Dedham's Essex Rose Tearoom - An asset to Essex and Wilkin and Sons

Since moving to Essex, I have heard a lot about the brand Wilkin and Sons particularly their world-famous jams – with even Australian relatives confessing to being fans – so visiting one of their 9 tearooms was on my check list.

Pink - The Essex Rose is painted in a fetching pink, fitting in with the colourful High Street (Image: Newsquest) Having been to Dedham briefly before in late winter, I knew of its chocolate-box beauty, however, I was blown away to see it in glorious October sunshine - the bright blue skies made the colourfully painted Dedham High Street pop.

Pretty - The tearoom is not overdone with its chintz with beautiful features including its windows (Image: Newsquest) Our group of three was seated by a very friendly waitress at one of several large tables, with the room at 10.30am on a Friday being mostly empty apart from two friends who seemed to be catching up over coffee and cake.

Jam - Wilkin and Sons is known for its jam which for a non-fan went very well with the clotted cream (Image: Newsquest) Having not had breakfast, I ordered a must-have Tiptree Cream Tea which at £8.95 came with two handmade fruit scones which we were told had just come fresh out of the oven.

I chose breakfast tea with mine, a great combination, but you can also order coffee. It was a surprisingly filling breakfast as the scones, though not stodgy, were wholesome.

Star - The handmade scones, fresh from the oven, were the star of the show (Image: Newsquest) As two of us had the Tiptree Cream Tea, I was able to sample both the raspberry and strawberry jam. Both worked with the packaged clotted cream that though a bit firm was very tasty. 

Spread - A winning aspect about the tea room is that the spreads are all from Tiptree (Image: Newsquest) I also ordered chocolate and berry pancakes at £7.95 and this I felt was a fair price for the setting, as the rich Tiptree chocolate spread, and fresh fruit was part of a big portion.

Another member of my party ordered a sausage sandwich at £6.95, which came with a choice of Tiptree sauces, and I was informed that the brown sauce was "very good" and “much nicer” that a normal brown sauce.

Overall, I liked the idea of sampling Tiptree products before buying them. 

Rated - The Brown Sauce by Tiptree was rated highly (Image: Newsquest) The interior of the tearoom was very appealing, and I think the reason why it didn’t cross the line into tweeness was due to the evident historic bones of the 16th Century building.

Nature - The River Stour is a short walk up the road (Image: Newsquest) After the breakfast, I went on a relatively short walk to the River Stour – which was only a five-minute walk up the road, appreciating the beauty of Constable Country.

Constable - An Essex Rose Tearoom visit could be the start to your trip to Constable County, seen the River Stour (Image: Newsquest) The Essex Rose Tearoom is sure to leave you refreshed and relaxed with its special historic venue and original products – an asset to Dedham and Essex.