Cream tea
What it really means
A pot of tea served with scones, clotted cream and jam — not tea with cream in it. Popular in Devon and Cornwall and at tourist cafés. A light afternoon treat, cheaper than a full afternoon tea.
Context, tips & common mistakes
A cream tea is a specific small feast: scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam, plus a pot of tea — not to be confused with afternoon tea (the full tiered production with sandwiches and cakes) or 'tea' the meal. Its heartland is the South West, and it comes with Britain's most cheerfully fought food war: Devon method puts cream on first, jam on top; Cornwall insists jam first, cream on top. Order either; expect opinions.
Even the word 'scone' is contested — rhyming with 'gone' or with 'stone' splits the country by region and class, and both are correct whatever anyone tells you. Practicalities: one cream tea is comfortably shareable, the scones should arrive warm, and clotted cream is not whipped cream — it is thicker, yellower and the entire point.