Tea for you and me

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

Tag Archives: reading


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Shed

The Old Forge, Merchants Place, Reading, RG1 1DT.   (View on map)

The spacious upstairs seating area at shed.

The spacious upstairs seating area at Shed.

I’d seen adverts for Shed around before, but only got round to visiting it today. It’s tucked away down a side street with a small downstairs and a large and roomy upstairs seating area, with some big windows and comfortably sized tables.

They have a number of salads, sandwiches and toasties available for lunch and a range of tea and coffee. For drinks I chose a redbush tea and tap water and for lunch I fancied a salad. I picked my salad after asking advice from the lady serving: hot cous cous, chicken, chorizo and coleslaw.

The salad had a lot of chicken and chorizo in it, so I was pleasantly surprised. The tea was good too.

Salad and tea at Shed.

Salad and tea at Shed.

I was hungry and concentrating on lunch, but even so some of you will be shocked when I tell you that I didn’t notice what cake was on offer. I have a vague memory of triangular millionaire’s shortbread and a banana and chocolate loaf, but that’s all I can tell you. There may have been more, there may have been nothing else, I may have dreamt the shortbread. I can only apologise and pledge to do better next time.

Teapot? No, a mug and saucer with a tea bag.
Leaf tea? No.
Milk jug? Yes.
Price? £1.60 for the redbush tea, £5.90 for the salad (the most expensive salad they have, so it’s easy to eat for less if you’d like).
Cake? Yes, I think (see above).
Go again? Yes. I’d like to try some different food and check whether they have cake. Plus upstairs looked like a useful place to go if you needed to get some work done.


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Palmers Cafe

Reading Museum, The Town Hall, Blagrave Street, Reading, RG1 1QH.   (View on map)

Fun tea related museum objects in Palmers Cafe - note the stuff on the wall as well as the amazingly brilliant Tea Tricycle.

There used to be a cafe inside Reading Musuem called ‘The Biscuit Tin’ that I always meant to post about but never got round to. I realised I’d missed my chance when they put up a sign saying it was closing and a new one would be opening, but I have managed to go and visit the new one, so perhaps all is forgiven. In keeping with the biscuit theme (Reading was the home of the famous Huntley & Palmers biscuit company) the new cafe is called ‘Palmers Cafe‘.

The new Palmers Cafe has the same food ordering and serving area, but a new seating area has been created in what used to be the area for temporary exhibitions. It’s really welcoming and friendly and makes you feel like the café is more a part of the museum than the old café. I liked it a lot.

I asked for two teas, the man serving asked if we wanted ‘tea for two’ instead. We said yes, but then a tiny teapot was put on the tray. When I questioned that this was meant to be tea for two, he explained he meant one pot between two as you can get over a cup each out of the pot. I was a bit confused and was also thinking that one cup each wasn’t enough, but agreed anyway. It turned out that he was being immensely helpful, as we hadn’t realised that the museum and therefore the café was due to shut in 15 minutes so just over a cup each was all that was really needed or we had time for.

The pot of tea for one for two at Palmers Cafe.

We spent a happy 15 minutes drinking the tea, chatting about whether or not ‘Palmers Cafe’ needed an apostrophe and looking at the Tea Tricycle.

Teapot? Yes.
Leaf tea? No.
Milk jug? Yes.
Price? £1.50 for a pot of tea.
Cake? Cake, traybakes, ice cream and – on the day we went – posset. I’m not sure what posset is, but I love that they sell it. If you want hot food you can get it between 12 noon and 2pm. They have sandwiches and snacks 10am – 3pm.
Go again? Definitely. The tea is very reasonably priced and the atmosphere in the seating area was very peaceful. They also had a mix of seating which I like in a cafe – sofas, armchairs or chairs. And where else are you going to see a Tea Tricycle?

 


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Cafe, Morrisons Supermarket, Reading

Rose Kiln Lane, Off Basingstoke Road, Reading, RG2 0HB   (View on map)

Yoghurt, tea and plastic teaspoons at Morrisons Cafe

I went to this Morrisons cafe just before lunch time on a Monday and it was already half full with people eating their lunch. I knew I had lunch I needed to eat at home so bravely walked past all the cakes and pastries and picked a yoghurt instead.

The first tea pot I picked up had no teabag in it, the second had a wet teabag in it, but it was third time lucky for me as the third one I picked up had a dry teabag inside. It’s a self service type cafe so I filled the pot with water myself, grabbed my cup and saucer, paid, then got some milk pots (grr) and made my way to a table.

The tea tasted metallic and really wasn’t very nice, but then it was only 89p so I suppose that’s why. Or maybe it was because the water came from a machine? Who knows.

