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The Tea Thread

Here's my new green enamel teapot with the non-drip spout, in its RHS teacosy. :D
 

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Cream teas. What a con that is.

I hail from the north and, until very recently, I fondly imagined that `cream tea` represented a quaint local south West/West country way of taking one's tea - ie. - putting cream in it instead of milk (there being so much cream to spare in that part of England).

I thought that one sunny day I would be in a position to try tea served like this. I visualised being somewhere exotic like...rural Somerset and in a rickety old tea house being served Cream Tea by an amiable elderly old couple with piratical accents. The cream tea would consist of a steaming toby jug of black tea - with a generous dollop of faintly yellow cream plonked on top.

But now I learn that `cream tea` just means a cup of tea taken with a cream cake, and that, therefore, I've already had one.

Another bit of romance, in my increasingly deromanticised life, has sputtered out.
 
I think you'll find that the use of the word 'tea' in that instance is as a reference to a mealtime (such as when people say 'going home for my tea' meaning to head home for their evening meal) however I think we have had some discourse around that subject elsewhere because some areas of the country have 'breakfast, lunch and dinner' whereas other substitute 'tea' and/or 'supper' for either of the early afternoon or evening mealtimes.
And the much maligned 'brunch'.

So a 'cream tea' is, as you discovered, essentially 'afternoon tea' (meaning the drink 'tea') accompanied by cakes and sandwiches.
And probably biscuits too.
Or it can be coffee instead of tea, if you are some sort of monster.
 
Zeke Newbold said:
Cream teas. What a con that is.

I hail from the north and, until very recently, I fondly imagined that `cream tea` represented a quaint local south West/West country way of taking one's tea - ie. - putting cream in it instead of milk (there being so much cream to spare in that part of England).

I thought that one sunny day I would be in a position to try tea served like this. I visualised being somewhere exotic like...rural Somerset and in a rickety old tea house being served Cream Tea by an amiable elderly old couple with piratical accents. The cream tea would consist of a steaming toby jug of black tea - with a generous dollop of faintly yellow cream plonked on top.

But now I learn that `cream tea` just means a cup of tea taken with a cream cake, and that, therefore, I've already had one.

Another bit of romance, in my increasingly deromanticised life, has sputtered out.
Click to expand...
A proper Devonshire cream tea consists of scones, butter, clotted cream, jam - combine to your own liking, + a cup of tea, not just any old cream cake with tea. That’s just tea & cake.

Probably difficult to find outside of the West Country.
 
hunck said:
A proper Devonshire cream tea consists of scones, butter, clotted cream, jam - combine to your own liking, + a cup of tea, not just any old cream cake with tea. That’s just tea & cake.

Probably difficult to find outside of the West Country.
Click to expand...
Yes.
Sorry, I foolishly totally forgot to include the scones with jam and clotted cream in my description, somehow.
 
hunck said:
A proper Devonshire cream tea consists of scones, butter, clotted cream, jam - combine to your own liking, + a cup of tea, not just any old cream cake with tea. That’s just tea & cake.

Probably difficult to find outside of the West Country.
Click to expand...
Just what is clotted cream? You British always use this term and I have not a clue as to what it is. The word “clotted” , to me, brings unpleasant images.
 
Trevp666 said:
I think you'll find that the use of the word 'tea' in that instance is as a reference to a mealtime (such as when people say 'going home for my tea' meaning to head home for their evening meal) however I think we have had some discourse around that subject elsewhere because some areas of the country have 'breakfast, lunch and dinner' whereas other substitute 'tea' and/or 'supper' for either of the early afternoon or evening mealtimes.
And the much maligned 'brunch'.
Click to expand...
Don't get me started on this! (Yeah, I believe we've had it out somehwere else before).

I'm from the North and when I was growing up it was always: Breakfast, Dinner and tea. That is, dinner was the mid-day meal. The word `Lunch` was only used to refer to a `packed lunch` (ie sandwiches in a box).

As a teacher of English to foreigners this sometimes gives me trouble. Being a dutiful chap, I teach them the (to me) new Southern system of `Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner/tea` - but then my rebellious Northern spirit rises up and I hear myself adding: `But there are regional variations you need to know about. For example in northern England...yada yada yada...`.

