It’s Afternoon Tea Week!

Is there anything more quintessentially British than Afternoon Tea Week? Here in Devon we produce all the ingredients to make delicious afternoon teas from farmhouse clotted cream, handmade jams, artisan cheeses, chutneys and more!

Afternoon tea was introduced to England in 1840 by the seventh Duchess of Bedford who felt that the period of time between lunch and dinner was too long – we completely agree! She began to ask for a tray of tea, bread and butter and cake to be served at 4 o’clock in the afternoon and soon began inviting friends to join her – the fashionable social event of afternoon tea was born.

Traditional afternoon tea consists of dainty finger sandwiches, scones with jam and clotted cream, miniature cakes and sweet pastries with loose leaf tea. However modern afternoon teas can include different flavours like samosas and filo pastry parcels and are also often served with fizz to mark a celebratory occasion.

We stock a range of items suitable for producing your own afternoon tea at home including sandwich fillings such as smoked salmon and cream cheese – a personal favourite and sliced ham and Cheddar cheese with a Devon chutney from Waterhouse Fayre (we like the simple Devon Apple chutney). We also stock the accompaniments to a classic Devon cream tea including fresh clotted cream from Langage Farm and delicious strawberry jam from Waterhouse Fayre.