Tea for you and me

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

Category Archives: Review


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BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art

Gateshead Quays, South Shore Road, Gateshead, NE8 3BA.

Millennium Bridge, with BALTIC on the right

Millennium Bridge, with BALTIC on the right

I’d never been to Newcastle before and this was a flying visit for a training course. I’d got there early so I could have an afternoon free to do some sightseeing before meeting up with colleagues for a meal. It’s an amazing city, so big and spacious and tall, London is so cramped compared to Newcastle. And the old and the new sit side by side and the view of the Tyne and the river is breathtaking.

The outside of BALTIC, the cafe is on the right

The outside of BALTIC, the cafe is on the right

And the bridges! Many bridges. I know that Newcastle folk are proud of the bridges but I’d always been a bit sceptical of them until I saw them in real life.

They are so big. The Millennium Bridge was sleek and elegant, I could have sat on it and looked at the river all day.

I was heading to the BALTIC as I’d seen a leaflet about it in the tourist information office (the best place to start when sightseeing) and it looked interesting. The building is huge and has lifts going through the middle of it. The cafe bar is on the ground floor and has a good view of the bridge and the river.

Tea and bricks masquerading as chips in BALTIC

Tea and bricks masquerading as chips in BALTIC

I was peckish so ordered chunky chips and a pot of tea. When the chips came they were huge, the biggest I’ve ever seen, more like bricks than chips. They did taste good. Tea was good too, with a range of tea bags, I picked Darjeeling.

Teapot? Yes.
Leaf tea? No.
Milk jug? Yes, but I had to ask for it.
Price? £1.30.
Cake? No, some danishes and muffins.
Go again? Yes.


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National Express East Coast train to Newcastle

National Express East Coast train from London Kings Cross to Newcastle

Tea and DairyStix on the train to Newcastle

Tea and DairyStix on the train to Newcastle

I wasn’t planning on taking a photo of this tea, or blogging about it, mainly because I get frowned at when I am by myself and start taking photos of beverages. The milk that came with this tea made me change my plans. Dairystix are sachets of milk. This seems like a good plan to me as it must surely take less plastic to make than those insane mini plastic pots. I found them easy to open and they made me smile at the novelty value (you can see why people frown at me: I smile at milk).

However, some people on the train found them very annoying and one lady got up and wandered the carriage asking for scissors. A lady a few rows down lent her some and they proceeded with their coffee happily.

Teapot? No.
Leaf tea? PG Tips teabag.
Milk jug? Dairystix!
Price? £1.30.
Cake? No.
Go again? If I need tea on a National Express East Coast train.


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West Cornwall Pasty Co., Reading Train Station

Unit 1, Reading Station, Reading, Berkshire, RG1 1LZ.

Tea at West Cornwall Pasty Co., Reading Station

Tea at West Cornwall Pasty Co., Reading Station

I wasn’t planning on having tea at the train station, my brother just wanted some food before getting his train home. He got a pasty and while he was queuing I noticed that a lady sitting down had a tea pot. A tea pot in a train station! I was impressed.

The West Cornwall Pasty Co. has a black logo and so it’s teapot, cup and saucer was a fashionable black. Rock on.

Teapot? Yes.
Leaf tea? Teabag.
Milk jug? Yes.
Price? £1.50, I think.
Cake? No.
Go again? If I have to wait for a train, though if going to get on a train I’d stick to AMT Coffee as they have bigger takeaway cups and better teabags.


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St Peter’s Coffee Shop

St Peter’s Church, High Street, Marlborough, Wiltshire, SN8 1HQ

01672 511453

The outside view of St Peter's Church

The outside view of St Peter's Church

Firstly, thanks must go to Sean Wilson who commented on my review of The Polly Tearooms to recommend this cafe at the end of Marlborough High Street.

This church is now used as a cafe and craft shop, and the setting is incredible. Sitting in a church drinking tea and looking up at the stained glass windows and soaring arches was a calming and peaceful experience. They also sell sandwiches and basic meals including fry-ups and things with chips. Eating cheesy chips in church had a nice alliteration to it.

The craft shop inside sells high quality reasonably priced local work and is worth a look. It also sells tea, from The Wiltshire Tea Company. I bought a packet of ‘Earl Grey Lady Blue’ which is a flavour I hadn’t seen before. I haven’t tried it yet but it smells good.

Tea at St Peter's Church Coffee Shop

Tea at St Peter's Church Coffee Shop

There were also tours of the tower on the day we went, but it was such a windy day we decided to do that another day.

All in all a good place to go for tea.

Teapot? Yes and a pot of hot water.
Leaf tea? Teabag.
Milk jug? Yes.
Price? £2.40 for a pot of tea for two (£1.40 for a pot of tea for one).
Cake? Yes.
Go again? Yes.



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Joesph’s Restaurant, Camp Hopson

Northbrook Street, Newbury, Berkshire, RG14 1DN

Tea and cake at Joesph's Restaurant

Tea and cake at Joesph's Restaurant

Joesph’s Restaurant is inside Camp Hopson Department Store, an independant department store in Newbury. The restaurant serves main meals as well as sandwiches, tea and cake. They have a terrace that overlooks Newbury towards the canal which is a gorgeous place to sit in sunny weather. It wasn’t sunny when we went, so we stayed inside.

