It’s National Cream Tea Day on Friday 30th June and here in Devon, the home of the original Cream Tea, we don’t need much encouragement to find an excuse to get out our best china plates, teapots, cups and saucers and of course, our award-winning clotted cream! And besides, there’s no better way to lift spirits than have a cream tea.
The origin of the cream tea is often disputed (Cornwall, we’re looking at you!) but for the most part, according to local historians, it would seem that the act of adding jam and cream to bread seems to have originated in Devon at Tavistock Abbey during the 11th century – with the cream spread first and the jam on top.
The cream tea we know and love today is of course a little different to those enjoyed back then, nowadays it’s a simple combination of a freshly baked, warm scone, sumptuous clotted cream and tangy fruity jam, traditionally strawberry, and a steaming pot of tea.
The cream tea has been a long-debated topic and divided the two counties; Devon and Cornwall for generations. The difference between a Cornish and Devon cream tea is the order the toppings are assembled. To answer the age-old question, what is the right way to eat a cream tea? Should the clotted cream or jam be spread first? It’s cream FIRST!
Did you know that the Head Chef to the late Queen was interviewed and stated that he always served Her Majesty her cream tea..cream first! Well, if it’s good enough for royalty it’s ok by us. ‘ansome, as we say here in Devon.
We hope that you’ll be joining us this National Cream Tea Day as we raise a tea cup to this delicious Devonshire tradition and have yourself a cream tea wherever you are in the world!