I’m going to be in Scarborough soon and I’ve never been there before. Does anyone have any recommendations? Any particularly good cafes or tea rooms that sell rooibos tea?
Thanks!
Author Archives: tealeaves
Tea leads to alcoholism?
Well, that’s what people thought in the 18th century, according to this fascinating article on the revolutionary history of tea: When sipping tea was a socially ruinous act.
Farewell, Cafe W
I’ve been adding reviews to this blog for a number of years now and have seen a fair few cafes open and close in that time. One of these days I’ll manage to double check all of the reviews and note which ones are now shut.
The most recent one to close is Cafe W in the Oracle Waterstones, as the whole shop has shut down. There is another Waterstones in Reading, but that one doesn’t have a cafe.
In my review of Cafe W I said I’d like to go back when they were more established (and I wanted to see what their tea was like in a pot rather than in a paper cup). I’m sure that they must have got their crockery sorted a while back, but I’m afraid I didn’t make it back before they closed.
Other Waterstones have cafes and they’re also called Cafe W, so I could try one of those instead. The cake sold at the Reading Cafe W was supplied by Picnic, so you can still get the same cake in Reading.
It’s still a shame though. So long, Cafe W, thanks for all the rooibos tea.
Le Valentin
30-32 Passage Jouffroy, 75009, Paris, France
Visited on: Thursday 22nd October 2015
A view of the cake counter at Le Valentin.
Another Lonely Planet recommendation, I’d been looking forward to going to a proper French patisserie the whole time we’d been in Paris. Le Valentin, which is situated in a covered shopping arcade, did not disappoint.
Chocolate eclair, chocolate cake, fancy sugar sticks and pots of tea.
The waitress seated us and then came to take our order. R only wanted tea, but the waitress and I managed to persuade him to try a chocolate eclair as well. I asked for something that was chocolate and the waitress pointed out a particular cake in the cabinet. It had a special name, but I’m afraid I couldn’t quite catch it.
The tea was loose leaf and came in metal teapots. R had chosen a sencha green tea and I had chosen rooibos, neither came with milk and I didn’t ask for milk as I felt I should try it without. In the end, that turned out to be a good idea as the cake was very rich and the tea was more refreshing without milk.
My glowing rooibos tea.
Each of us were served a fancy sugar stick with the tea – a wooden stick with crystallised sugar on it. Neither of us take sugar with our tea but as they were so fancy I folded a napkin around them and took them home with me to give to someone who did take sugar in their tea. R found this highly amusing.
R’s chocolate eclair was light and not too heavy on the cream. My chocolate thing was rich but not cloying and I especially appreciated the little piece of silver on the top of it. The tea was good too.
My chocolate cake thing in all its shiny glory.
The cake and mousse interior of my chocolate cake thing.
We were sat next to the cake counter, so could see what everyone else was ordering and I enjoyed watching everyone come and go. Good tea, great cake and a nice experience overall.
- Teapot? Yes.
- Leaf tea? Yes. Not only that, there was a very wide choice of tea on their tea menu.
- Milk jug? No, but neither needed milk.
- Price? €5.10 for the rooibos tea, €5.50 (I think) for R’s sencha tea, €4.40 for the eclair (eat in price) and around €6 for the chocolate deliciousness that I had (eat in price).
- Cake? Yes! And lots of it. Plus pastries, breads, savoury tarts and pies.
- Go again? Yes.
Little Breizh
11, rue Grégoire de Tours, 75006, Paris, France.
Visited on: Thursday 22nd October 2015
My marvellous crêpe, the delicious citrus rooibos tea and R’s bowl of cidre.
Little Breizh was recommended in the Lonely Planet as somewhere good to go for lunch and so off we went. I wasn’t expecting to drink tea here, but when I saw that rooibos tea was listed on the menu I happily ordered it.
R had a bowl of cidre (cider) and I had a citrus rooibos tea. There was a French name for it, which I noted down, but now I can’t read my handwriting and so can’t tell you what it was. Apologies.
The crêpes were delicious and very filling. My tea was a good accompaniment to the richness of my crêpe and R was so taken with the cidre that he ordered another bowl.
- Teapot? Yes.
- Leaf tea? No, but it was a very nice teabag.
- Milk jug? No, no need for it with this type of tea.
- Price? €4 for a bowl of cidre, €4.50 (I think) for the citrus rooibos, €11 for R’s crêpe (ham, egg, bacon, cheese) and €11.50 for mine (bacon, mushrooms in cream, fried egg and cheese), €2 for a side salad. There were also set lunch menus that (if I remember rightly) included a savoury crepe, a sweet crepe and a drink for around €12/€14.
- Cake? No, but there were sweet crêpes, which looked amazing. Sadly I was too full to try one when we were there.
- Go again? Yes.
Both crêpes and side salads and drinks. Note that R is ignoring normal blog photo protocol and continuing to eat – that’s how tasty the crêpes were.
