Tea for you and me

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

Tag Archives: cafe


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The Steward’s Room

Kenwood House, Hampstead Lane, London, NW3 7JR.   (View on map)

The pond for birds rather than the one for ladies, but it gives an idea of the calm beauty of the ponds on Hampstead Heath.

The Steward’s Room is not the main cafe at Kenwood House, but the small kiosk style one by the side that serves ice cream. A and I had spent a very pleasant day swimming at the Ladies’ Pond, but it was a very cold pond so after our second swim we went in search of hot tea. The lifeguard informed us that Kenwood House was the place to go, so we wandered past the greenery and marvelled at the view of Hampstead Heath before arriving at the house.

The main cafe (The Brew House) was very busy and I felt like an ice cream anyway, so the kiosk seemed the best option. If I went again I’d go to the main cafe as they had proper teapots, cups and milk jugs – whereas we only had paper cups.

Tea and ice cream at The Steward's Room.

hot chocolate and I had an Earl Grey tea along with a double scoop of ice cream (strawberry and mint choc-chip). A said her hot chocolate was too sweet and sickly, and when she got to the bottom of the cup there was a big mound of chocolate sludge, so that was a bit odd. My tea would have benefited from being in a pot, but other than that was quite good considering. The photo doesn’t really do the house justice, it’s a much nicer venue than the picture implies – but, hey, it’s difficult to take a photo with one hand.

Teapot? No.
Leaf tea? No.
Milk jug? A big one that you helped yourself to.
Price? £1.30 for the tea, £3.20 for the ice cream (double scoop).
Cake? Yes, and fruit, crisps, yoghurts, juice, sandwiches, salads etc.
Go again? Yes, but to the main cafe, not to the kiosk.


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Norsk

Norwegian Church Arts Centre, Harbour Drive, Cardiff Bay, CF10 4PA   (View on map)

The view of the bay, just along from the Norwegian Church.

The Norwegian Church turned out to be a church that was established in 1868 to provide for the sailors of the Norwegian merchant fleet, though it’s no longer a consecrated space. A plaque in the Roald Dahl Plass informed me that not only was Roald Dahl born in Cardiff, he was christened in the Norwegian Church. Another excellent reason to visit it.

Now it’s an arts centre with a cafe, which is why I was there. The building was striking and completely different to the other buildings surrounding it. The white slats contrasted against the blue of the sky and drew my eye to it way before I reached the building.

Inside is a small exhibition space on the first floor, a meeting/events room and a the cafe. It was cold and threatening rain when I went but the decking area to the side looked too enticing to ignore, so I made my way outside.

The Norwegian Church.

It was windy and cold, but again, very peaceful. I’m not sure if it was just because the weather wasn’t that great, or because I was in a different country, or because I wasn’t at work on a day I would normally be working, but I found my whole Cardiff tea drinking experience very peaceful and calm. The bay was especially beautiful and I stayed there into the evening, going to see a play that was on at the Wales Millennium Centre in the evening. I think I could quite happily live in Cardiff.

Tea on the outside terrace. Hot tea and cold air with a sea view, brilliant.

Anyway, reverie over. Now back to the tea. There was an option for a ‘Welsh brew’ tea, so that’s what I ordered. It was hot and strong, but I couldn’t honestly tell you that I noticed anything particularly different from a standard English Breakfast tea. It didn’t matter, the view was great.

Teapot? Yes.
Leaf tea? No.
Milk jug? Yes.
Price? £1.90 for the Welsh brew, I have a feeling a more standard tea may cost slightly less.
Cake? A selection of cake and biscuits, not forgetting the Welsh cakes. I think some hot food as well, but I’m afraid I wasn’t paying much attention – I just wanted to get outside and see the sea again.
Go again? Yes.


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Kemi’s Cafe

Craft in the Bay, The Flourish, Lloyd George Avenue, Cardiff, CF10 4QH  (View on map)

The view of the outside of the Craft in the Bay building.

