Lessons in Cream Tea Etiquette

The sun is shining, the garden birds are singing, the bees are busy in the flowerbeds as you stir your tea cup and then gingery halve your fruit scone; a blissful scene so many of our guests will no doubt be all too familiar with – the cream tea idyll.

But what happens next has proved a real bone of contention for the neighbouring counties of Cornwall and Devonshire; should it be jam or should it be cream?

According to Cornish cream tea etiquette, the jam should sit handsomely on the scone before adding a healthy dollop of clotted cream, whereas the Devonian way says cream first and jam on top?

This age-old debate was recently reignited when the Cornish National Trust committed a cardinal sin by circulating an image showing a plate of Lanhydrock scones slathered with cream and crowned in strawberry jam! Cornish denizens were so put out by this faux pas that they threatened to boycott the much-loved country estate, some going as far as to describe the image as ‘cultural vandalism’.

By the time the Cornish National Trust caught wind of their freshly baked bodge, a bun fight was already raging on social media between cream tea aficionados from either side of the river Tamar, with devout Devonians tickled pink by the blunder.

For most of us, this is just a storm in a tea cup, however, if you do manage to get your cream and jam mixed up on the wrong side of the border, don’t be surprised if you invite one or two disapproving faces.

We trust you enjoyed this little teatime scoop. We felt it our duty to keep you up to date with all ‘currant’ affairs.

If all this talk of cream teas has got you day-dreaming of summer holidays, then come and have a look at some of the gorgeous holiday cottages on our website. We’ve got hundreds of fabulous properties in dreamy locations all over the West Country waiting to be discovered.