Imagine a sea of glumly distrustful faces.
 
Zeke Newbold said:
Cream teas. What a con that is.

I hail from the north and, until very recently, I fondly imagined that `cream tea` represented a quaint local south West/West country way of taking one's tea - ie. - putting cream in it instead of milk (there being so much cream to spare in that part of England).

I thought that one sunny day I would be in a position to try tea served like this. I visualised being somewhere exotic like...rural Somerset and in a rickety old tea house being served Cream Tea by an amiable elderly old couple with piratical accents. The cream tea would consist of a steaming toby jug of black tea - with a generous dollop of faintly yellow cream plonked on top.

But now I learn that `cream tea` just means a cup of tea taken with a cream cake, and that, therefore, I've already had one.

Another bit of romance, in my increasingly deromanticised life, has sputtered out.
Click to expand...
:loveu:Love your descriptive imagery, Zeke. You are definitely a romantic.
 
Zeke Newbold said:
Cream teas. What a con that is.

I hail from the north and, until very recently, I fondly imagined that `cream tea` represented a quaint local south West/West country way of taking one's tea - ie. - putting cream in it instead of milk (there being so much cream to spare in that part of England).

I thought that one sunny day I would be in a position to try tea served like this. I visualised being somewhere exotic like...rural Somerset and in a rickety old tea house being served Cream Tea by an amiable elderly old couple with piratical accents. The cream tea would consist of a steaming toby jug of black tea - with a generous dollop of faintly yellow cream plonked on top.

But now I learn that `cream tea` just means a cup of tea taken with a cream cake, and that, therefore, I've already had one.

Another bit of romance, in my increasingly deromanticised life, has sputtered out.
Click to expand...

You can make your own with special offer ingredients form Morrisons -

Afternoon Cream Tea Bundle £4
Buy 1 Scones plus Cream and jam for £4

These'd normally cost over £7 so it's quite a bargain.
You'll need to brew up too of course.

I might pop along later.
 
charliebrown said:
Are you eating the British traditional baked beans on toast with your tea ?
Click to expand...
Not really a cream tea tale, but I was on holiday last week and for all the exotic foods the Algarve could offer me, fresh fish, cooked sardines etc, my go to food every night was always the all day English breakfast. 2 Sausage, 2 bacon, 2 eggs, cooked tomato, shrooms, fried bread, beans and toast -side order of chips an all.

Yes - I am that little Englander. Sorry bout that.
 
Trevp666 said:
So a 'cream tea' is, as you discovered, essentially 'afternoon tea' (meaning the drink 'tea') accompanied by cakes and sandwiches.
Click to expand...
Nope, a cream tea has just the scones with jam and butter or cream, with a pot of tea. You might ask for coffee instead.
The expanded version with cakes and sandwiches is afternoon tea.

'Tea' as a meal is different altogether. No delicate pastries or little tubs of clotted cream for a start.
 
hunck said:
A cream tea will look something like this. You’d eat them in halves though, not whole.
Click to expand...
You might eat them in halves mate....I'd try and yamm them in my gob whole.
But then I am a greedy toe-rag with no decorum or finesse.
 
escargot said:
Nope, a cream tea has just the scones with jam and butter or cream, with a pot of tea. You might ask for coffee instead.
The expanded version with cakes and sandwiches is afternoon tea.

'Tea' as a meal is different altogether. No delicate pastries or little tubs of clotted cream for a start.
Click to expand...
Yes I would tend to agree with you there, however, a cream tea does not have to be restricted to just the scones/jam/cream with the tea/coffee, it can also include other stuff.
As per this picture from some website.
1692117360903.png
 
And any crumbs that fell into my voluminous beard I'd keep for later.
Or for the pigeons.
 
Zeke Newbold said:
putting cream in it instead of milk (there being so much cream to spare in that part of England).

I thought that one sunny day I would be in a position to try tea served like this
Click to expand...

You can get tea served like that, in East Fresia.

I have only drank it when in Berlin though, with someone whose family was originally from that region.

