Tea for you and me

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

Category Archives: Review


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French and Fresh Bakery

No. 2 The Colonnade, High Street, Maidenhead, Berkshire, SL6 1QL.

Tea at French and Fresh Bakery

The French and Fresh Bakery always smells gorgeous when I walk past as they bake everything on the premises and bread cooking is a heavenly smell. The sign above the door says it’s a Boulangerie and Patisserie and it certainly smells like one. Inside there are rows of bread and tarts, cakes, quiches, pizza slices. The cakes and tarts start at around £3 and a baguette to eat in is £4, so I just stuck with my tea.

A pot of tea to drink in was £2 but the tea pot was relatively big  (the cup was huge, making the tea pot in the photo look all tiny, but that’s just a trick of the cup, I promise you) and it was a satisfying and relaxing tea drinking session.

Teapot? Yes.
Leaf tea? No, Twinings tea bag.
Milk jug? Yes.
Price? £2 for a pot.
Cake? Lots of good complicated cakes, tarts, quiches, salads, etc and biscuits in tins as well.
Go again? Yes.


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Crumbs…

29 Queen Victoria Street, Reading, Berkshire, RG1 1SY   07947 719084

Tea and a Thai chicken melt at Crumbs...

Crumbs… is a little cafe just off the main shopping street in Reading. It has sandwiches, paninis, wraps, salads, jacket potatoes and some cake slices. It also has some outside seating which is a good thing, but it was a bit chilly to sit outside when I went there. The outside seating had normal height chairs but the inside seating was the high table and stool like seating. These make me nervous as I’m not very good at staying on them, but I managed okay so all was well.

I plumped for a Thai chicken melt ciabatta for a very reasonable £2.60 and a cup of tea. The drinks menu states that you can have ‘English Breakfast Tea (proper tea)’ or ‘Earl Grey’. I would argue it’s all proper tea, but I appreciate the sentiment.

A good place to go for a quick bite to eat and a mug of tea.

Teapot? No, it came ready made with milk in.
Leaf tea? Presume not.
Milk jug? No, came with milk.
Price? £1.40 for ‘proper tea’, 1.70 for Earl Grey. My ciabatta was £2.60.
Cake? A couple of varieties of loaf cake.
Go again? Yes, if I wanted a quick lunch.


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The Rowbarge

Station Road, Woolhampton, Berkshire, RG7 5SH

Brioche bread and butter pudding with custard, a pot of Earl Grey tea and a hot chocolate at The Rowbarge

Somewhere in West Berkshire is a pub I occasionally used to drive past. I seem to remember it was by a level crossing and that it looked lovely. I described this to J and she said she thought she knew the one I meant so we arranged to meet up at The Rowbarge. It turned out not to be the one I was thinking of, but it was very lovely. It’s on the banks of the Kennet and Avon canal and has a gorgeous outside seating area, bit cold for us at the time but I imagine in the summer it’s heaven.

The food was gastro pub style and tasty, with a range of prices so we managed to have main courses around £8, though the prices headed up to £15. Naturally I ordered tea after our main meal and we also shared a brioche bread and butter pudding with custard that was a good hearty pudding. The tea came in a pot with a Twinings tea bag and was a good cup of tea, though there was only Breakfast or Earl Grey to choose from (I’m sorry but fruit teas are not teas, they’re infusions, unless they are actually tea with fruit but they weren’t in this case). J’s hot chocolate was also approved of.

Teapot? Yes.
Leaf tea? Twinings tea bag.
Milk jug? Yes.
Price? £1.75 for a pot of tea, £2 for hot chocolate, £4.25 for bread and butter pudding.
Cake? No, just puddings and main meals, starters etc.
Go again? Yes, they were advertising a two course Sunday lunch for £14.95 and that seems like a good plan to me.


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Paul

13 The Quadrant, Richmond Upon Thames, Surrey, TW9 1BP

Pizza, Canele and tea at Paul

I walked past Paul and then doubled back to look in the window as it was full of lovely patisserie things. Yum, I thought, and headed inside. I’ve seen the stores before but never eaten in one. It was a touch expensive for my wallet that day, so I picked a pizza slice and a Canele. Well, I actually looked at the chocolate tart, saw that it was £3.80 and looked for something cheaper. I spied the little pudding shaped thing for £1.95 and asked the guy behind the counter what it was, he said ‘Er, well’ and I asked, ‘Is it sweet?’ he confirmed it was, and that was that.

You can’t really see from the photo but the tea bag is a nice mesh thing with big leaves inside, the Paul own brand apparently. It tasted good.

The pizza was scrummy but quite heavy (I know, I know, it’s pizza – what did I expect?) and the Canele was nice but odd. It turned out to be a pudding like rum and buttery flavoured thing. Chewy outside coating and soft and squidgy inside. I’m not that great with alcohol flavoured items and this was quite strong for me, probably not for anyone else.

