Tea for you and me

Join me on my epic quest to find the best tea ever

Monthly Archives: July 2011


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Jam and Tea

The Vintage Marketplace, Vintage by Hemingway festival 2011, Southbank, London.

Cupcakes and bunting.

This is a little different from other reviews on here because you can’t go visit this one. It’s been and gone. Over. No link to viewing it on the map because it was a ‘pop-up’ tearoom just for the festival, in a tent in the vintage marketplace section. It was provided by Jam and Tea and had a limited range of menu options – cupcake and tea, cream tea, petit fours and tea, or afternoon tea. LB and I plumped for the cupcake and tea as we could see rows of them on cake stands at the back of the tent.

It was a very hot, very busy day and the tent was also very hot and very busy but everyone inside was having a good time and enjoying the tea. Once we’d ordered a stand with cupcakes on was brought to us and we chose the ones we wanted – both of us picked the cream coloured ones (no difference in flavour, just difference in colour).

I think the best thing about this place was the set dressing – all the bunting, photos, postcards, tablecloths and crockery. For example, another lady on our table ordered the cream tea and her jam and cream came in tiny teacups. As this was a vintage festival there were a few people dressed in vintage clothing and this added to the fun feel of the tent.

Tea and cupcakes for two, along with a bunch of sweet peas.

Teapot? Yes.
Leaf tea? No.
Milk jug? Yes.
Price? £5 for tea and cupcake, £7 for tea and petit fours, £8 for a cream tea, £15 for afternoon tea.
Cake? Only those mentioned above.
Go again? Yes, but to the main cafe, not to the kiosk.


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The Steward’s Room

Kenwood House, Hampstead Lane, London, NW3 7JR.   (View on map)

The pond for birds rather than the one for ladies, but it gives an idea of the calm beauty of the ponds on Hampstead Heath.

The Steward’s Room is not the main cafe at Kenwood House, but the small kiosk style one by the side that serves ice cream. A and I had spent a very pleasant day swimming at the Ladies’ Pond, but it was a very cold pond so after our second swim we went in search of hot tea. The lifeguard informed us that Kenwood House was the place to go, so we wandered past the greenery and marvelled at the view of Hampstead Heath before arriving at the house.

The main cafe (The Brew House) was very busy and I felt like an ice cream anyway, so the kiosk seemed the best option. If I went again I’d go to the main cafe as they had proper teapots, cups and milk jugs – whereas we only had paper cups.

Tea and ice cream at The Steward's Room.

hot chocolate and I had an Earl Grey tea along with a double scoop of ice cream (strawberry and mint choc-chip). A said her hot chocolate was too sweet and sickly, and when she got to the bottom of the cup there was a big mound of chocolate sludge, so that was a bit odd. My tea would have benefited from being in a pot, but other than that was quite good considering. The photo doesn’t really do the house justice, it’s a much nicer venue than the picture implies – but, hey, it’s difficult to take a photo with one hand.

Teapot? No.
Leaf tea? No.
Milk jug? A big one that you helped yourself to.
Price? £1.30 for the tea, £3.20 for the ice cream (double scoop).
Cake? Yes, and fruit, crisps, yoghurts, juice, sandwiches, salads etc.
Go again? Yes, but to the main cafe, not to the kiosk.


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Norsk

Norwegian Church Arts Centre, Harbour Drive, Cardiff Bay, CF10 4PA   (View on map)

The view of the bay, just along from the Norwegian Church.

The Norwegian Church turned out to be a church that was established in 1868 to provide for the sailors of the Norwegian merchant fleet, though it’s no longer a consecrated space. A plaque in the Roald Dahl Plass informed me that not only was Roald Dahl born in Cardiff, he was christened in the Norwegian Church. Another excellent reason to visit it.

Now it’s an arts centre with a cafe, which is why I was there. The building was striking and completely different to the other buildings surrounding it. The white slats contrasted against the blue of the sky and drew my eye to it way before I reached the building.

Inside is a small exhibition space on the first floor, a meeting/events room and a the cafe. It was cold and threatening rain when I went but the decking area to the side looked too enticing to ignore, so I made my way outside.

The Norwegian Church.

It was windy and cold, but again, very peaceful. I’m not sure if it was just because the weather wasn’t that great, or because I was in a different country, or because I wasn’t at work on a day I would normally be working, but I found my whole Cardiff tea drinking experience very peaceful and calm. The bay was especially beautiful and I stayed there into the evening, going to see a play that was on at the Wales Millennium Centre in the evening. I think I could quite happily live in Cardiff.

Tea on the outside terrace. Hot tea and cold air with a sea view, brilliant.

Anyway, reverie over. Now back to the tea. There was an option for a ‘Welsh brew’ tea, so that’s what I ordered. It was hot and strong, but I couldn’t honestly tell you that I noticed anything particularly different from a standard English Breakfast tea. It didn’t matter, the view was great.