Place one of those chunky sugar crystals into a delicately shaped china cup

Pour on strong black tea

Add cream to taste.
 
AnonyJ said:
For those of us in the specialised centre of the Venn diagram below

View attachment 68326

I can recommend stainless steel fine mesh cup filters to replace tea bags. I was totally fed up of picking out bits of wispy paper-plastic
remnants of tea bags from my garden soil so got some of these which works very well with any kind of loose tea:


614HMJPwXHL._AC_SL1500_.jpg
Click to expand...


When I first went to Berlin I was impressed with how they put the loose tea in muslin filter bags, got the tea to the desired strength, removed the bag then placed the teapot on a stand with a tea-light in it.
 
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AnonyJ said:
A nice half-way point along the 'black tea -->iced tea spectrum' is regular black tea, brewed as a weaker infusion with just some freshly sliced lemon, left to go warm/tepid, and the lemon taken out. A very refreshing lemony summer beverage. I make a 2 pint jug of it :)
Click to expand...

When I lived in Tokyo (which can get very hot and humid summers) I would make a strong pot of Earl Grey (ice will be added later), transfer it to a plastic bottle and leave in the fridge to cool, serve with ice and a slice.
 
Trevp666 said:
Yes I would tend to agree with you there, however, a cream tea does not have to be restricted to just the scones/jam/cream with the tea/coffee, it can also include other stuff.
As per this picture from some website.
View attachment 68750
Click to expand...

A nice variation on the classic Cream Tea is to have Cornish/Devon 'splits' - essentially an enriched bread roll - or simply a good white bread, and spread them with clotted cream, this is then drizzled with either golden syrup, honey or black treacle (or all 3) to make a concoction known as Thunder and Lightning! https://www.travelaboutbritain.com/recipes/cornish_splits.php

Ronnie Jersey said:
OMG - a cream tea? Never heard of that, but it looks delicious!
Click to expand...

Diabetes on a cake stand, it was invented as a 'traditional' tea-time meal in the early 20th century in the south-west of England. Clotted (cooked) cream with scones or enriched bread served with jam, honey, perhaps sandwiches & other cake or patisserie. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cream_tea

Cows in this part of the country used to produce richer milk suitable for cream production and before the arrival of mass-tourism clotted cream was produced instead of butter for local consumption.

There's a faux-serious rivalry between the counties of Cornwall and Devon as how to serve it!
 
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For those of us who love tea, are interested in tea or are curious about the British Isles' history with the fine beverage I can recommend the current BBC R4 10 part series Empire Of Tea https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001t30b/episodes/player

"Tea arrived in Britain as an exotic product for the elite. How and why did it then become a drink for the masses? Empire of Tea tells the story of how Britain's national drink was pushed by imperialists and helped shape the modern world..."
 
Techy is having a bit of a health kick. (They do, at his age. :nods: )

He'd been one of those coffee'eads who reckon they live on caffeine and swear by it.
Recently he's been drinking tea instead. He feels calmer, sleeps more soundly and has much less acid reflux.

Tea is the way forward. :cool:
 
With the advent of coffee shops everywhere and with coffee drinking being on the increase, I wonder if there are now those who no longer have cream teas but have cream coffees instead?
 
I don’t know how my wife drinks either her tea or coffee straight.

I have to doctor my tea with lemon and sweetener, and my coffee with cream and sweetener.

If I don’t have to be social, give me a Coke.
 
I have to start the day with a cuppa. I can do coffee but it feels a bit harsh first thing. I enjoy one later in the morning. And afternoon has to be a cuppa as well.

I do enjoy a Costa if we’re out shopping, which is generally mornings.

I was trying to imagine living in a dystopian world without tea and it would take a while for me to get used to (not that I’d be likely to survive such a place, but it gave me sympathy for Arthur Dent setting the ships computer to make tea to the extent it’s functions were totally tied up and couldn’t do anything else).
 
Watching BBC America comedy show “Are You Being Served”, it seemed their tea break was the highlight of their day and Captain Peacock always wished he would be served in the management room with also access to the management bathroom.
 
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