Tea for you and me

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

Tag Archives: cafe


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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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Thelis!

42 Church Street, Caversham, Reading, RG4 8AU

Thelis!

Tea at Thelis! Apologies for the terrible blurriness.

Going to Caversham and not going to Delicious… to get my tea fix felt like adultery. I considered not going at all. But it’s a place that sells tea and the quest takes priority.

There was a cafe deli here before, but it closed down a year or so ago. It’s good to see a new business here and nice that it’s another cafe. The tea was okay, nothing to rival Delicious… and nothing to make me go back.

Teapot? No.
Leaf tea? Twinings Everday teabags.
Milk jug? No, it came with milk in it.
Price? £1.40, I think.
Cake? Some.
Go again? No.


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The V&A Cafe

V&A South Kensington, Cromwell Road, London, SW7 2RL

The V&A cake counter

The V&A cake counter

The V&A is my favourite museum to go to in London. It’s a museum of design, so everything is useful or beautiful or both. I always get lost and end up finding something I didn’t expect to.

The cafe has lots of different counters with different foods and drinks, there’s a whole counter just for cake! There’s a choice of rooms to sit with your food and drink, including the original refreshment rooms with amazing decor, I spent ages just looking at the ceiling in the room we were in.

The ceiling of the room we ate in at the V&A cafe

The ceiling of the room we ate in at the V&A cafe

There was a wide variety of tea on offer including Orange Pekoe and Darjeeling 1st Flush and though it came in tea bags it was loose leaf in big muslin teabags. We had a lunch of quiche and salad which was excellent. Afterwards we sampled the date, banana and walnut cake and it was moist and tasty.

I would recommend the V&A for a visit and can tell you that the tea’s not bad either.

Tea at the V&A cafe

Tea at the V&A cafe

Teapot? Yes.
Leaf tea? Yes, in a little bag.
Milk jug? Yes and the option of a slice of lemon if you prefer.
Price? Around £2.10 for a pot for one.
Cake? Yes.
Go again? Yes.


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Delicious…

10, Prospect St, Caversham, Reading, Berkshire RG4 8JG    0118 947 741

Tea and a chocolate brownie at Delicious...

Tea and a chocolate brownie at Delicious...

I’ve briefly mentioned this cafe on here before, but I like it so much I think it deserves re-posting. The owner of this cafe makes all the cakes herself, and the soups and sandwiches and everything fresh and it all lives up to it’s name. The chairs and sofas are comfy, there’s an outside area with daffodils and parasols, and newspapers to browse through as well. And if that wasn’t enough, they have a loyalty card too!

This is the best place to get tea in the Reading area and sells the most amazing chocolate brownies. I have never tasted chocolate brownies so good. I even started to make my own to recreate that homemade taste, but I can’t do it. Once, I came in and the brownies had just gone in the oven. I spun out my pot of tea for an hour until they were ready to eat. Now I get told of the brownie situation without having to ask. If you ever come this way, go to this cafe and ask for the brownies.

Teapot? Yes, white china and big enough for 3 and a half cups. Matching cup and saucer.
Leaf tea? No, but fairtrade teabag.
Milk jug? Yes.
Price? A lovely £1.50 for a whole pot and a bargin £1.45 for a brownie.
Cake? Yes, tasty and homemade. Scones, salads, sandwiches and afternoon tea available as well. The best chocolate brownies I’ve ever tasted. Oh, ice cream too!
Go again? At least once a week.


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Escape

16, The Parade, Claygate, Esher, Surrey KT10 0NU  01372 479880

Escape used to be a DVD rental shop with a few chairs and then it morphed into half chairs and half DVDs and now it’s found it’s true calling as lots of black leather armchairs and coffee tables and one wall of DVDs.

The day we went bright sunshine was coming through the windows and the cafe was warm and the tea was hot and the carrot cake was sweet. Though the tea wasn’t up to much this is still a good plae to go to if you want to relax.

Teapot? No.
Leaf tea? No.
Milk jug? No, it came with milk.
Price? £1.50ish.
Cake? Carrot, chocolate, victoria sponge and chocolate cookies. Also serves bagels and paninis.
Go again? Yes.


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Bruxelles Midi train station cafe

Two teas from a cafe in Bruxelles Midi train station

Two teas from a cafe in Bruxelles Midi train station

I have to admit I can’t remember the name of this cafe in Brussels train station. I do apologise. If you want to go, it’s the only cafe/bar beyond the passport check points if you are heading for the Eurostar train.

The tea here was much needed and there was no queue to get it, it was a standard cup of tea. I wouldn’t have bothered to blog about it if it hadn’t been for the way the barman arranged my tray. It’s symmetrical and precise and shows care and attention I appreciate when dealing with tea.

