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Gardens of Caversham

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Light and bright Gardens of Caversham

It’s an odd name for a cafe with no outdoor space, but maybe the people who run it have the surname Gardens? It also doesn’t have any obvious signage so I’d gone past it a few times when it first opened before realising it was there. On the day I visited it had an A-board outside making it easier to spot.

It’s a bright, light space with tables in an L shape along the window and one wall, with a large counter that included a glass section holding lots of lovely looking things to eat. There were also uncovered brownies on the top of the counter. There were no prices on anything and no signs saying what the food was, but the staff were very friendly and willing to tell me what was what.

I asked which brownie I should go for and was recommended the salted caramel brownie. You pick up the food from the counter once you’ve paid. I had taken the brownie back to my table and was getting on with some writing when the friendly server came and switched it for one that he said was fresher, which I appreciated.

My salted caramel brownie had proper chunks of caramel in the bottom and was rich and indulgent (like all good brownies should be).  I had a mug of decaf tea as they didn’t have any redbush tea. It’s a shame the tea only comes in mugs (especially at £2.50 for teabag tea in a mug, which is a little expensive for Reading), but with sacks of coffee beans everywhere there is a focus on coffee rather than tea. I have been told (by people that drink coffee) that the coffee here is good.

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Salted caramel brownie, little milk bottle of soya milk and a mug of decaf tea at Gardens of Caversham

I would recommend Gardens of Caversham to anyone that likes coffee and wants somewhere quiet to contemplate things.

  • Teapot? No, just a plain mug with a little saucer to put the teabag on.
  • Leaf tea? No.
  • Milk jug? Yes, a little milk bottle.
  • Price? £2.50 for a mug of tea, £3.69 for the brownie.
  • Cake? Yes, three different brownies and other cake things. Also quiches and sausage rolls.
  • Go again? Maybe if I was going with someone who liked coffee or wanted somewhere quiet to sit and work. If it started serving redbush tea in a pot then I would definitely be back.

Gardens of Caversham: 15 Bridge Street, Caversham, Reading, RG4 8AF

Visited on: Wednesday 2nd October 2019


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The Cookie Jar

Unit 3, 164-170 High Street, Crowthorne, Berkshire, RG45 7AT.

Visited on: Thursday 8th October 2015

The Cookie Jar

A view of The Cookie Jar from my table.

Cookie Jar tea and brownie

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.


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Siblings Home

16 Hemdean Road, Caversham, Reading, RG4 7SX.

Visited on: Sunday 20th September 2015

Tea and knitting at Siblings Home

Our tea, knitting, spinning and cakes at Siblings Home.

Siblings Home middle room

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 and tea at Siblings home

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.

Back room at Siblings Home

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.

Siblings Home

View of where we sat for lunch at Siblings Home.

Door view at Siblings Home

View out of the door at Siblings Home (I got a bit snap happy at Siblings Home, can you tell?).

Lunch at Siblings Home

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.


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Manhattan Coffee Club

Upper Level, The Oracle, Reading, RG1 2AG.

Visited on: Saturday 5th September 2015

Inside Manhattan Coffee Club

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.

Tea and brownie at Manhattan Coffee Club.

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.


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Nibsy’s

26 Cross Street, Reading, RG1 1SN.

Visited on: Monday 17th August 2015

Interior of Nibsy's

The view from my table at Nibsy’s. It’s not normally as empty as this and it got busier almost as soon as I took the photo.

I’ve been coming here pretty much since it opened and keep meaning to blog about it, but never got round to it. When they started advertising their first birthday celebrations it made me realise that I’d been putting it off for far too long.

Nibsy’s is a gluten free cafe. That’s not the reason you should come here though, you should come here because the tea comes in pots, the staff are friendly, there’s a nice atmosphere and the cake is divine. I like writing in here and they have free wifi, which can be useful. Plus, they’re honest – on the menu behind the counter it says ‘TEAS (bagged)’. No surprises here.

There are three seating areas – outside, inside on the ground floor and inside downstairs. There’s a mix of soft armchairs and sofas and proper tables and chairs. There’s also a toilet (necessary if you’re going to spend an hour or so writing and drinking tea). Everything ties together visually, for example, the colour of the light pink chairs match the colour of tiny metal buckets the sugar comes in and also matches the logo and the spots on the loyalty card.