Teapot? No.
Leaf tea? Paul own brand tea bags with good mesh and big leaves.
Milk jug? Little cardboard espresso cup of milk.
Price? £1.80 for the tea, £4.15 for the pizza, £1.95 for the Canele.
Cake? Yes, patisserie items, cakes, sandwiches, salads, bread, whole tarts.
Go again? Yes.


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Moka

Unit 9, 60 Ashley Centre, Epsom, Surrey, KT18 5DB

Scone, tea and mocha at Moka

It was full when we arrived mid morning on Sunday, which is always a good sign and once again someone left just as we turned up and we managed to grab a table. I was hungry and wanted something solid to eat, so I decided to have a scone with butter and jam. R and I ordered tea and S ordered a mocha.

The scone was solid and crumbly with a mini pot of proper jam and some butter. The tea had been left to sit on the counter for a while before we got it – we could see it from where we were – and so was quite stewed for Earl Grey but was still welcome. Annoying metal tea pots that poured tea all over the table though. Anyway, a good place to go for tea in Epsom.

Teapot? Yes.
Leaf tea? No, but Fairtrade tea bags.
Milk jug? Yes.
Price? £1.95 for Earl Grey, £2.45 for the mocha, £1.90 for scone with jam and butter.
Cake? Yes and tarts, breakfast, lunch.
Go again? Yes.


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Bill’s Produce Store

St Mary’s Church House, Chain Street, Reading, RG1 2HX

Cheerful blue sky at Bill's produce store

Bill’s Produce Store is a new addition to the Reading café scene and one that I was looking forward to visiting. Mum and I headed there after doing some shopping and we were tired and wanted some tea and a sugar fix. The sun was shining and the outside seating area was full, but luckily someone left just as we were pondering where inside to sit and we snagged a table next to some foliage with a pink spotty sugar bowl.

There was a selection of tea on the menu and Mum picked English Breakfast and I chose Darjeeling. We also decided to share some scones as they were only £3.25 and came with cream and Bill’s strawberry jam. The menu said ‘scones’ – plural – but we were wary as it seemed very cheap for two compared to the other prices on the menu (£5.95 for pudding). We wanted to share, but wanted a whole scone each, so when the waiter came to take the order we double checked that there were two and he assured us this was the case.

The tea arrived in satisfyingly big pots with Twinings labels sticking out the side, but then the scone – singular – arrived. It was cut in half but it was a definite single scone. We complained and were told they would sort us out another one and that the menu would be changed. The second scone arrived – complete with another lot of jam and cream, though there was enough there for two scones anyway, and we tucked in.

Dotty sugar bowl, tea and scones at Bill's Produce Store

Now, my Mum is a bit healthier than me and didn’t put very much cream on hers. I’m not, so I stuck lots on. It was not clotted cream but had a lighter consistency, which was disappointing but certainly not the first time I’ve been given whipped cream with a scone so I carried on. The scone was warm but doughy and the cream didn’t taste quite right. I scraped most of it off and put more jam on. My Mum, who knows about these things from working in a catering college, said she thought the scone was doughy as it had been reheated in the microwave. I mentioned the cream and we tasted it some more. It wasn’t off, but didn’t taste right, almost soured, I thought it was crème fraiche.

The waiter came back and I complained about the cream, he took it away and then came back with the news that there had been a mistake and it wasn’t cream at all – but mascarpone cheese! He told us that the scones would be complimentary and said he hoped it wasn’t our first time there. When we said it was he said he hoped that we wouldn’t be put off and that we would go back again when they have settled in a bit more. And you know what? The tea came in a pot and the staff were so friendly and helpful about everything, despite the problems, that I will give it one more try. I’ll let you know what happens when I do.

Teapot? Yes.
Leaf tea? No, but Twinings tea bags.
Milk jug? Yes.
Price? £1.75 for a reasonably big pot of tea, £3.25 for a scone with jam and cream.
Cake? Yes and puddings, main meals, breakfasts, evening meals.
Go again? I’ll try once more, as they are very new still and the place had a nice feel to it.


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Picnic

5 Butter Market, Reading, Berkshire, RG1 2DP

Tea and a big macaroon at the super duper Picnic

Having reported that Picnic won the ‘Independent Store of the Year’ Reading Retail Awards 2010 prize I thought I’d better head down there quick smart and do a proper review on it.

Picnic is my favourite cafe in central Reading and I go there all the time. They have brightly coloured seats and tables and lots of amazingly tasty and fresh food. It’s tiny but they manage to pack in salads and sandwiches and picnic boxes and coffee and cake and fruit salads and crisps and macaroons and tea and friendly staff and two different types of ginger beer. It’s a warm and welcoming place to be even when packed full of the lunchtime rush. The photo here doesn’t really do justice to it, take a look at their photo gallery for a proper idea.

The only downside to Picnic is that tea doesn’t come in a pot, but the cup it does come in is of a generous size and the tea bags are Clipper (my favourite). Today I had an Earl Grey with milk (and they offered me milk, I didn’t have to ask) and a very nice chunky macaroon.

People who know coffee tell me that the coffee is very good too. I like it so much that I feel treacherous saying that it’s not the best place in Reading to go for tea, but no pot is no pot. However, if you want food with your tea or tea in a great atmosphere then this is the place for you.

