Tea for you and me

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

Tag Archives: cafe


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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.


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Workhouse Coffee Company

10-12 King Street, Reading, Berkshire, RG1 2HF.

Ciabatta, sandwich, tea and free cake at The Workhouse Coffee Company

I’ve known that the Workhouse Coffee Company has existed for a long time, but I’ve never made it there, it’s not in the centre of town and sometimes I’m just lazy. As if they knew this, they’ve now opened a second shop in the centre of town so when we went in yesterday I made my way there to see what I could see.

I think they are still getting themselves up and running, as not all the fittings looked finished, but there was a friendly feel to the inside and the staff were lovely. I had my usual fear that any café that blatantly advertises itself as selling coffee will give no consideration to the tea, but I was happily wrong. The tea came in a pot that sat on top of it’s cup, which is always something that makes me smile.

R had an egg sandwich and I had a ciabatta with tomato, chorizo and cheese. It was a very good sandwich – like a pizza, yum. And we got a free sample of cake each as they were trialling their recipes. They are very good, let me tell you! A good cup of tea and one of the few places in central Reading with nice tea pots.

Teapot? Yes.
Leaf tea? No.
Milk jug? Yes.
Price? £2 for a pot of tea, £11.70 for the tea, sandwich and my ciabatta.
Cake? Yes, only a couple of choices but both very good.
Go again? Yes.


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The Grand Café

84 The High Street, Oxford, OX1 4BG

The ceiling of The Grand Café

This café looks as grand as it’s name, with pillars and gold outside and more pillars and gold inside. The Grand Café is on the site of the first coffee house in England and so I was a bit nervous about whether or not the tea would be any good, but I needn’t have worried.

I’m really sorry about the blurred quality of the photos, I hadn’t had any tea since before breakfast and obviously it was getting to me. There was a choice of black teas on the menu, including Earl Grey (which I had) and Lapsang Souchong (which R had). The tea pots came with no strainer but did have a mesh ball inside with the loose leaves in it. It was excellent Earl Grey and R says his Lapsang was also very good.

Tea and cake at The Grand Cafe

R also had a slice of Victoria Sponge cake and then decreed that I wasn’t allowed any, but in the interests of this blog I stole some with my teaspoon. It was good, not the best I’ve ever had, but better than most. It also came with some squiggles on the plate – either fruit coulis or syrup of some sort. Although he ate it, he could not tell me which it was, so this just proves the need for me to eat the cake when we go visiting places.

Teapot? Yes.
Leaf tea? Yes.
Milk jug? Yes.
Price? £2.50 per pot, £3.50 for the cake.
Cake? Yes, and a whole separate menu for patisserie items. Impressive.
Go again? Yes.


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Mill House Cafe Bar Restaurant

11 Pescod Street, Windsor, Berkshire, SL4 1DT.   07738 867187   01758 751138

A fat pot of Earl Grey at Mill House Cafe Bar Restaurant

I’ve been to many cafes and drunk many cups of tea in my time, but this is the first time I’ve had such a strong sense of deja vu somewhere I was convinced I’d never been before. Mill House Cafe Bar Restaurant is on a busy shopping street near to the train station and the castle, and looked like the kind of place I’d get a decent cup of tea. I went in and ordered and then sat down and that’s where the deja vu started. I could have sworn that I’d been there and eaten brunch, only I could have also sworn that when I ate brunch I was in a Puccino’s, not the Mill House. Anyone know if this used to be a Puccino’s?

The tea came in a nice big pot and I got 3 and a bit cups out of it. Good tea drinking.

Teapot? Yes.
Leaf tea? No.
Milk jug? Yes.
Price? £2.70 for the pot of Earl Grey, think only £2.40 if want non-speciality tea.
Cake? Didn’t see any, but wasn’t paying much attention (I know – how unusual is that?). Did have Danish pastries and puddings on the menu.
Go again? Yes.


