Tea for you and me

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


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7 Flowers & Tea

I’d walked past this place a few times before everything aligned and it was open when I had time to go in. It was full when I arrived (always a good sign) but a couple were just leaving so I got a table quickly.

This place smells wonderful, by the way. It smells of (you guessed it) flowers and tea – but also of cake. It was warm and relaxing, with fake foliage on the wall behind me and real flowers in front of me. 7 Flowers & Tea is a florist as well as a tea room and you can buy bouquets or small arrangements in pots or even single stems of flowers.

KD and I were pleased when the menu turned out to be a long list of tea and then a long list of cake. I opted for sakura tea (Japanese cherry blossom), while KD had vanilla black tea followed by rose black tea. I had the ‘Egg hunt’ cake – a vegan sponge with yellow frosting and berries and KD had the ‘Mulled apple’. Both were good.

My tea came in a glass teapot, with a tea light underneath keeping the tea warm and a gold-rimmed glass cup in the shape of a flower. It glowed. A row of tables with glowing tea pots makes for a very cosy tea room. KD’s vanilla black tea came in a china pot, but her rose black tea came in a glowing glass one. Worth checking before you order what your tea comes in if you want a glowing tea experience.

Only minor downside (and it was a minor one) was that the lovely floral scent of the flowers in the shop made it was slightly difficult to taste the tea and cake properly, but it didn’t detract from the overall experience. The staff were very friendly and helpful, and everything was beautifully presented. I’ll definitely be going again.

  • Teapot? Yes, and a fancy glass one at that.
  • Leaf tea? Oh, yes.
  • Milk jug? Yes, for the tea that was suitable for having with milk. I got a pot of honey with mine, along with sweetener, brown sugar and white sugar. All options covered if you want something sweeter.
  • Price? £3.80 for the sakura tea, £2.99 for the cake (I think, it might have been £3.99).
  • Cake? Yes, long list of it on the menu including vegan and gluten free.
  • Go again? Yes. This was a lovely treat and I am keen to try different teas and different cakes.

 

7 Flowers & Tea: 4 Cross Street, Reading, RG1 1SN. Visited on Saturday 6th April 2019.


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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.