I had a pot of tea, panini and piece of plum cake and D had a cafe latte and a smoked salmon and prawn sandwich. All the food was very good. The plum cake was nice, a cross between a German yeast plum tart and a bakewell tart.

Teapot? Yes.
Leaf tea? Teabag.
Milk jug? Yes.
Price?£1.40.
Cake? Tarts and gateux as well as the more traditional versions and pastries.
Go again? Yes.


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The Polly Tearooms, Marlborough

27 High Street, Marlborough, Wiltshire, SN8 1LW

The cakes at The Polly Tearooms

The cakes at The Polly Tearooms

The photo here isn’t doing the large array of cakes and scones justice. Or the table full of Winnie the Pooh style pots of jam. The Polly Tearooms is an old fashioned, bay windowed place that was established in 1932 by two women, one of whom was one of the original suffragettes. D recommended this tearoom and we made a special trip to visit it. It was more than worth it and I’m going to go again before the month is out.

I had ‘English Plantation Tea’ which I had never heard of before and was listed on the menu with the fruit teas. I asked if it was a black tea and the waitress went to find out. She came back and said nobody knew what it was made of, but it was served with milk. I took a chance and ordered it. It was a smooth and tasty black tea. I kept the teabag label and googled the name on it: Tregothnan. It turns out it’s a company who have their own tea plantation in Kent and Cornwall! Now the name makes perfect sense. It’s not open for visitors yet, but when it is I’ll be there.

Tea at The Polly Tearooms

Tea at The Polly Tearooms

D had treacle and ginger cake (sounds an odd combination but works wonderfully) and I had a fruit scone. The scone was fresh and light and the jam was succulent.

Next time I visit I’ll make sure I’ve got more of an appetite and will try the cream tea.

Teapot? Yes and a pot of hot water.
Leaf tea? Teabag.
Milk jug? Yes.
Price? About £1.60.
Cake? Yes and lots of it!
Go again? As soon as possible.


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Le Hocq Inn

Grande Route de la Cote, St Clement, Jersey

If this wasn't so blurry, you could see the tea and the cute seashell used for spooning out the salt.

If this wasn't so blurry, you could see the tea and the cute seashell used for spooning out the salt.

I don’t have a phone number or postcode for this pub, but go find Le Hocq and then turn round and the pub is behind you. The beaches on Jersey are amazing and I would recommend going to Jersey to anyone. The milk is divine too. The Le Hocq Inn serves gastro pub style food with lovely seafood. I’d recommend the big bowl of moules.

Teapot? Yes.
Leaf tea? Teabag.
Milk jug? Yes, with the divine Jersey milk in.
Price? Not sure, about £1.50 I think.
Cake? Pudding instead.
Go again? Yes.


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Condor Cafe, Condor Express

Condor Express, Weymouth Ferry Terminal, The Quay, Weymouth, Dorset, DT4 8DX

Tea and bacon rolls on the Condor Express

Tea and bacon rolls on the Condor Express

Bit of an odd one, this. The Condor ferry we were on was heading to Jersey, but we had tea as soon as we got on so technically it was in Weymouth, hence the Weymouth address above. I suppose it makes where to put it on the map easier.

The most notable thing about the cafe was the refillable cup idea. You could buy a refillable cup which was refillable for the whole journey, as many times as you wanted. It would have been a great plan if the journey wasn’t so rough we were ill and didn’t manage more than 2 cups each. Still, it was needed and it provided that classic cup of tea hit we were looking for after getting up at 4.30am.

Teapot? No.
Leaf tea? Tetley teabag.
Milk jug? No, those darn plastic pots again!
Price? £1.65 for a single, £3.30 for a bottomless one.
Cake? Plastic muffins.
Go again? No.


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Alto Lounge

32-32a Church Street, Caversham, Reading, RG4 8AU

Another blurry picture of tea, this time at the Alto Lounge.

Another blurry picture of tea, this time at the Alto Lounge.

Caversham seems to be sprouting places to drink tea at an alarming rate. I say go for it, and hope the crunch doesn’t bite. Alto Lounge is part of a chain of ‘Loungers’ and was a friendly place to be on a Sunday lunchtime. It had board games and newspapers and lots of helpful staff who cooked us some lovely food. We’ll be going again.

Teapot? Yes, generously sized metal one.
Leaf tea? Teabag.
Milk jug? A mini one just for me.
Price? £1.50
Cake? A big glass cabinet of home made looking brownies and muffins and biscuits.
Go again? Yes.


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Hyde Park Corner

Serpentine Road, Playground, Hyde Park Corner, London 07940 510530

Tea and flowers at Hyde Park Corner

Tea and flowers at Hyde Park Corner

The kiosk at Hyde Park Corner is nothing special, but the location, Hyde Park, is wonderful. It was sunny and I sat on a bench with my paper cup to admire the flowers. Credit where credit is due, it was a lovely paper cup with a royal crest on it. I don’t think I’ve ever drunk tea out of a cup with a royal crest on it before.

The only bizarre thing was the number of police cars that went past. I counted 9 in a twenty minute period, 4 of which were red. I’ve never seen red ones before. Anyway, reasonably good tea with a posh paper cup.

Teapot? No.
Leaf tea? Fairtrade teabag.
Milk jug? Big jug to help yourself from.
Price? £1.20
Cake? Usual wrapped cakes and biscuits.
Go again? Yes.