Celebrating National Cream Tea Day: More twists and turns and delicious controversy!

Celebrating National Cream Tea Day!

It's National Cream Tea Day and we're celebrating tea time with scones, cream and TeaTime while serving up a few twists and turns to this traditional British repast.

Today marks the tenth anniversary of National Cream Tea Day, a holiday, per National Today, established by Rodda's and Tiptree, cream and jam merchants, respectively, who use this day not only to highlight the tea time break, but to support charitable events as well.

A Cream Tea is an English staple, dating back to the mid-19th century. It's a trimmed down variation of an afternoon tea consisting of simply tea and scones with clotted cream and/or jam.

As delicious and satisfying as a Cream Tea may be, it is not without controversy, as we at Barb's Tea Service have reported on in the past. In our blog on National Cream Tea Day Eve in 2020, we noted an incident in Cornwall that sparked "Sconegate".  (See, Do you serve cream or jam first:  the story behind 'Sconegate')

Sconegate caused tensions between the folks of Cornwall, whose preferred scone-topping-order is jam, then cream and the citizens of Devon who stand strong behind cream then jam. 

National Cream Day tea fare:  tea, scones and clotted cream. Clotted cream varies in US and UK

The dust may have settled on that scandal, but where do Brits stand currently on scone toppings?

According to today's Cornish Times, a recent study revealed that 44 percent of English citizens prefer jam first, whilst 32 percent favor clotted cream. 

While those preferences have been debated for, perhaps, too long, emerging trends are surfacing. New generations are seeking non-traditional accompaniments to their cream tea scone including cinnamon, sugar, apple slices and lemon curd. Even savory options have become popular such as smoked salmon and cream cheese as well as sweet chili jam with cheddar cheese. Two thirds of Brits are on board with these twists on Cream Tea, with Gen-Z and Millennials paving the way.

 Perfect for National Cream Tea Day or any day! TeaTime Magazine. July/Aug issue now available.

Despite all the uproar and topping trends, we're enjoying a traditional Cream Tea with scones with clotted cream - although the drama may not quite be over. As we discussed in a recent Barb's Tea Service Podcast, the clotted cream available in the U.S. is not quite the same as what one can enjoy in England. (For that controversy clarification, see BTS Podcast 11, Sneak Preview on Barb's Tea Service YouTube Channel  Barb's Tea Service Podcast11 Sneak Preview: Sisi & CCC, Clotted Cream Controversy Clarification! (youtube.com)

However you celebrate Cream Tea Day, no matter the order of your cream and jam, the type of cream or maybe no cream at all (!), we raise our tea cup to taking a delightfully delicious tea and scone break  and pairing it with the latest issue of TeaTime - something we can all agree on!