Cream teas and British summertime go hand in hand - but where (and how) do you eat yours?
We asked readers for their favourite place in Dorset to enjoy a traditional cream tea, and attempted to settle the age old conundrum: should the jam be spread atop the cream, or vice versa?
Following a debate surrounding viscosity vs aesthetics, the jam-then-cream formation was a clear, albeit controversial winner.
Here are the best places in Dorset to enjoy a cream tea, according to our readers' contributions...
The Lobster Pot, Portland Bill
The Lobster Pot was a clear winner among our readers - many of whom were full of praise for the freshly baked home made scones.
Lucy Brown said: " Go up on the open top bus to Portland and then treat yourself with a cream tea at the top. I'm always jam first and plenty of clotted cream. I've been going here since the eighties when it was a small shed type building and I lived in Weymouth. Now living in Yorkshire, I always make the trip here for their hot buttery soft scones when I come home to visit my parents."
Blue Pool Tearooms, near Wareham
Coming in at a close second is the nostalgic Blue Pool Tea Rooms. Built in 1935, it serves traditional cream teas with freshly baked scones in an idyllic setting. Cream teas can be enjoyed on the outside terrace overlooking the Blue Pool, or inside beside a cosy fireplace.
Moreton Tea Rooms, Moreton Village
Readers said Moreton's 'olde worlde' tea rooms are known for serving delicious cream teas with a choice of plain or fruit scones, set in an old school house on the River Frome.
Guests can indulge al fresco in its sheltered courtyard garden - said to be a real sun-trap during late spring to early autumn.
Blagdon Fruit Farm and Tea Room, Chickerell
Readers said the family-run Blagdon Farm serves the best cream tea in Weymouth. As well as enjoying a cream tea, visitors can pick their own strawberries and soft fruits during the summer months.
Upwey Wishing Well
The Wishing Well at Upwey is a natural spring and source of the River Wey. Visitors can wander around the water gardens before settling down for a traditional cream tea at the cafe.
The delicacy is served with a large homemade fruit scone, plus the usual strawberry jam and clotted cream. They are made with fresh local ingredients.
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