History, Traditions and Debates of the Cream Tea

The cream tea is without question a delight from the south west of England. Each county - Cornwall, Devon, Somerset and Dorset - happily has its own although most people usually refer to only the first two in relation to the tradition of cream teas.

And is it here that I should introduce the scone-as-in-gone or scone-as-in-cone debate? Perhaps not, we could be here for some time... Just in case the record requires it, I am a life long advocate of the first.

And as with my own childhood, cream teas were eaten with bread, not scones, in 11th century Devon and with 'split' buns in Cornwall. The introduction of the scone was down to the Scottish. And a scone should, by tradition, be plain with no raisins, sultanas or glace cherries. But I'll be a bit controversial here and say that the ones with sultanas are my preferred choice; they add a bit of juiciness that I love.

There is so much in a cream tea that is down to personal preference and cream is one of them. I have already marked down the establishment in my first review (The Garden Tearooms) for serving whipped cream instead of clotted. It's my blog so I can.

In June 2014, The Guardian stated in its 'How to eat: a cream tea' article that clotted cream has absolutely nothing going for it with its gritty crust, almost 'off' aftertaste and cloying over the top butteryness. For The Guardian, whipped cream was the clear winner. Not for me, ever!

What do you think?

But I am in agreement with The Guardian when it states that the ubiquitous strawberry jam can be a bit bland and boring, and that raspberry offers a sharper experience. They also recommend blackcurrant jam, which I have yet to try, struggling to forego the deliciousness of raspberry or, even, strawberry (my back-up choice). I shall endeavour to try blackcurrant though, in order for this blog to be fully rounded, perhaps with a jam taste test on a homemade cream tea. And I might just experiment with lemon curd too.

Earlier this year (April 2015), David Cameroon put his foot right in the squidgyness of the cream tea debate with a declaration that the jam goes on first, followed by the cream. Now, I am in accordance with him and always do it this way; this is the traditional Cornish method and apparently glues the three elements together better. In Devon, however, it's the cream first and then the jam on top. Some claim this is a more aesthetically pleasing way of dressing your scone but whichever, it is a very hotly debated topic in the cream tea world. And, I think, quite possibly another taste test to put in the diary.

If you do as the Devonians and spread the jam on top of the cream, you will get the taste of the sweet fruit first. With the cream on top, your mouth will be coated with creamy richness. Perhaps a reason to always use a jam stronger than strawberry.

In 2013, Dr Eugenia Cheng ran a study resulting in a mathematical formula for the construction of a cream tea with precise measurements for each element and a conclusion that the Cornish way with cream on top is best.