High tea: Edmonton revives regal tradition

There is no better way to learn what it's like to be royal than to live like one.

And with Canadians across the country marking Victoria Day, it's the perfect time to extend your pinky and dust off the bone china for the most regal of traditions: high tea.

Legend has it that one of Queen Victoria's ladies in waiting, Anna Maria Stanhope, who was the Duchess of Bedford, created and popularized the afternoon tea time.

Stanhope, who was too hungry to wait for dinner — served well after sundown during the 19th century — requested a little bit of bread with butter, biscuits and cakes, to enjoy with a customary cup of Darjeeling tea.

She invited her friends to her dressing room, and when the Queen caught wind of these gatherings, she instantly fell in love with the idea.

Afternoon tea was born, and soon became a quintessential daily ritual at British Royal Court.

But you don't have to be in royal company to enjoy the tradition. 

Weekend tradition a popular one at Hotel Macdonald

Plenty of everyday Edmontonians have been reviving the practice, according to Carlos Hernandez, food and beverage services manager at the Fairmont Hotel Macdonald.

The Fairmont has been serving afternoon tea for more than a decade, and host Royal Tea and Tour events at least twice a week.

Now you have to call two weeks, maybe three weeks in advance to get a spot for weekend tea.- Carlos Hernandez, Fairmont Hotel Macdonald

The weekend events became so crowded, the landmark hotel recently expanded their schedule to Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesday afternoons to quench the demand.

"It has become increasingly popular. Now you have to call two weeks, maybe three weeks in advance to get a spot for weekend tea," Hernandez said. 

Hernandez says a thirst for tea inspired him to travel to Toronto to become an accredited tea sommelier, refining his brewing techniques and sampling more than 300 teas in a matter of days.

The changing palates of his customers also inspired him to expand his own drinking habits.

"I'm a coffee drinker from Guatemala, so I just started drinking tea, but being in the business, being that it's growing at the hotel, we felt it would be important for me to know more about tea," he said. 

"When our guests are there on Saturday and Sunday, I explain to the guests the proper brewing of the tea. Some of them have never drank tea, so I explain to them which would be a lighter version of tea for them, it's just like wine."

And all that training in tea paid off.

Hernandez had the honour of the serving Queen Elizabeth II during her visit to Edmonton in 2005.

"It was my pleasure to be an assistant to the butler from Buckingham Palace, to help him out and set up, it was a real pleasure, it was a lot of fun," Hernandez said. 

"Gracious, is my word to describe her. She's a very gracious lady. It doesn't happen very often that you get to meet the Queen."