26 June: National Cream Tea Day

Today is the last Friday in June, so it's National Cream Tea Day. Just to be clear, we're not talking about tea with cream in it, here, but the meal, traditionally eaten in the afternoon, consisting of scones, jam and clotted cream with tea to wash it down. Here are 10 facts.

1. Most sources say that the tradition of Tea and a snack in the afternoon originated with Anna Russell, the seventh Duchess of Bedford in the early 1800s. At that time, people ate two meals a day, breakfast and dinner in the evening. The duchess decided she couldn't wait until 8pm for her next meal and started taking afternoon tea, at first by herself, but as time went on, she invited others to join her and the idea spread.
2. Other sources suggest afternoon tea goes back further than that, with Catherine of Braganza (Charles II’s wife) introducing it to the English court in 1662.
3. Even this isn't the earliest mention of cream teas. There are manuscripts dating back to 997AD which state that monks at Tavistock Abbey in Devon served bread with clotted cream and Strawberry preserves to workers who were helping to rebuild the Abbey after it was damaged in a Viking raid.
4. In modern times, the term "cream tea" to describe such a meal dates back to 1931 when the phrase was used in 'The Cornishman' newspaper.
5. Does the jam go on first, or the cream? It depends whether you favour the Devonshire or Cornwall method. In Cornwall the jam is applied first with the cream on top; in Devon, the cream goes on first with the jam on top.
6. Another potential source of argument connected to cream teas is how you pronounce the word "scone". Should it rhyme with "gone" or with "throne"? Again there's no right or wrong - it depends on where in the country you come from. It's nothing to do with social class.
7. The term 'scones' was first used in 1513 according to the Oxford English Dictionary. The word 'scone' is believed to come from the Dutch word ‘schoonbrot’, which means beautiful Bread.
8. In a traditional cream tea, the scones aren't buttered. They should be freshly baked and still warm and the cream should be clotted rather than whipped. The jam should be strawberry. Some say the tea should be taken without Milk.
9. In Anna Russell's time, there were two terms used to describe a light meal in the afternoon - high tea or low tea. While it's easy to assume that high tea sounds posher, in fact, it was low tea that was enjoyed by the upper classes. It was so called because it was served on low tables (ie coffee tables) and consisted of snacks. High tea was served at the dining table and was traditionally the end of day meal of the working classes. It would be rather more substantial than scones, cream and jam - cold meats, pies, salad, pickles, bread and Butter, cakes, and a pot of tea would be served.
10. The world’s most expensive afternoon tea included white Truffles costing £2,500 per kg and beluga caviar at £4,000 per kg. The tea was Da Hong Pao tea harvested from 1,000-year-old plants grown in the Wuyi Mountains of China.

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