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Café Glitz Newtown Wales
This is the only photo by myself in today's blog. And while this is not tea, the mocha here is fabulous |
Only my friends that have spent time in the UK and America understand
my utter frustration at the subject of Scones, Tea, and Cream. These
are specific and technical terms that have been at the heart of many
a misunderstanding. I will tackle them one word at a time.
Scones: One of the defining
items in British food life. Rare indeed is the restaurant that does
not have good scones. They are in consistency between a drop biscuit
and a traditional rolled biscuit like my grandmother made in Texas.
(Brits please note that biscuit in this context does not mean what an
American would call a cookie.) Most coffee houses in the US serve a
dry, crumbly thing that resembles a scone as it would have been after
being brought home in a suitcase, at least a day old. If
you are in Northern California, you might want to try the Blue Beagle
in Santa Rosa, Northern California. They bake fresh there, and have spent time in the UK. Traditional varieties include: plain, currant, fruit, cheese.
Tea: You would not think
that three letters could mean so many different things. First off, we
can agree that it is a drink that is made in a pot, or in the cup.
Generally it means “leaves
of Camellia sinensis, an evergreen shrub native to China and other
East Asian countries.“
This leaves out all of the things that are herb teas, tisanes, and
infusions. Unless otherwise stated, in the UK this will be a black tea of
medium strength. I like a less strong tea, that my SIL refers to as
“nervy tea.” Common brands: PG Tips, Tetleys, Yorkshire Tea, but tea snobs have their own favorites
. For some
reason tea in the UK is often served with milk as a default. If you do
not like milk in your tea, make sure to say so when tea is offered. Also it is never served iced. 'Sweet tea' is not a thing here.
Tea can also refer to a meal. Now
it starts getting complicated. This meal is usually in late
afternoon, or early evening. It can mean a light dinner or supper.
And the slope starts getting slippery here because there are
arguments on what those two terms refer to. Check out
Tea (meal).
High tea is a posh thing involving
complicated small foods, nice clothing, and good manners. If yo see a little stacker of dishes, it is probably High Tea.
I would be remiss if I did not
mention Cream Tea at this point. This refers to a delightful
afternoon snack consisting of tea, a scone, cream, and jam. This is
one of my favorite things in the UK.
Cream: In the US, cream is
usually either poured, whipped, or sour. Likewise the US milk selections
are usually whole, 2%, skim, and half and half. The UK is very proud of their dairy foods. At this point will limit myself to cream. There is
Cream, soured cream, Devonshire
cream, clotted cream, and so
on. I do not claim any authority, other than if it is offered, say
yes. It will be in a little dish to spread on, like softened butter,
but oh so much better. My daughter has promised to further my education in dairy matters.
Bonus content Jam: Just so
you know, that in the UK “jelly” refers to what is called “jello”
in the US. This is why they think of a peanut butter and jelly
sandwich as really odd. They have high expectations on jams here.
Especially marmalade. Eat as much of it as you can while you visit
the UK.
More bonus Mochas: The mochas in the UK are not sickly sweet like in the US. and never served with whipped cream. I actually prefer them.
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