This cafe was recommended to me as a good place to go for tea if I was visiting Cardiff and I wasn’t disappointed. Kemi’s Cafe is inside the Craft in the Bay building and had a lovely feel to it. I came down to the bay from Cardiff centre on the bendy bay bus and this was very near to the bus stop, which was handy. It also meant I showed astonishing self-discipline by going for a cup of tea first, for the sake of the blog, rather than running down towards the bay and getting all excited at seeing the sea.

Craft in the Bay has lots of beautiful art and craft items, all of which I wanted, none of which I could afford. It was an enjoyable look round though. Kemi’s Cafe had many different good-looking cake and pastry items, as well as salads and paninis. I resisted as I’d already had the Welsh cakes (plus this day was getting quite expensive – I’d been to one cafe already and had this one and at least one more to go to yet).

Tea, flowers and fountains at Kemi's Cafe.

The tea came in a teapot with a retro cup and saucer. I sat upstairs so I could gaze out the window at the fountains and the bay. Each table had a little vase of flowers and again the atmosphere was very calm.

Teapot? Yes.
Leaf tea? No.
Milk jug? Yes.
Price? £2 for a pot of tea.
Cake? A multitude of cake and some fetching salads and sarnies too.
Go again? Yes.


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National Museum Cardiff

Cathays Park, Cardiff, CF10 3NP   (View on map)

View from my table of the stairs leading to the ceramics gallery.

Museums and art galleries tend to have reasonable tea, so I headed to the National Museum Cardiff to have a look around and to seek out a pot of tea. I didn’t have long to spend in Cardiff so I decided just to look at one gallery and spent my time looking at the ceramics gallery. It was peaceful and interesting, with lots of information about how the ceramics trade had flourished in Wales and how it was influenced. I’d recommend going to have a look at it.

The cafe was directly below the ceramics gallery. I’m not sure if this was a deliberate ploy so it would tie in with the tea pots on display upstairs, but I liked it all the same. As it was in Wales there were more blackboards advertising the beverages and food available than usual – as it all had to be in Welsh and English. Lots of signage in Welsh cafes.

I had a pot of tea and two Welsh cakes. I think it might have been the first time I’ve eaten Welsh cakes whilst in Wales and they were lovely. For those that have never tried a Welsh cake, I can only explain it as being a cross between a scone and a drop scone, with currants (or are they raisins?). The staff were very friendly and helpful, even though the cafe was almost full to capacity and it was a light airy place to have a cup of tea. The musuem shop also had some nice stuff in it, including some tea related items.

Tea and Welsh cakes at the National Museum Cardiff.

Teapot? Yes.
Leaf tea? No, a Rosie Fairtrade teabag, which was okay.
Milk jug? Yes.
Price? £1.30 for tea, 65p per Welsh cake, or £2.40 for two Welsh cakes and a pot of tea (saving a grand total of 20p).
Cake? Yes, the usual suspects as well as cookies and sandwiches.
Go again? Yes, I’d like to have a proper look round the museum too.


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Tate Modern Members’ Room

Tate Modern, Bankside, London, SE1 9TG   (View on map)

My tea at the Tate Modern Members' Room

Thanks to JEM’s magic Tate membership (one plus guest and this time guest was me, hurrah) we could go and get a pot of tea from the tranquil Tate Modern Members’ Room. We’d gone to see the Miro exhibition and the cafes were very busy but thanks to the membership we could slip into the Members’ Room instead. The room is high up in Tate Modern with big windows and squishy sofas on one side and big windows and tables and chairs on the other side. There was also a terrace but it was too hot to sit outside when we went. It was peaceful and we stayed there for hours, much longer than we’d been in the exhibition for.

Cake so good we'd started eating it before I took a photo at the Tate Modern Members' Room

There was a wide range of tea on the menu and huge stack of teapots behind the counter, in a variety of colours. I was looking forward to the tea. I wasn’t let down with my Darjeeling and JEM said her English Breakfast was tasty as well. We shared a carrot cake and it had succulent raisins in it with just the right amount of spice. Yum.