Buffet Tour Eiffel
La Tour Eiffel, 5 Avenue Anatole France, 75007 Paris, France.
Visited on: Wednesday 21st October 2015
The Eiffel Tower, as seen from below.
R and I were in Paris and what do you do when you’re in Paris? Why, go and drink tea up the Eiffel Tower of course.
The Eiffel Tower is pretty recognisable and I wasn’t expecting to be that impressed by it, but wow is it big. It’s definitely worth a visit. I’d recommend taking the time to read and watch all the information about the history and how it was made as I found that really interesting.
Note how I’ve artfully arranged the cup and teabag tag so you can see what’s what.
We had our cup of tea after we’d been round the two highest levels. The Buffet Tour Eiffel is a standard queue up at the counter and get your takeaway food type place. You could then drink or eat standing up at high tables, or like us, wait for a bench outside to become free and then go and sit on that. It was quite brilliant sitting on a bench looking out over Paris and drinking a hot cup of tea. My photos really don’t do the views justice.
This is my ‘Look, we’re really drinking tea up the Eiffel Tower’ shot.
Teapot? No.
Leaf tea? No, a Liptons teabag. I have stopped drinking caffeinated tea, but there was no non-caffeinated option available and I badly wanted to be able to say I’d drunk tea up the Eiffel Tower.
Milk jug? I don’t think so. We didn’t have milk because it cost more (something I’ve never seen in the UK) but I imagine it would just be added to your cup for you.
Price? €2.50 for the nature (tea without milk) or €3 for the au lait (tea with milk).
Cake? No, but they did sell frites (skinny chips), pretzels, lollipops shaped like the Eiffel Tower and baguettes. There was a shop next to the Buffet that sold macaroons if you really wanted something cake-like (and it had a display of them in the shape of the Eiffel Tower).
Go again? I would go up the Eiffel Tower again and I would have tea up there again because, really, it’s quite nice to have a cup of tea when you’re halfway up a large metal structure. But I wouldn’t bother going here specifically for the tea. Especially not when you have to pay to go up the Tower in the first place. There are posher restaurants on the lower level of the tower though, I guess they might have better tea. Anyone been?
An Eiffel Tower made of macaroons. Obviously.
I don’t think this is the view from where we drank the tea, but it looks nice and it gives you an idea of how high up we were.
The Cookie Jar
Unit 3, 164-170 High Street, Crowthorne, Berkshire, RG45 7AT.
Visited on: Thursday 8th October 2015
A view of The Cookie Jar from my table.
This photo is deceptive, because the brownie doesn’t look that big. I should have put a ruler up to the cup so you could see it’s a big cup, but that it was an even bigger chocolate brownie.
I know this is a blog about tea, but the most memorable thing about The Cookie Jar was the huge and very delicious slab of chocolate brownie. The rooibos tea was nice, but came in a cup rather than a pot and wasn’t loose leaf. I liked the cute little milk bottle and managed to retrieve the lid after I dropped it in my tea (my fault, not the fault of the milk bottle).
There aren’t that many tables in The Cookie Jar (three, I think?) and there’s no toilet. So it’s not a place to linger, but for a tasty sugar hit and a hot drink, it’s definitely the place to go.
- Teapot? No.
- Leaf tea? No, but they did have rooibos.
- Milk jug? Yes, though again it was a little glass bottle for the milk. Came with a little lid and everything.
- Price? £1.90 for a cup of rooibos tea. £1.75 for a huge piece of chocolate brownie.
- Cake? Yes, all made on the premises. Cookies (naturally), ice cream, biscuits, meringues, and three different types of chocolate brownie: choctastic, vegan and marshmallow. I think there was cake too, but to be honest, once I’d spotted the brownies I’d stopped paying attention to any of the other things. They also sell savoury food at lunch.
- Go again? Yes.
Wish list update!
Many thanks to Rosie who got in touch to tell me that I should try out the Richmond Tea Rooms in Manchester. Rosie said she loved it and it was great value, and that she couldn’t wait to go back.
It’s going on the list!
Siblings Home
16 Hemdean Road, Caversham, Reading, RG4 7SX.
Visited on: Sunday 20th September 2015
Our tea, knitting, spinning and cakes at Siblings Home.
The middle room at Siblings Home.
Siblings Home opened in February 2015 and despite often walking around this area, I didn’t know it existed until someone at Outcasts mentioned it to me. Once I heard about it, and once everyone else there who hadn’t been had heard about it too, we decided we needed to visit. And so the monthly ‘Knit brunch’ session (every third Sunday) was moved to Siblings Home, so that we could all experience it.
Brownie, caramel tart and pot of rooibos for two at Siblings Home.
I thoroughly enjoyed being at Siblings Home. They sell homewares and it makes for a homely feel. There was loose leaf rooibos (hurrah!) and you could have it in a pot for one, or two or even three, with it being cheaper to share a pot. Some cafes are sneaky and offer you a big pot (that’s sometimes not even especially big) with no discount.
