A Devonshire tea (also known as a Cream tea, Devon cream tea or Cornish cream tea) is tea taken with a combination of scones, clotted cream and jam.
The name "Devonshire tea" comes from the county of Devon in England, where it is a local speciality. The exact origin of "cream tea" is disputed, although there is evidence to suggest that the tradition of eating bread with cream and jam already existed at Tavistock Abbey in Devon in the 11th century.
When Devonshire Tea is served, it is usually served with the 'proper teapot', the nice plates, cups and saucers. Atmosphere plays a major part in the serving of Devonshire Tea too ... even pleasant music that fills the air in ways that smells and sights cannot.
So it was with these expectations that we headed off to the Wisteria Cafe in Echuca to partake in their "Devonshire Tea". Even the name of the cafe conjures up these expectations, wouldn't you think so?
We arrived at 3.20pm and sat down to order the tea, which arrived soon after by a very pleasant waitress.
BUT ......
The tea was served in stainless steel pots, heavy duty plain white cups, a stainless steel jug of milk, small basket with paper napkins that contained four scones that had obviously been warmed in the microwave!
The jam was no better than supermarket 'home brand' jam served in a small dish alongside the dish of cream.
BUT WAIT .... there is more ....
Cannot locate a website for The Wisteria Cafe, but there are reviews in Trip Advisor and UrbanSpoon.
*please note*
the above blog post was not for a social media event, this particular post is for the enjoyment and interest of our loyal followers !!
We, however, are available for Social Media work at anytime. Be it bakeries, restaurants, festivals, wineries, galleries, cafes, coffee shops, markets or anything that needs to have some focus and would be of interest to others!!
The name "Devonshire tea" comes from the county of Devon in England, where it is a local speciality. The exact origin of "cream tea" is disputed, although there is evidence to suggest that the tradition of eating bread with cream and jam already existed at Tavistock Abbey in Devon in the 11th century.
When Devonshire Tea is served, it is usually served with the 'proper teapot', the nice plates, cups and saucers. Atmosphere plays a major part in the serving of Devonshire Tea too ... even pleasant music that fills the air in ways that smells and sights cannot.
So it was with these expectations that we headed off to the Wisteria Cafe in Echuca to partake in their "Devonshire Tea". Even the name of the cafe conjures up these expectations, wouldn't you think so?
We arrived at 3.20pm and sat down to order the tea, which arrived soon after by a very pleasant waitress.
BUT ......
The tea was served in stainless steel pots, heavy duty plain white cups, a stainless steel jug of milk, small basket with paper napkins that contained four scones that had obviously been warmed in the microwave!
The jam was no better than supermarket 'home brand' jam served in a small dish alongside the dish of cream.
BUT WAIT .... there is more ....
as soon as we were served (at 3.30pm) the staff started locking up around us. We were quite surprised as we hadn't even poured our tea at this point!
We asked if they were closing and was told they close at 3.30pm!
We felt we had to gulp down our "tea and scones" and depart as soon as possible. To be fair, they did not ask us to hurry, but we felt we had to as we were the only ones there at that time. Politeness would surely dictate that we should have been told this at the time of ordering our "tea and scones", we then could have made the decision to return the following day and have our "tea and scones" at a more leisurely pace!
We then asked do they stay open later at weekends, to which we were told "oh we stretch it to 4.00pm on some days"!!
This being a 'tourist town' I would have thought even at the weekends they could stay open a little later.
So our expected Devonshire Tea at The Wisteria Cafe did not eventuate, we simply had a very quick serving of "tea and scones" in an outside garden. If the cafe had advertised the afternoon tea as simply 'tea and scones' or just an 'afternoon tea', it would have been quite pleasant in itself and perhaps the disappointment wouldn't have been so great. I think I expected a Devonshire Tea in the historic town of Echuca to be served with a little more finesse.
Cannot locate a website for The Wisteria Cafe, but there are reviews in Trip Advisor and UrbanSpoon.
*please note*
the above blog post was not for a social media event, this particular post is for the enjoyment and interest of our loyal followers !!
We, however, are available for Social Media work at anytime. Be it bakeries, restaurants, festivals, wineries, galleries, cafes, coffee shops, markets or anything that needs to have some focus and would be of interest to others!!
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What a disappointment Leone! You're right, "The Wisteria Cafe" does conjure up expecations of something at least a little bit special.
ReplyDeleteYour photos here are beautiful though, and that image of the teapot - so cute!!
I hope your next Devonshire Tea experience is far more enjoyable.
I was incredibly spoiled to have Devonshire Tea in the historic town of Iron Bridge in the UK and it was everything you expect a good Devonshire Tea to be, complete with completely evil true deep yellow clotted cream. The cream was so solid that it left teeth marks that didn't melt away! It set the benchmark VERY high so I too would have been bitterly disappointed with Wisteria Cafe too. What a shame. Such a great name and concept in, as you say a tourist town and to be so deeply let down.
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