Teapot? Yes.
Leaf tea? Yes, loose leaf Jing tea.
Milk jug? Yes, a selection of different sized empty milk jugs with a carafe of milk so you could take as much as you wanted.

View of the bar/counter at the Tate Modern Members' Room (note the demolished cake bottom left)

Price? £1.95 for English Breakfast, Earl Grey or Darjeeling (£2 plus if wanted something more interesting, you could choose from green teas, oolong and more though, impressive). £2.95 for carrot cake. Also a big jug of water with glasses and slices of lemon and a bowl of ice that you could help yourself to, a bonus on such a warm day.
Cake? Yes, tarts and pastries and cakes.
Go again? Yes.

 


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Rafters

Hungerford Arcade, 26 High Street, Hungerford, Berkshire, RG17 0NF   01488 683701   (View on map)

A view of the rafters in Rafters cafe in Hungerford Arcade

D and I were in Hungerford and looking for somewhere to have tea that I hadn’t been before, she suggested the cafe at the top of Hungerford Arcade. The cafe is called Rafters because you can see all the rafters as you are sitting in the apex of the shop. Hungerford Arcade is much bigger inside than it appears on the outside and every spare inch of space is given over to selling antiques, even the displays in the cafe are for sale.

Rafters was busy when we went in, always a good sign, and it took me a while to choose my lunch as the sandwiches, salads and pies on offer all looked good. I went for the soup in the end. D went up to inspect the cakes more closely before making her decision and said the scones looked so good she was going to have a cream tea, but with coffee instead of tea.

The staff called this a ‘cream coffee’ and though that makes logical sense, it still seems like a strange term to me. But then R did used to think that a ‘cream tea’ was tea with cream on the top, like some Frankenstein version of hot chocolate and when we ordered him an actual cream tea was disappointed that he’d already experienced it. He wasn’t disappointed for long though, as a cream tea is still a good thing.

Soup, tea and D's 'cream coffee' at Rafters

Anyway, my generous portion of soup arrived with a warmed half brown baguette and it was very tasty. D’s cream coffee arrived with a warm homemade scone, clotted cream, strawberry jam, butter and a sliced strawberry. And a filter coffee. My Earl Grey tea was a Twinings tea bag affair and there was a proper milk jug. D saved me some scone as she said the strawberry jam was very good and I had to try it – she was right, it was good. Tasting of strawberry instead of jam, an amazingly strawberry strawberry jam.

Teapot? Yes.
Leaf tea? No, but Twinings teabag.
Milk jug? Yup, one for D and I to share that was actually big enough for both of us to take milk. Hurrah!
Price? £2.20 for the Earl Grey, £4.75 for the soup, £5.25 for the cream tea (or coffee).
Cake? Yes.
Go again? Yes.


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Jam Street Cafe

209 Upper Chorlton Road, Manchester, M16 0BH   0161 881 9944   (View on map)

All manner of good breakfast things at Jam Street Cafe.

Jam Street Cafe is a small cafe bar that has recently started opening for breakfast. It has big wooden tables, an outside seating area and a cellar seating area. Even when we went at 8am it had a good atmosphere and was playing great music. I would love to go again in an evening and see what it was like with more people around.

Tea was in a mug with the milk added, nice and strong for a morning wake-up. I had a breakfast bap – sausage, egg and bacon – and it was the best breakfast bap I’ve ever had. All the elements were cooked to perfection and the sausages were the good herby meaty ones rather than the pappy fatty ones that you sometimes get. H had an egg bap with mushrooms and a cappuccino. We both had some juice as well, just to make ourselves feel a bit healthier – H had cranberry and I had orange. An excellent breakfast.

Teapot? Not sure, tea arrived ready made.
Leaf tea? Not sure, but probably not.
Milk jug? Came with milk in already.
Price? £3.50 for the breakfast bap, £2 something for egg and mushroom bap, £1.20 for the tea. Not sure about the price of the juice.
Cake? No.
Go again? Yes.