Teapot? Yes, metal one.
Leaf tea? No, ‘Red label’ teabag.
Milk jug? No, the evil little plastic pots.
Price? 89p for tea, 75p for a Muller Light.
Cake? Yes and sandwiches, main meals, pastries, chocolate, scones…
Go again? I want to say no, but I always seem to end up needing some tea in this area of Reading and there isn’t really anywhere else to go. So I’ll say yes, I’ll go again, but only because I have to (and I’ll try to remember not to order the tea).


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The Tea Kiosk

Caversham Court, Church Road, Caversham, Reading.  Please note the tea kiosk is only open Thursday-Sunday (and Bank Holidays), April – October.

The view of the first section of Caversham Court, with the 'footprint' of the old house.

The Tea Kiosk is a tea kiosk in Caversham Court. Caversham Court is a bit of Caversham owned by the council – the gardens were redeveloped with lottery funding in 2008 and opened to the public in 2009. The kiosk is in the gardens and run by different charities with the profits going to those charities. A nice example of community partnership working and tea. There is also a Friends group and more info about the gardens can be found on their website.

Mug of tea and custard Danish (my favourite kind of Danish pastry) at The Tea Kiosk in Caversham Court Gardens.

I’ve gone a bit photo happy here as the gardens are beautiful. They lead down to the river and are well worth a visit. There are toilets in the gardens and this, along with the tea kiosk, makes it a great place to visit.

There were a selection of drinks available the day I went, including tea, coffee, hot chocolate and squash. Also a selection of homemade cakes and some Danish pastries. Yum. Very cheap too – everything was £1. As the kiosk is run by different charities on different days, I’m not sure if these prices stay the same every day, but I’m sure there won’t be too much difference.

View of the Thames from my table.

Teapot? No.
Leaf tea? No.
Milk jug? Milk added by the lovely kiosk ladies.
Price? £1 for tea, £1 for any bit of cake.
Cake? Yes – and all homemade.
Go again? Yes, but it’s only open Thurs-Sun (and Bank Holidays), April-October so I probably won’t be heading down here until 2011 now.

View of the kiosk (far left) from another bit of the garden.


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Cerise

The Forbury Hotel, 26 The Forbury, Reading, Berkshire, RG1 3EJ

 

Teapots and sandwiches at Cerise

When KD said she wanted to go for afternoon tea in Reading and that it looked quite reasonable at £15 a head I was very impressed. When she mentioned it was in The Forbury I was astounded to realise I’d never thought of checking here before.

 

Cerise is the restaurant inside The Forbury Hotel and we headed there on a Sunday afternoon to sample the afternoon tea. They offer an afternoon tea for £15 – which includes a round of sandwiches each, two scones, a selection of patisserie cakes and tea. If you pay £20 then it includes a glass of champagne as well.

There was no room on the table for the cakes and the sandwiches, so we had a 'cakes in waiting' area.

All the food was extremely tasty and we had problems finishing off all the cakes (though we managed it in the end, naturally). There were some hiccups with the afternoon – bizarrely, we weren’t given any knives (though we each had a fork and a spoon). As we were in a private booth area we couldn’t easily attract the attention of the waiting staff so we improvised with the spoons and everything worked out fine. We also constantly ran out of milk – only two small jugs for six people didn’t seem like enough. The tea isn’t loose leaf but I’ll forgive it that as the food was good and it’s very reasonably priced. This place is more about the food than the tea, I feel.

Once the sandwiches were consumed the cakes made it onto the table. Take a look at the mini mound of scones as well.

I would recommend afternoon tea at Cerise as an end to a hard morning of shopping or a good place to meet friends when you need a proper catch up. The atmosphere is calm and private and the food was very tasty.

Teapot? Yes.
Leaf tea? No, Twinings teabags.
Milk jug? Yes.
Price? £15 for afternoon tea, £20 for champagne afternoon tea.
Cake? Yes – a selection including blackberry macaroon, fruitcake, strawberry tart, chocolate something, meringue and an eclair. Mini fruit and plain scones too, with clotted cream and strawberry jam.
Go again? Yes, definitely. You should too.



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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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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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Delicious… wins ‘My favourite coffee shop’

I’m a bit late in reporting on this, but the excellent Delicious… has won the Reading Retail Awards 2010 ‘My favourite coffee shop’ award, as voted for by customers.

Picnic, which I’m ashamed to say I still haven’t stuck on here though I go all the time, won ‘Independent Store of the Year’.

Congratulations to both!

[Picnic now has it’s very own review! Take a look at it here.]


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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.