The Diamond Jubilee bank holiday has reignited the never ending “cream tea war” between Devon and Cornwall. The two counties are at loggerheads over whose cream tea is THE cream tea and whose method of dressing a scone is the right one.
The accepted Devon way is to split the scone into two halves, then spread clotted cream on each half and top with jam. Cornish cream teas have the jam going on first with the cream on top.
The rivalry between the two counties has led to claim and counter claim over who has the right to say their cream tea is proper. Langage Farm in Plymouth applied in 2010 for European recognition for the term “Devon cream tea”. Cream tea makers in Cornwall reacted angrily, claiming jealousy as a motivation because Cornwall already has EU protection for “Cornish clotted cream”.
The earliest historical records relating to cream teas date back to the 11th Century at Tavistock Abbey in Devon. There are no reports that Langage Farm’s claim for Protected Designation of Origin status has been looked at by the EU, but no matter what the outcome, cream tea lovers will continue to garnish and eat their scones a variety of different ways.