The Welsh teahouse tradition in Gaiman is the single most distinctive thing in Patagonia, and possibly in all of Argentina. The custom of afternoon tea — brought from Wales in 1865 — has been maintained continuously in the valley, and the Gaiman teahouses serve it properly: pots of strong tea, homemade cakes, scones with jam and cream, and dark bread with butter and preserves. The recipes are genuine Welsh adaptations that have evolved in Patagonia over 160 years.
The principal teahouses include Ty Gwyn (the oldest and most famous, in a building from 1890), Plas y Coed, and Ty Nain. All of them are run by descendants of the original settlers, and photographs of those settlers cover the walls. The atmosphere is genuinely peculiar in the best way — a Victorian Welsh parlour experience transplanted to a Patagonian desert valley. Princess Diana visited Ty Gwyn in 1995; the photographs are on the wall.
Arrive at 4pm and plan to spend at least an hour. The portions are generous and the experience is unlike anything else in South America.
story: "Princess Diana visited Gaiman on her tour of Argentina in November 1995, taking tea at Ty Gwyn with descendants of the original colonists. The visit made global news partly because of who she was and partly because of where she was — the existence of a Welsh tea ceremony in the middle of Patagonia struck most people as genuinely improbable."