Teapot? No.
Leaf tea? A tea bag.
Milk jug? No, little pots of milk.
Price? 4 something euros for two teas.
Cake? No, but we did get a tiny biscuit.
Go again? If I was in Bruxelles Midi beyond passport control.


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Cafe Moco

Tea and toast in Cafe Moco

Tea and toast in Cafe Moco

202, West St, Sheffield, South Yorkshire S1 4EU

Cafe Moco once had the dubious honour of being the cafe I frequented most; and I miss it. So the first stop when we made it into Sheffield was to go and have a nostalgic cup of tea in Cafe Moco. I didn’t want a full lunch so indulged my inner Paddington Bear and had a ’round’ of toast and marmalade. We discussed how much toast would constitute a ’round’ and decided it should be enough toast to fill a small toast rack. If anyone has another take on the definition of a ’round of toast’, please let me know.

The tea was hot and good and the toast was granary and good, with marmalade fit for a bear.

Teapot? No.
Leaf tea? No, Twinings teabag.
Milk jug? Yes, one tiny jug each.
Price? £1.20 for tea, £1.50 for toast.
Cake? Traybakes and danish pastries.
Go again? Any time I’m in Sheffield.


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Cafe Zest, High Wycombe

Cafe Zest is the name of a chain of cafes situated inside House of Fraser stores. Reading House of Fraser used to have one but then they decided to turn it into a Yo! Sushi bar instead. Not that I dislike sushi, I just liked the Cafe Zest tea and cake more. And the novelty value of food on conveyor belts still hasn’t worn off yet. But this is all beside the point.

So, anyway, we’re in High Wycombe in the brand shiny new Eden shopping centre (they’re raising expectations quite high there, naming a shopping centre after paradise) looking for somewhere that might offer a proper cup of tea. House of Fraser seemed the most likely option and we headed inside accordingly. Cafe Zest is on the top floor, with the most amazing view of the hills surrounding High Wycombe, even on a grey rainy day like this one.

The cakes on display looked good, and I didn’t even mind they were advertising Christmas food this early as the Christmas food was grilled panatone and mince pies. We chose a piece of chocolate covered orange cake to share and I ordered a pot of tea. The pot was metal but with a spout that is actually designed for pouring and the milk came in a jug. Not only that, but next to the teaspoons was a beautiful mound of freshly cut lemon segments. I don’t even like lemon in my tea and even I wanted one.

The cake was lovely but very rich and left an alarmingly luminous glow on the plate after we’d eaten it. It looked like we’d coloured in our crockery with highlighters, really very peculiar. I have to say, it did taste good, whatever they put in it.

Teapot? Metal, but able to be poured without spills.
Leaf tea? No.
Milk jug? Yes, small but perfectly formed.
Price? £1.50 ish.
Cake? Yes, lots of it.
Go again? Yes, just for the view.


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Cafe Zer

I can’t figure out what ‘Zer’ means. Does it mean anything? Maybe it doesn’t, but then again maybe it does and I just don’t get it. Whether it means something or not it still sells tea and that’s all we’re concerned with here. I like Cafe Zer because it’s the only cafe in the area (as far as I know, if you know of another one please let me know!) and also because it opens at 8am. I’ve stuck it on the map so you can see where it is.

Cafe Zer is warm and cheerful. It has a big window overlooking the road and lots of people coming in to eat breakfast. There are red and white checked plastic table cloths and 4 versions of fried breakfast on the menu. At 8am on a cold misty morning in October it was very welcoming. BBC Radio Berkshire plays constantly and there are newspapers as well so even if you’re by yourself you feel quite at home. They bring your order to your table, which didn’t seem like anything until I realised all the other cafes I have reviewed so far didn’t do this. I really like this cafe, it’s not got the best tea and there’s no cake – but it’s open and warm and it exists. It’s good enough for me.

Teapot? No.
Leaf tea? No idea. The tea came ready made in a mug.
Milk jug? No, but as the tea came with milk in I’m guessing it was fresh milk.
Price? £3 for two teas and a Cafe Latte.
Cake? Danish pastries and KitKats, but no cake.
Go again? Yes.


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Cafe Nero, Newbury

Today was not a good day for tea. There was tea, but it wasn’t good tea. I got to Newbury too early in the morning and ended up in Cafe Nero.

Teapot? No.
Leaf tea? No, Cafe Nero own brand English Breakfast teabag (though just to taunt me, they had boxes of Clipper tea behind the counter).
Milk jug? Yes.
Price? £1.75 for a large tea.

So, I guess it gets some sort of point for having fresh milk in a teeny jug, but still. Was not the best. I took a photo but can’t get it out of my phone… I’ll do better next time! And I’ll do better with the tea next time as well, there has to be somewhere in Newbury that opens early in the morning that serves tea in a pot. I will find it!