In many parts of the world, “people were drinking tea in their homes long before ‘afternoon tea’ was a thing,” says Susan Peters, an Ontario-based tea sommelier and historian.

According to legend, Peters says, Duchess Anna Russell of Bedford introduced afternoon tea to England around 1840. “As the story goes, she was feeling peckish and asked her maids to provide her with a pot of tea, bread and butter, and some cake,” to sustain her until the late-evening dinner hour. Inspired by the duchess, the act of taking time for tea became fashionable — eventually, especially because the high tax on tea had been reduced, ordinary people in Britain began taking tea with an afternoon snack (it is also said that afternoon tea increased working hours for labourers, as it gave them more energy to work longer hours).

British settlers in the late 1800s and early 1900s brought tea to Canada, drinking it primarily at home, and newcomers from China, India and other tea-drinking parts of the world continued their tea habits on Canada shores. However, Peters says the custom of more formal afternoon tea in Canada didn’t evolve until the early 20th century, with the country’s hotels leading the way.

Like other grand railway hotels, the Hotel Vancouver — now Fairmont Hotel Vancouver — has been serving tea since the property opened in 1939, though the service was a simpler affair compared with the lavish British-inspired teas it offers today. In 2014, the hotel began varying its tea service, introducing seasonal “themed teas,” primarily to appeal to younger customers, says Mike Reid, the property’s executive chef.

Two of these popular teas draw inspiration from parts of Asia. The annual Lunar New Year afternoon tea features dishes such as Sichuan-glazed prawn toast, Shanghai-braised pork belly and sesame miso biscuits, while the sakura afternoon tea celebrates spring and the arrival of cherry blossoms with Japanese-influenced dishes like cherry salmon aburi and Castella, a Japanese sponge cake, filled with yuzu cream.

Nearby, Tokyo Mithaiwala reflects the Indian and Japanese heritage of its founders, Raji and Tomoko Sandhar. The couple first launched the business in Tokyo, wanting to bring Indian street foods and mithai (sweets) to Japan’s capital. Expanding to Canada, they now serve a vegetarian afternoon tea of Indian savory and sweet snacks, including a paneer tikka slider, aloo puff and dodha crunch (a caramel-like sweet).

Although Thais drink tea, Thailand doesn’t have a well-established tea culture, says Baan Lao chef Phanthoupheng. At her restaurant, she wanted to elevate the experience of the tea itself. She notes that even in formal tea services that offer a choice of tea, the customer doesn’t necessarily know which teas pair best with the food.

Phanthoupheng adds that in a British-style tea, there are essentially two tastes — savory and sweet — while Thai cuisine emphasizes sour, spicy and salty flavours as well. As part of her formal tea service, tea sommelier Pan works with the kitchen to match specific teas to each course of vibrant Thai flavours. She pairs a more intense pu’er tea with the savoury water buffalo “money bag” dumpling and the fried tofu with wild seaweed caviar. With the sweet-tart course of mango with coconut milk sticky rice, a taro ball served with pandan coconut custard, and intricately carved fresh fruit, she pours a delicate Taiwanese oolong.