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The Rustic Tea Garden

Northcott Mouth, Bude, Cornwall

A bit of the beach at Northcott Mouth

Northcott Mouth from the clifftop

The beach at Northcott Mouth is sandy and flat and stunning. It’s good for surfing as the waves are powerful, but we swam and jumped and generally messed around in the sea and it was energising and liberating. After C demonstrated the art of the cartwheel and we listened to the mussels singing in the sunshine we collected V and headed back up to the road to The Rustic Tea Garden.

The Rustic Tea Garden

Margaret runs the small green caravan and assures me she always makes tea in a pot. The pasties come from the local bakery and if you want a place to camp by the sea then Margaret is the woman in the know. The Rustic Tea Garden is just what’s needed after a sea swim and was one of the friendliest places I’ve ever set down my mug.

Tea at The Rustic Tea Garden

Teapot? Yes.
Leaf tea? No.
Milk jug? No, came with milk.
Price? £4 for tea, a latte and a cappuccino.
Cake? Yes and cream teas.
Go again? Yes, beautiful beach and a good mug of tea.


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Lynne’s Pantry

39 Surrey Street, Sheffield, S1 2LG   0114 272 7743

Tea and the famous ham roll at Lynne's Pantry. Oh, and R's crab baguette, which he also thought was very good.

In the not so distant past R and I used to live in Sheffield. And even so, we had never visited Lynne’s Pantry before. I’ve spent a while trying to cobble together a valid reason for this and failed miserably, there’s no good reason for missing out on this cafe, it’s just how the cookie crumbled.

Anyway, Lynne’s Pantry is bright and clean and feels like it should be by the seaside. There are teapots with flowers in and cute buckets with two different types of sugar. Bright white bench seating adds to the summery feel. I wanted a light and early lunch before we went to our friend’s wedding, so I thought a ham roll would be a good idea. It was already very busy and only half eleven, so if you’re making a special trip then be prepared to wait if necessary.

I wasn’t expecting much: a ham roll is just a ham roll. But this ham roll, oh my, this ham roll sang with the greatness of being a ham roll. Just enough salad and big thick slices of proper ham with a sprig of cress on top and creamy butter on granary bread.

The tea was also good: a big fat pot of tea for two with nice cups and saucers and a generous milk jug. We were trying not to eat too much so we didn’t try any of the cake, but if the cake there is anything like the ham rolls then you are in for a treat.

Teapot? Yes.
Leaf tea? No.
Milk jug? Yes.
Price? £2.95 for a pot for two people, £3.50ish for the heavenly ham roll and the same for the crab baguette.
Cake? Cake and scones and tarts and all sorts of lovely amazing genius things.
Go again? Definitely.


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Le Moulin

18b Station Lane, Hornchurch, Essex, RM12 6NJ.      01708 472121

Tea for four at Le Moulin

We drove to Hornchurch and I spotted a windmill on the way, which I duly pointed out to everyone else in the car. I like windmills, I think that may have come up before, and so I have no excuse for the full half hour it took me to realise that ‘Le Moulin’ was French for windmill and that the name of this cafe was probably a reference to the nearby windmill. Not only that, but there was a model windmill made out of biscuits on the counter and I still didn’t get it. I’m sorry. In my defence I will say that I’d only had one cup of tea that morning and it wasn’t until I’d finished my pot at Le Moulin that I was awake enough to spot this connection.

My sleepiness aside, this is a great place. The cakes, oh the cakes! Le Moulin is a family run French patisserie and there is a window into the bakery bit at the back where you can see them making things. The array of cakes and pastries was mouthwatering, but we were all trying to be good so we didn’t have any. There was willpower involved but we did it. I’d love to go back and try the cakes sometime.

Teapot? Yes.
Leaf tea? Yes.
Milk jug? Yes.
Price? £1.30.
Cake? Oh, so much beautiful cake!
Go again? Yes.