Teapot? No.
Leaf tea? No, but Clipper tea bags.
Milk jug? Yes.
Price? £1.65 for a big cup of tea, £1 for a giant macaroon.
Cake? Yes and lots lots more!
Go again? Yes, and you should too.


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Bookmark

18-20 The Crescent, Spalding, Lincolnshire, PE11 1AF     01775 769231

One of the two fountains inside Bookmark, complete with swimming fish.

Bookmark is an award-winning book shop in Spalding that is much much bigger on the inside than it looks from the outside. Not only that, but it has two working fountains inside it, one of which has fish in. Real swimming happy little fish, merrily going about their business inside a book shop. I took a photo for your perusing pleasure, but it’s come out a bit fuzzy, my apologies.

The coffee shop is tucked away in a corner of the shop but is still quite large. We got there just before 12 and it filled up quickly with people coming for lunch. There are tables and chairs or some old fashioned yet comfortable green leather sofas. There was a good selection of cake on display and the menu had a page just for the different types of tea and coffee. R had green tea and a handmade sausage roll, JM had a cafe latte with a slice of coconut and lemon cake, and I went for a pot of Earl Grey with a slice of white chocolate and cherry tart.

Tea, cafe latte and the white chocolate and cherry tart at Bookmark.

They were all very good, with the tea loose leaf and in a tea pot that gave me 3 and a half cups, despite looking not that big. Various people around us were eating lunch and that looked yummy as well. My tart didn’t really taste like white chocolate, but it was light and fresh and not too sickly sweet so I was happy.

Teapot? Yes.
Leaf tea? Yes.
Milk jug? Yes.
Price? £2.25 for a pot of speciality tea.
Cake? Yes and tarts and quiches.
Go again? Yes, this place has books, tea and a fountain with fish in – of course I’d go again!


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Churches Coffee Shop and Restaurant

14 Church Street, Boston, Lincolnshire, PE21 6NQ

A corner of the courtyard at Churches

A few streets away from the Stump is a old building that houses Churches Coffee Shop and Restaurant. This was recommended by AM, as a ‘proper’ tea place in Boston, and I was intrigued to see what it was like.  It has a section at the front selling local produce and gifts, before you head through into the main body of the Restaurant. I would have described it as a tea rooms. Then we went outside into a small courtyard area, which was very pleasant and sunny but with big parasols to take the glare away. The tables were nice and big and the chairs were very comfy.

We were planning on only having a cup of tea, but then the menu mentioned ‘famous Lincolnshire plum bread’ and we were galvanised into ordering it as we’d never heard of this famous delicacy. It turned out to be pretty normal plum bread, but it was very nice all the same.

Tea and 'famous' plum bread at Churches

R and I ordered a pot of tea each and were very impressed when it arrived. We had a good sized pot each and a large pot of hot water between us and an extra tea bag each as well. I’ve never had that anywhere before and although it’s not leaf tea, it’s still a bonus. JM had coffee and also thought it was good. Good as the tea was, the best thing about Churches was the price – 90p for a pot of tea. 90p! And only £1.20 for the plum bread. A main meal was around £4, this is definitely the place to eat out when in Boston during the day.

Teapot? Yes.
Leaf tea? No, but Twinings tea bags.
Milk jug? Yes.
Price? 90 pence!
Cake? Yes, proper cake, plum bread, scones and main meals as well.
Go again? Yes.


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The Library Cafe

Ground Floor, Central Library, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London, SW7 2AZ.

Coffee-tasting tea at The Library Cafe

Knitting is important. Tea is important. When knitting, it’s important to have tea, and when visiting KnitNation, then tea becomes part of the strategy to survive the intense shopping and yarn squishing* that needs to happen. It started well with us meeting at Reading Station and catching the train to London. On the train, SK pulled out the best spotty thermos that I have ever seen and promptly poured a good looking cup of tea. Knitters on their way to KnitNation don’t mess around. Tea is needed and tea was there – I had a feeling it was going to be a good day.

After an hour and a half of shopping and saying ‘Oooh’ at every stall we saw, we broke for an early lunch at The Library Cafe. (Have I told you my theory about libraries and finding tea? Remind me to blog about it sometime.) My tea was only £1.06 but tasted really really odd. SK had also had tea and said hers was fine. K expressed surprise that I was drinking tea, she thought it smelt like coffee. And I realised that’s what it was – my tea tasted a little like coffee. I’m not sure what happened but I do know that it was a one-off, as I had more tea there later and it was fine.

Teapot? No.
Leaf tea? No.
Milk jug? Yes, big one by the sugar.
Price? £1.06 for a cardboard cup of tea.
Cake? Yes, a mix of muffins, pastries, cake and slices.
Go again? Yes.

*We squished our yarn good. Here’s what the five of us managed to collect in the first 90 minutes:

Some excellent yarn purchasing.

And here’s what I got by the end of the day (including a book I won in the raffle):

Lots of lovely knitting things. A good day.