English Cream Tea

Ah cream tea...that beloved English tradition heralding from the southwest...flaky warm scones topped with thick clotted cream and sweet raspberry jam. Mmmm...pure heaven! Cream teas are one of my favorite English pastimes and although I mentioned it briefly in the post about Kim's visit, I really need to do cream tea more justice.

I can recall my first Cream Tea as being what all first cream teas should be...set in the beautiful country garden of a remote Devon tea cottage. Those moist and flaky, buttery scones were a sharp contrast to my previous experiences of American scones: dry, bland, and laced with currants-yuk! I learned in Devon that scones are not eaten with butter, but rather are exulted with a thick layer of divinity in the form of clotted cream--that luxurious fatty, creamy spread that lies somewhere between whipped cream and butter. Fine English strawberry or raspberry jam, the kind in which you can see the fruit and taste the fruit, rather than sugary glucose, tops the pillow of clotted cream. Accompanied with a proper cuppa, this combination of scone, clotted cream, and fine jam will sedate and satisfy you beyond imagining.

Living in London, I thought that Cream Teas would be a foreign novelty that I could only relish when I ventured to the southwest of the country. But no! Like all foreign and exotic cuisines, Cream Teas are plentiful (though not affordable) in London. In preparation of Kim's visit, I searched out the best affordable Cream Tea and happened upon a delightful Bloomsbury bakery called Bea's of Bloomsbury. Their scones are so fresh that you can feel the warmth of the oven while the clotted cream comes complete with crusty bits. At only 6 pounds, this was to become my home for Cream Tea.

At the height of exam period in May, when a few of us girls were in need of some inspiration and relief, I suggested Cream Tea at Bea's. We ordered two cream teas, but since there were four of us, and we are food anthropologists after all, we decided to venture into the land of Sweet Tea: a tower of bite-sized brownies, blondies, meringues, marshmallows, a scone and a cupcake (see left). Wow! Despite being connoisseurs of all things sweet, we were all four buzzing from sugar by the end. And by buzzing, I mean literally buzzing--we had to order more tea to dilute our systems before we could return to the library.

This most recent trip to Bea's highlighted several important lessons for me: 1. Incredible and affordable Cream Teas do exist in London, with Bea's continuing to be my favorite; 2. Sometimes it's better to stick with a good, sure thing (Cream Tea) than to venture into the fantasy land of overwhelming temptations (Sweet Tea), especially during exam periods; and 3. The greatest thing about Cream Tea is that it is a shared experience, bringing people together to pause, engage one another, connect, and laugh. To me, Cream Tea embodies and upholds some of the defining values of the English culture--the value of communion and commensality experienced over simple indulgences such as a proper cuppa and a warm scone. Who knew that sugar could provide such sustenance?!