Some more things for sale in the little room at the back at Siblings Home.
I had a pot of rooibos tea and held off the cakes until later on, as I had eaten breakfast relatively recently. When I did head for the cake, I went for the chocolate brownie. Apparently I’ve lost my ability to make a varied choice when it comes to cakes. I do apologise if this is making the blog posts less interesting.
It might help to know that the brownie was very good, with chunks of chocolate and raisins in it. The raisins added an extra dimension to the brownie and left me wondering why I’d never come across the combination before. Forget chocolate covered raisins, this was chocolate brownie covered raisins.
We all had such a good time eating and drinking our way through the menu (between us we managed to sample every cake they had and all reported excellent results) that two of us stayed longer than our knitting session and had lunch there too.
We moved to a different table for lunch, because it had turned sunny and we wanted one near a window. There are three rooms in Siblings Home and each has a different feel to it. When you go, make sure you have a look round all the space before you pick a table. When you go the time after that, pick a different table and enjoy the difference.
View of where we sat for lunch at Siblings Home.
View out of the door at Siblings Home (I got a bit snap happy at Siblings Home, can you tell?).
Piadinas for lunch at Siblings Home.
Lunch was a toasted Piadina (flatbread) with Spanish chorizo, Jarlsberg and mushrooms inside. It was very tasty, though not very big. As a light lunch after a chocolate brownie, it did very well.
- Teapot? Yes.
- Leaf tea? Yes.
- Milk jug? Yes, though technically it was a little glass bottle for the milk. Having glass bottles for the milk is definitely the current trend in cafes. There are a few I’ve been to recently that do this.
- Price? £2.30 for pot of tea for one, £3.50 for pot of tea for two, £5.20 for pot of tea for four. I haven’t made a note of how much the brownie was but I think it was £2 something.
- Cake? Yes, four different types of cake. Between us I think we had one of everything: chocolate brownie, cheesecake, caramel tart and pistachio topped chocolate brownie. I’ve been back recently and the cake was different, so I think they change the cake offered.
- Go again? I already have and I plan to go again soon.
Manhattan Coffee Club
Upper Level, The Oracle, Reading, RG1 2AG.
Visited on: Saturday 5th September 2015
The interior of the Manhattan Coffee Club, I liked how the big glass windows let in as much light as possible.
Another new cafe in the Oracle shopping centre, the Manhattan Coffee Club has been open for a couple of months now. It’s not that big, and in keeping with all the cafes inside the Oracle, has no natural light, but it still feels relatively light and airy inside. This light feeling is partly created by the green plants on every table and by the door, but unfortunately all of them are plastic.
The chairs were far more comfortable than they looked – with a solid seat that I didn’t mind sitting for an hour in. The table tops were rough planks of wood and while these look nice I imagine they’re a complete pain to keep clean. Certainly my table had crumbs stuck in between the gaps.
No loose leaf tea here, but they did have rooibos – Chilli Chocolate flavour. The barista let me sniff the teabag before purchasing as I wasn’t sure about it and I appreciated that. It didn’t smell of chocolate at all and indeed it didn’t taste of chocolate either, but the chilli gave it a warm zing when I drank it. No teapot, but at least the mug came with a saucer so I had somewhere to deposit my used teabag.
I seem to have developed a habit of ordering the chocolate brownie wherever I go, so I stuck to form and ordered another one here. This time the brownie was slightly chilled and had a fudge-like texture. I enjoyed it and would order it again.
There are some nice touches here, like the wooden tray my items were brought on and the community book swap area in the corner. The salads, sandwiches and toasted sandwich looked really good too. Overall though, it’s not somewhere I think I will go again. Partly it’s things like the plastic plants and the bumpy table that put me off, mainly it’s that there wasn’t a teapot and that I didn’t particularly like that flavour of rooibos tea. I imagine that if coffee is your hot beverage of choice that this is the place to go though, so if it is give it a try and let me know.
Chilli chocolate rooibos and a very nice chocolate brownie at Manhattan Coffee Club.
I do think that Manhattan Coffee Club should be congratulated on opening in the Oracle shopping centre. An independent ethical coffee shop in a shopping centre is not a usual thing and I hope they are very successful.
- Teapot? No.
- Leaf tea? No. The London Tea Company ‘Rooibos Chilli Chocolate’ tea bag. Looked like all their tea was tea bag tea.
- Teapot? No.
- Milk jug? I don’t know. This particular tea didn’t need milk and everyone else I could see was drinking coffee. Feel I’ve failed a little as I didn’t find this out.
- Price? £1.90 for speciality tea, £2.30 for the brownie.
- Cake? Yes, plus brownie, millionaire’s shortbread etc. Also sells salads, sandwiches and American chocolate and snacks such as Hershey’s.
- Go again? Probably not -there are other cafes nearby that I would prefer to go to.
Tea for you and me 