steep 浸泡。

The term “herbal tea” usually refers to infusions[3] of fruit or of herbs (such as rosehip, chamomile, or jiaogulan) that contain no Camellia Sinensis.
“花果茶”通常指用水果或药草（比如玫瑰果、甘菊或绞股蓝）冲泡而成的饮品，不含山茶属植物。

[3] infusion 泡制。

Tea the meal
茶餐

 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.
说到“茶餐”，茶饮是其重要组成部分，真正的茶餐是指边喝茶边用餐的社交和家庭聚会。

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.
一般而言，茶餐在英国最为普及，也最为讲究，但也传播至英语国家或前英属殖民地。其他国家也有不同形式的茶餐。

“下午茶”、“高茶”和“晚点”有什么区别

而茶餐又分为“下午茶”、“高茶”和“晚点”，区分不同茶餐的关键是供应时段、餐品和场所。

Afternoon tea
下午茶

 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.
“下午茶（或低茶）”特指下午4点用的简餐。它起源于英国，而前大英帝国的不同属地也有这种简餐。但现在，大多数英国人都不再吃这一餐。

Traditionally, loose tea would be served in a teapot with milk and sugar. This would be accompanied by various sandwiches (customarily cucumber, egg and cress[4], tuna, ham, and smoked salmon), scones[5] (with butter, clotted cream[6] and jam) and usually cakes and pastries. Traditionally the tea and food would be served on a lounge[7] (or low) table.
传统做法是将散茶冲泡在茶壶中，与牛奶和砂糖一并提供。同时还会配以各种各样的三明治（通常会有黄瓜、水芥鸡蛋、金枪鱼、火腿和烟熏三文鱼）、松饼（抹上黄油、浓缩奶油和果酱）以及一般都会有的蛋糕和油酥点心。这些茶水和食物从前都是放在客厅茶几（矮脚桌）上面。

[4] cress 水芥（常放在沙拉和三明治中食用）。
[5] scone 司康饼，也叫英式松饼。
[6] clotted cream 〈英〉（用文火把牛奶加热而成的）浓缩奶油。产于英国西南部的德文郡（Devonshire）的最好，口感细腻，因而又称“德文郡奶油”。clot（使乳脂）凝结成块。
[7] lounge （私宅中的）起居室。

 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.
虽然下午茶在过去很日常，但如今更多在酒店、咖啡馆或茶坊才能享用到。不过很多英国人还会在下午茶时间喝一杯茶、吃块蛋糕或巧克力。于是，现在很多酒店都有下午茶的推广促销活动。

High tea
高茶

To the uninitiated[8] “high tea” may be a confusing term.
对于外行，“高茶”这个词可能让人摸不着头脑。

[8] uninitiated 无专门知识（或经验）的人。

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.
“高茶”指傍晚时分所用的餐点，特指下午5点至6点的用餐。高茶可以代替下午茶和晚餐。人们在“高”（主）桌上用餐，而不是在较小的客厅茶几（矮脚桌）上，“高茶”由此得名。如今，高茶基本上被晚些时候的那顿茶餐代替了。

It would usually consist of cold meats, eggs and/or fish, 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.
高茶一般会有盘肉、鸡蛋和/或鱼、蛋糕以及三明治。在家里，高茶没有那么正式讲究，可以是随意的小食（有三明治、曲奇、油酥点心、水果等），也可以是晚上正餐。

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.
而如果是在农场、农村地区或其他工薪阶层出入的地方，高茶往往指工人们在傍晚食用的那顿传统丰盛的餐点，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”不知怎么变成了“精致下午茶”的代名词，这样的用法是错误的。传统上，“高茶”不是“下午茶”。

Main evening meal
晚点

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.
Tea在英文里也表示晚间正餐，即使用餐者并不饮茶。传统上是在17点用餐，但通常会更晚，最晚到21点。

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.
在英国很多农村地区，tea（茶餐）在标准英语中等同于dinner（晚餐）。依此用法，午时用的饭（midday meal）有时就被称为dinner，而非lunch。

High tea不等于“高级下午茶”

在美国，“高茶”一词有时会用来指茶会（一种非常正式和讲究的聚会，在优雅的环境里摆上茶水、薄切三明治和小蛋糕）。这种用法是因为人们错把high（高）字理解成了formal（正式）的意思

This form of tea is increasingly served in high-end US hotels, often during the winter holidays and other tourist seasons, and many big-city teahouses, where it is usually correctly described as “afternoon tea”.
越来越多的美国高端酒店（常常在冬季的节期和其他旅游旺季）和美国大城市的茶坊会提供高茶。在这些地方，这种茶通常被称为“下午茶”，而这种叫法才是正确的。