Teapot? Yes.
Leaf tea? No.
Milk jug? Yes.
Price? £1.90 for the Welsh brew, I have a feeling a more standard tea may cost slightly less.
Cake? A selection of cake and biscuits, not forgetting the Welsh cakes. I think some hot food as well, but I’m afraid I wasn’t paying much attention – I just wanted to get outside and see the sea again.
Go again? Yes.


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Kemi’s Cafe

Craft in the Bay, The Flourish, Lloyd George Avenue, Cardiff, CF10 4QH  (View on map)

The view of the outside of the Craft in the Bay building.

This cafe was recommended to me as a good place to go for tea if I was visiting Cardiff and I wasn’t disappointed. Kemi’s Cafe is inside the Craft in the Bay building and had a lovely feel to it. I came down to the bay from Cardiff centre on the bendy bay bus and this was very near to the bus stop, which was handy. It also meant I showed astonishing self-discipline by going for a cup of tea first, for the sake of the blog, rather than running down towards the bay and getting all excited at seeing the sea.

Craft in the Bay has lots of beautiful art and craft items, all of which I wanted, none of which I could afford. It was an enjoyable look round though. Kemi’s Cafe had many different good-looking cake and pastry items, as well as salads and paninis. I resisted as I’d already had the Welsh cakes (plus this day was getting quite expensive – I’d been to one cafe already and had this one and at least one more to go to yet).

Tea, flowers and fountains at Kemi's Cafe.

The tea came in a teapot with a retro cup and saucer. I sat upstairs so I could gaze out the window at the fountains and the bay. Each table had a little vase of flowers and again the atmosphere was very calm.

Teapot? Yes.
Leaf tea? No.
Milk jug? Yes.
Price? £2 for a pot of tea.
Cake? A multitude of cake and some fetching salads and sarnies too.
Go again? Yes.


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National Museum Cardiff

Cathays Park, Cardiff, CF10 3NP   (View on map)

View from my table of the stairs leading to the ceramics gallery.

Museums and art galleries tend to have reasonable tea, so I headed to the National Museum Cardiff to have a look around and to seek out a pot of tea. I didn’t have long to spend in Cardiff so I decided just to look at one gallery and spent my time looking at the ceramics gallery. It was peaceful and interesting, with lots of information about how the ceramics trade had flourished in Wales and how it was influenced. I’d recommend going to have a look at it.

The cafe was directly below the ceramics gallery. I’m not sure if this was a deliberate ploy so it would tie in with the tea pots on display upstairs, but I liked it all the same. As it was in Wales there were more blackboards advertising the beverages and food available than usual – as it all had to be in Welsh and English. Lots of signage in Welsh cafes.

I had a pot of tea and two Welsh cakes. I think it might have been the first time I’ve eaten Welsh cakes whilst in Wales and they were lovely. For those that have never tried a Welsh cake, I can only explain it as being a cross between a scone and a drop scone, with currants (or are they raisins?). The staff were very friendly and helpful, even though the cafe was almost full to capacity and it was a light airy place to have a cup of tea. The musuem shop also had some nice stuff in it, including some tea related items.

Tea and Welsh cakes at the National Museum Cardiff.

Teapot? Yes.
Leaf tea? No, a Rosie Fairtrade teabag, which was okay.
Milk jug? Yes.
Price? £1.30 for tea, 65p per Welsh cake, or £2.40 for two Welsh cakes and a pot of tea (saving a grand total of 20p).
Cake? Yes, the usual suspects as well as cookies and sandwiches.
Go again? Yes, I’d like to have a proper look round the museum too.


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The strange case of the dodgy jammy dodger

I’d purchased a ‘tea time selection’ pack of biscuits a few days previously and had decanted the pack into an airtight tub to keep the freshness in. I was happily sitting on the sofa and enjoying a cup of tea when I felt the need for a biscuit. After retrieving the tub from the kitchen I opened it up and selected a jammy dodger. It looked fine at first glance, but just felt a bit wrong. There was something not quite right that I couldn’t put my finger on. Then I realised – it was inside out.

Hastily, I pulled out another jammy dodger and confirmed my fears – that I had a jammy dodger that had been stuck together with the right sides facing inwards. I showed it to R, then photographed it so I could put it on here and share the wonderment, and then ate it. After all, an inside out jammy dodger is still a jammy dodger. And they do taste mighty good.

Normal jammy dodger on the left, shockingly inside out jammy dodger on the right.

 


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Suggestions for Cardiff?

So, I’m off to Cardiff in a few weeks and I’m looking for any suggestions. So far I’ve been told to go down to the bay and go to the Norwegian Church and to a place called ‘Craft in the bay’. If I have enough time they also recommended going to one of the arcades as there’s lots of little cafes there.

The Norwegian Church is intriguing, is it really as simple as a church that is Norwegian? I’ve been told ‘Craft in the bay’ sells crafty things and tea, so that sounds good.

Anyone have anything more to add? I’m only going to have one afternoon free, so there’s a limited amount of tea drinking I can do unfortunately. I’d like to make sure it’s good tea!