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Sweet Tooth Cupcakery re-visited

Cupcakes, tea and cappuccino at Sweeth Tooth Cupcakery.

I’ve already reviewed the Sweet Tooth Cupcakery, but we went again as it’s just that good. This time I had an Edith Piaf (chocolate sponge, cream cheese frosting and a glittery strawberry) with a pot of Earl Grey tea and H had a Kylie (vanilla sponge and pink glittery frosting with a gold thing on top) and a cappuccino.

Worth visiting if you’re in the area. And they now do chocolate brownies and other cake as well as just the cupcakes.

I love the way this cupcake looks against this plate. And a glitter-tipped strawberry too.


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North Tea Power

36 Tib Street, Manchester, M4 1LA   (View on map)

The inside of North Tea Power, look at all the different types of tea on the wall.

LB suggested this place as somewhere to meet up as she’d heard about it and thought it would go well on the blog. She was right. North Tea Power is tucked away in the Northern Quarter but has a very good selection of loose leaf tea and – and this is the bit that makes it so great – have adapted their coffee machine to take tea. This sounds mad, but I am telling you now that black tea latte is the future.

We started with loose tea though, as the coffee-styled tea was a bit too much for us at 11am on a Sunday morning. I had Earl Grey Blue and LB had White Hairy Monkey, which is a white tea. LB had not tried white tea before but declared it was good. Both were fragrant and tasted of the tea rather than the pot – perhaps this is because they were served in glass cafetieres?A croissant was the food of choice for LB, but I went for a slice of the ‘Lumberjack’ cake. This was a date and apple cake topped with coconut that I would certainly have again. Filling and moreish.

Croissant, white tea, Earl Grey Blue and the mighty Lumberjack cake at North Tea Power.

After the tea and food we went back to the counter and ordered a black tea latte each. We could have had a tea mocha, a tea cappucino or a tea americano. I just wasn’t brave enough to try the tea mocha. It seemed very wrong at the time, but now I wonder if it would have had the combined comfort of a chocolate biscuit and a cup of tea.

My first mouthful of tea latte was strange and confusing. My brain said ‘coffee’ and my mouth said ‘tea’ and it took a few sips to reconcile my senses to the shock of a smooth frothy drink that didn’t have the bitter kick of coffee, but instead had the reassuring soothing quality of a cup of tea when it’s most needed. LB announced that she had found her new perfect drink.

LB's 'new perfect drink' - tea latte at North Tea Power.

I will be going here again the next time I’m in Manchester and this time I will try the tea mocha. If you want to have a strong cup of tea but need the frothy milk that goes with a good coffee, North Tea Power is the place to go. A brilliant retreat on a rainy Sunday morning.

Teapot? Yes, but one of those glass cafetieres rather than a traditional teapot.
Leaf tea? Yes, with the choice of having it made into a drink or buying a bag full to take home.
Milk jug? Big retro style milk bottle.
Price? £2 for the Earl Grey Blue, £2.20 for the White Hairy Monkey, £2.60 for the Lumberjack cake, £1.20 (I think) for croissant and jam. £2.20 for the tea latte.
Cake? Yes, and biscuits, sandwiches, tray bakes etc.
Go again? Yes.



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Shiny new stuff

There’s some lovely new stuff on the blog!

Firstly, each review should now have a little link next to the address saying (View on map) and when you click on this magical link it will open a new window showing where the new tea temple is on the tea-tastic map page. I know it’s important to you all to find tea, so I hope this helps.

The second shiny new thing is a whole new page (I know, I know, I spoil you all rotten) called ‘Wish list’. Lots of people recommend places to me and I can’t get to them all fast enough to put a review on the blog in a timely fashion. This will have all the places that I want to investigate, along with a note about where I found them. There’s only two at the moment but I’ve got a backlog so there will be more soon.

Anything else you’d like to see? Let me know.