I think the idea of 'tea' being food isn't that the meal is tea but that the meal is *for* tea-time. If that makes sense. I don't hate it but I don't say it myself. I don't say 'dinner' when I mean lunch either. I'd feel like I was trying to impersonate a person from Yorkshire if I did. (I know they say it elsewhere as well.)
I believe 'tea' as a meal comes from 'Afternoon Tea' or 'High Tea' which originated in the 1800s.
From Wiki:
Afternoon Tea
Afternoon tea is a small meal snack typically eaten between 2pm and 5pm. The custom of afternoon tea originated in England in the 1840s.[2] At the time, the various classes in England had a divergence in their eating habits. The upper classes typically ate luncheon at about midday and dinner (if not eschewed in favor of the later supper) at 8:00 pm or later, while the lower classes ate luncheon at about 11:00 am and then a light supper at around 7:00 pm.[3] For both groups, afternoon tea filled a gap in the meals. The custom spread throughout the British Empire and beyond in succeeding decades. However, changes in social customs and working hours mean that most 21st Century Britons will rarely take afternoon tea, if at all.
High tea
High tea (also known as meat tea[9]) is an early evening meal, typically eaten between 5pm and 7pm. It is now largely followed by a lighter meal later in the evening.[citation needed]
High tea typically consists of a hot dish such as fish and chips, shepherd's pie, or macaroni cheese, followed by cakes and bread, butter and jam. Occasionally there would be cold cuts of meat, such as ham salad. Traditionally high tea was eaten by middle to upper class children (whose parents would have a more formal dinner later) or by labourers, miners and the like when they came home from work. The term was first used around 1825 and high is used in the sense of well-advanced (like high noon, for example) to signify that it was taken later in the day.[10]
The term “high tea” was used as a way to distinguish it from afternoon tea. Though it is often stated that the words "low" and "high" refer to the height of the tables from which either meal was eaten, the term for the later meal actually relates to the usage of "high" as in the phrase "it's high time".[11] Afternoon tea was served in the garden where possible; otherwise it was usually taken in a day room, library or salon where low tables (like a coffee table) were placed near sofas or chairs generally (hence the fallacy about it being low tea).[12] Most quality hotels in Britain serve afternoon tea, frequently in a palm court, and more recently have offered the option of champagne instead of tea.
So, essentially, there can be several different meals in the day: Breakfast, Elevenses/Brunch, Lunch (about midday), Afternoon Tea (about 3 or 4 pm), High Tea (5-7 pm), Dinner (about 8 pm), Supper (about 9 or 10 pm).
Over the years, this formality of dining has been relaxed and now a lot of families will call their evening meal 'tea' (bigger than an afternoon snack, but smaller than full-out dinner) and have it about 5 or 6 pm.
Also, people can have different names for their 3 main meals, so it depends what you call each one as to what the evening meal is called:
- Breakfast, Lunch, Tea
- Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
- Breakfast, Dinner, Supper
- Breakfast, Dinner, Tea
