insideKENT Magazine Issue 41 - August 2015 | Page 65

FOOD+DRINK

Kent’s Best Cream Teas
BY LISAMARIE LAMB

Is there anything more British than a nice cream tea with lashings of clotted
cream, oodles of strawberry jam, freshly baked scones, and a pot of Earl Grey?
And is there anything better than making this tradition your own by trying a
different flavour of jam and a new variety of tea? So many versions, so little time,
but each one has something in common – the cream tea is beloved by everyone.
Afternoon tea became highly fashionable in the
1880s when Anna, seventh duchess of Bedford,
fancied a snack between lunch and dinner. She
chose sandwiches, cake, and a perfect pot of
tea. She began to invite friends round to ‘take
tea’ with her, and soon enough this practice

became a well-loved tradition nationwide.
Everyone wanted to be like the fashionable and
beautiful duchess.
Although the counties that may well spring to
mind when thinking about cream teas are

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Devonshire, Somerset, Dorset, and Cornwall,
Kent holds its own in the scone and dainty
sandwiches stakes, and there are some fabulously
delicious teas to be had all over this county of
ours.