The Tea Cosy, The Rocks

Ireland is a long way away

After lunch at Café Sydney we decided to go for a wander through The Rocks Markets before finding somewhere for dessert. I’d read a few things about The Tea Cosy beforehand and suggested Devonshire Tea (tea and scones) to the girls while we wandered through the markets. Em has recently become a tea drinker so she was keen to check it out. And who doesn’t love scones?

The Tea Cosy

Hidden behind The Irish Design Shop you will find The Tea Cosy, an Irish tea room that whips up freshly baked scones every day. As you walk past the design shop and to the right of the staircase you will discover the tea room – a tumble of tables and a tiny kitchen where all the magic happens. Out the back a walkway leads to a small courtyard where we found a table with an umbrella to stave off the summer sun and promptly settled down for an afternoon of tea, scones and a good goss sesh.

Menu

Devonshire Tea – Scones served with all natural double thickened cream, gourmet jams and a drink ($12.00 per person).

“Scones like Nanna made! Freshly baked on premises today. Served with all natural double thickened cream and your choice of gourmet jams. Served with your drink of choice.” All three of us agreed there was no going past the Devonshire Tea. The biggest problem I had was deciding on which scones to have. And which jam. And which drink. Ok I struggled with the entire order.

In the end the scone decision was made for me as I wasn’t asked which I wanted. As for the jam I chose something a little different and instead of going for strawberry which I normally would (the original and the best) I opted for fig and ginger.

What makes a good scone? For me it is all about a crisp shell and fluffy centre. There is nothing worse than a scone that is dense like a rock. Like the one time I made scones in high school for a ‘bring a plate’ party. I hadn’t ever made scones and wasn’t much of a baker. My ‘scones’ turned out rather poorly and as embarrassed as I was I took them to school and told everyone I had made rock cakes. Hahaha.

The Tea Cosy bakers sure know how to make good scones. These had a lovely golden outer which was suitably crisp and a fluffy centre with a wonderful crumb. Fig and ginger jam is less sweet than other fruit varieties and a rather sophisticated combination.

Devonshire Tea - Plain scones with fig and ginger jam and double thickened cream

As we were in an Irish tea room I had to order Irish tea. Full bodied and malty, I much prefer Irish tea to English Breakfast these days. The tea is loose leaf, naturally, and served in a real tea pot. At The Tea Cosy all tea pots are covered with hand-made tea cosies of which there are some seriously cute designs.

Devonshire Tea - Irish Breakfast

We gossiped the afternoon away in the courtyard and enjoyed our tea and scones. Em’s new favourite tipple is tea. So it looks like we’ll be back in the very near future.

The Tea Cosy
Behind the Irish Design Shop
33 George Street
The Rocks NSW 2000
(02) 9247 3233
The Tea Cosy Website

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