Fancy That in Walpole, MA announces "Cream Tea To Go"

Fancy That is pleased to announce our Cream Tea To Go!  You can call ahead and in two hours or less, we will have your Cream Tea ready in a box, to go!  Don't quite know what Cream Tea is?  Cream Tea is a scone or scones, served with clotted cream, strawberry jam and English Breakfast tea.  Cream Tea is also known as Devonshire Tea, Devon Cream Tea or Cornish Cream Tea.   Very popular in the South West of England, Cream Tea is served in many of the tea rooms in the UK, and now is catching on in the USA as well.

Of course, we do have to mention the different ways of preparing your Cream Tea.  (said with a grin, of course).  In the USA, it is "as you wish."  But if you are Cornish, or having Cornish Cream Tea, your jam goes on the scone first, and the "cream" (or clotted cream) goes on top of the jam (sometimes also called the Cornish Split).  The Cornish are very, VERY proud of their cream and like to ensure that it is the top of the heap when it comes to the scone.  "Devon Cream Tea" is the method of preparing the scone with the "cream" on first, and the jam on top.  The scones should be split in two, either with fingers or a spreader, and each half prepared.  Butter is rarely ever present since the clotted cream serves that purpose and much better at that!  Milk, whole, is what is put in the English Breakfast tea.  After all, cream is for coffee and milk is for tea.

So there you are!  You know what Cream Tea is.  And now you also know that Fancy That has Cream Tea to Go - Thursdays through Sundays.  Call ahead toll free (888-32-32-TEA) and we will have your cream tea ready to go when you are!  Cream Tea To Go - now available at Fancy That!  Thanks for stopping by!  :)

Clotted Cream in the USA at Fancy That's Shoppe

Clotted cream (sometimes called clouted cream) is a thick cream made by indirectly heating full-cream cow's milk using steam or a water bath and then leaving it in shallow pans to cool slowly. During this time, the cream content rises to the surface and forms 'clots' or 'clouts'. It forms an essential part of a cream tea. In the USA, it would be classified as butter since it has over 55% fat content – in most cases, it is 64% of fat content or higher.

Although its origin is uncertain, the cream's production is commonly associated with dairy farms in South West England and in particular the counties of Cornwall and Devon. The current largest commercial producer is Rodda's in Reduth, Cornwall, which produces up to 25 tonnes (25,000 kg; 55,000 lb) of clotted cream each day. In 1998 the term Cornish clotted cream became a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) by European Union directive, as long as the milk is produced in Cornwall and the minimum fat content is 55%.

Whether or not it was brought to England from abroad, it has long been disputed whether clotted cream originated in Devon or Cornwall, and which county makes it the best. There is evidence that the monks of Tavistock Abbey were making clotted cream in the early 1300s. After their Abbey had been ransacked by Vikings in 997 AD, the monks rebuilt it with the help of Ordulf, Earl of Devon. Local workers were drafted in to help with the repairs, and the monks rewarded them with bread, clotted cream and strawberry preserves. The 1658 cook book entitled "The Complete Cook" had a recipe for "clouted cream".

In the 19th century clotted cream was regarded as better nourishment than "raw" cream because that cream was liable to go sour and be difficult to digest, causing illness. An article from 1853 calculates that creating clotted cream will produce 25% more cream than regular methods. In Devon, clotted cream was so common that in the mid-1800s, it was used in the formative processes of butter, instead of churning cream or milk. The butter made in this way had a longer lifespan and was free from any negative flavours added by the churning. It has long been the practice for local residents in South West England, or those on holiday, to send small tins or tubs of clotted cream by post to friends and relations in other parts of the British Isles. Food regulations for perishable goods prohibit it being sent abroad.

We at Fancy That are proud to carry Devon Luxury Clotted Cream (as well as Somerdale Devon Cream) in our shoppe. We cannot ship it to all States, but if you are interested in purchasing some clotted cream, you may ring us up, and we will happily explore the possibility. Or, you can stop by our shoppe in Walpole, Massachusetts where we have Devon Luxury Clotted Cream and Somerdale Devon Cream displayed for your purchase.  Thanks for stopping by!  :)

Fancy That sells tea actually GROWN in England

Our latest press release!

Tregothnan Tea GROWN in England now for sale in the USA
by Fancy That

Walpole, Massachusetts. Fancy That, a rental company offering rentals of vintage English china and glassware, and purveyors of flavoured tea, imported jams, tea bread, broken china jewelry and beautiful gifts and accessories is pleased to be an authorized retailer of Tregothnan Tea. It is the only tea grown in England.Tea comes from a plant called Camellia Sinensis: Tregothnan was first to grow Camellia ornamentally outdoors 200 years ago.

Tregothnan likes to say that they are putting the “English” into English Tea. It was proven that high quality tea thrives in certain places on the Tregothnan Estate in Cornwall England. Translated from the Cornish language 'Tregothnan” means 'The House at the Head of the Valley” and the beating heart of the Boscawen Estate is the Private Botanic Garden. In addition to being England’s first tea plantation, it is also the only English location for manuka honey production. The Boscawen Family has lived at Tregothnan since 1335. The Tregothnan Garden is the home of English Tea and the inspiration for Tregothnan’s growing range of products.

“We know our Tea Boutique would not be complete without Tregothnan Tea,” Proprietress Sarah Erlandson said. “When we discovered that there was tea – and a good tea – grown in England, we cleared off a shelf and knew it would be filled with the wide variety of Tregothnan’s Teas.” Erlandson’s Tea Boutique is a specialty retail shoppe that was born out of Erlandson’s love for all things tea. Her company, Fancy That, rents English bone chine for weddings, bridal showers, garden parties, and any celebration that uses vintage items, from her collection of mis-matched silver plated flatware, to vintage mis-matched dessert plates. “Now in our eighth year of renting vintage china, the natural progression was to open a storefront and sell items that had a tea theme, including Tregothnan Tea from England.

“We are proud to be one of only a handful of specialty retailers selling their tea in the USA” Erlandson points out. “We knew our Shoppe wouldn’t be complete without the addition of the only tea actually grown in England.” Fancy That also ships Tregothnan Tea Products anywhere in the continental USA (FPO and APO's excluded). For more information, call (toll free) 1-888-323-2TEA (2832) or email info@aTeaBoutique.com

For more information, contact Brad McCracken, General Manager, Fancy That, 272 Main Street, Walpole, MA 02081. Email brad@afternoontea.com Phone: 1-888-323-2832 Fax 1-866-551-2194.