Nibsy's tea

Pot of rooibos tea and the marvellous chocolate brownie in Nibsy’s.

The visual impact and physical space of a cafe makes a big difference to how you enjoy your tea and cake. Beautiful surroundings do help a sense of restful calm. No matter how high quality the food and drink, I bet afternoon tea at the Savoy would not be so enjoyable if you had to eat it in a portacabin. Nibsy’s is a nice place to be as well as somewhere that sells nice food and drink. I hope they celebrate many more birthdays.

  • Teapot? Yes.
  • Leaf tea? No, but Whittards tea bags, so we’re in safe hands.
  • Milk jug? Yes. There’s a choice of different milks as well, all at no extra cost.
  • Price? £1.65 for a pot of rooibos tea and a £2.85 for a chocolate brownie.
  • Cake? Yes, oh yes. It’s all gluten free and it all tastes amazing. Some of it is vegan. They have four different types of chocolate cake (including the brownie). I’ve tried three of the four and the brownie is still my favourite, but there are other things too. Fruity frangipane, bakewell tarts, flapjack… It all looks good. I would try more except I keep going back to the chocolate brownie. There are also savoury tarts and pasta and sandwiches, but I’ve never got any further than the cake, so you’ll have to try that lot yourself.
  • Go again? Without a doubt.


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Urban Tea Rooms

19 Kingly Street, Soho, London, W1B 5PY.

Visited on: Saturday 13th June 2015

Urban Tea Rooms

The view from my sofa at Urban Tea Rooms.

This was a happy accident of a tea room find. I’d been in Liberty’s, intending to go there for tea, when I suddenly decided I didn’t feel like tea there after all and wanted to find somewhere new. I wandered towards Carnaby Street and found a handy map displayed on the wall showing all the different eateries in the area. The Urban Tea Rooms seemed an auspicious name, so off I went.

The Urban Tea Rooms seems to be a cafe and bar. I wish the UK had more places like this; it makes sense to me that you could start off with tea in the afternoon and let the day stretch into an evening celebration. As long as they would still sell me tea in the evening, of course.

I have to confess that I no longer buy caffeinated tea. I know, I’m letting the side down, but that’s how it is. I still have the same exacting standards – but they now apply to rooibos (AKA redbush) and decaf tea.

The salted caramel brownie was too tempting to resist and I paired it with a pot of organic rooibos. I know that chocolate has caffeine in it and I tried to give up chocolate as well, but I couldn’t do it. A side effect of giving up caffeinated drinks is my new obsession with chocolate related things, especially chocolate brownies. This was one of the best ones I’ve had, very rich, very sweet and a good gooey consistency.

Tea and brownie at Urban Tea Rooms

Rooibos and incredibly decadent salted caramel brownie at Urban Tea Rooms

Another customer (who was getting a takeaway coffee) recommended sitting on the sofa by the door and I took her advice. It was a squashy, comfortable place to sit and people watch, but with a teeny tiny table so you had somewhere to put your hot drinks and snacks. You might feel a bit hemmed in there if it gets busy, but at the time there weren’t many people in so it was lovely.

  • Teapot? Yes.
  • Leaf tea? Yes, but in a tea bag – as in, they scoop in the loose leaf and put it in a tea bag. I can’t decide if this defeats the point of having loose leaf tea or not. I suppose you get better quality tea. And it tasted nice, so perhaps we’re okay after all.
  • Milk jug? Yes.
  • Price? £2.80 for a pot of organic Redbush tea (one of the most expensive teas on the menu). £2.80 for the salted caramel brownie. £8.90 for an Earl Grey gin and tonic, if you’re that way inclined.
  • Cake? Yes. The divine salted caramel brownie, plus the normal Victoria Sponge and a carrot and walnut cake (I know, it should be coffee and walnut, but it was the second carrot and walnut cake I’d seen for sale in the last few weeks, so perhaps it was a new trend), scones, muffins, pastries. Also sandwiches and what might have been a stew.
  • Go again? Definitely.