Afternoon Leaf Tea draws on the old British custom of a pot and a light bite in the mid-afternoon, though there's nothing stopping you from brewing it at breakfast or midnight. It's a blend of Broken Orange Pekoe teas from Assam and the Nilgiri Hills in India, giving a smooth cup with defined malty notes and a malty finish. The liquor runs ruby with coppery highlights, light in tone, and the character sits somewhere between citrus and spice: lemon, orange, honey, malt, and a faint cucumber coolness, with a coffee-like depth underneath.
The custom itself is usually traced to Anna, the 7th Duchess of Bedford, in the early 19th century. Most households at the time ate only two meals — breakfast and an 8pm dinner — leaving a long afternoon gap. The Duchess started taking tea and a snack privately in her boudoir to bridge it, then began inviting friends to Woburn Abbey for tea and a walk in the fields. Other hostesses picked up the habit, and it spread across British society until "afternoon tea" became fashionable at every level. Today the phrase has mostly faded from everyday use, kept alive chiefly by hotels and restaurants, though loose-leaf blends like this one are part of a small revival.
There's no fixed way to take it: milk, sugar, honey, or lemon all work, and it holds up fine on its own. Infuse it in freshly boiled water for three to five minutes — five if you want the fuller, brisker end of its character. Black tea in general has long been drunk as part of a health-conscious routine, though the evidence for specific benefits remains preliminary and shouldn't be taken as a reason to reach for a cup over anything else you'd choose for taste.
