Best tea shops/cafes to visit in London!
- Harvey Cocks
- Jan 7, 2020
- 5 min read
Updated: Jun 1, 2020
So, you are planning a trip to go to London. You know you wanna buy some tea and sit down to have some in a cafe in the day, but you have no clue about which shops or cafes to visit? Today, I am gonna guide you through and give my recommendations on some shops and cafes to visit!
So let's start off with some of the cafes I would recommend visiting.
1. Mei Leaf - 99 Camden High St, London NW1 7JN
Mei Leaf is one of if not the best teahouse/cafe/shop I have ever visited in my life. Now although this is a shop, it is also a cafe! They are based in Camden High street, and hard to miss with their logo and sign outside which is bright red!
Inside the teahouse/cafe you will find to your left a nice shopping area where you can pick up some teawares and gifts and bring them to the desk to buy them! On the right side, you will see the cafe's front desk where you get to order your tea if you are sitting down to have some or to buy any gifts or tea that they sell. Speaking of which, straight down the middle you will find a tea aisle of all of their teas that they sell and further back of the cafe is the seating area as well as next-door in the other building that they own with a Chinese medical herbs company/spa.
The entire teahouse feels like a nice warm, cozy and comfortable place to be in. The staff are friendly and wonderful there and the tea is fantastic. In fact, I buy tea from Mei Leaf very often as its one of my number one choices to go to if you want pure, great quality tea.
Overall, if you want to have a nice cup of tea, buy some gifts or buy some tea. I totally recommend Mei Leaf!
2. TWG - 48 Leicester Square, London WC2H 7LT
TWG Tea is yet again another shop but the entirety of the upstairs is a cafe, the entire building is very big and very posh/fancy! They are based in Leicester Square, and it is almost impossible to miss walking near it as the pure shine on the golden lights and pillars in there are BRIGHT!
Inside when you walk in, you are swarmed by stands of tea everywhere you look. In fact so much so that there are freaking pillars with teas stacked on shelves holding the building up! But as you take a look around near the far corner in the back you will start to see the staircase if you move amongst the crowds in here as do be warned it gets BUSY in here! Upstairs they have their entire cafe, where you can book a table beforehand or just come in and sit down, grab a bit of food and of course have some tea which might I say is very good here, just keep in mind that it's very expensive!
The place is very grand and posh, for me, it was more of an experience rather than a casual, laid back teahouse like Mei Leaf which is not to say that's a bad thing. I actually prefer those kinds of places compared to busy ones like this. But yet again, the place is wonderful to look around in and you can get carried away with the number of teas that they sell. Just be easy on the wallet!
Overall, TWG is a great place to go to in London if you want to sit down and have a nice fancy cup of tea! However, don't go here if you want a more relaxed experience.
Now onto designated tea shops to visit in London!
1. Camden Tea Shop - L7, Lower Dingwalls Gallery Camden Lock Market London NW1 8AH
Camden Tea Shop is a cute, little tea shop based in the heart of Camden in the Camden Market building. When I say little, I do mean LITTLE! But that's not to say at all that its a bad shop. I loved it when I went there a few months ago, the shop store lady was lovely and attentive to me in helping me in which teas to buy and the teas there are great!
Inside, as you look around all 3 walls, you will see an abundance of tea stacked on shelves and even some teaware as well! The shelves are categorized so it's easy to look for certain teas that you want but if you need any help, just turn around and ask! The staff there are wonderful people, the lady I spoke to before as I said earlier was very nice and friendly!
The tea in itself is wonderful, and I totally recommend their pan-fired green tea! The shop feels all homemade rather than a traditional posh and fancy shop, so if you fancy a tea shop more down to earth and cozy, definitely go and check out Camden Tea Shop!
2. The Tea House - 15 Neal St, Covent Garden, London WC2H 9PU
The Tea House is a wonderful tea shop in Covent Gardens based in London, I visited there a few times and loved it every time I went! The tea shop in itself is a very nice place to browse around for some of their own blends of tea as well as teaware that they sell!
Inside you will notice at how much space there is packed full of shelves that they have tea on. You will find that wherever you look, there is just tons of tea! You will most likely spend quite a while in here so be prepared for spending some decent amount of time and money in here!
The tea itself is quite nice, I would not expect too much in terms of extreme quality but they do great blends!
So, there's my shortlist of a few places to visit in London if you ever go there for buying tea or having a cup of tea in a nice place! However, if I was to just choose one of my choices it would be Mei Leaf. Their service there is impeccable! I have visited them quite a few times and love it every time, the staff are wonderful, products are great quality and most importantly their teas are fantastic! In fact, I met up with the Co-Owner/Wife to the husband who owns the tea house and she showed me how to brew in gong-fu style in their cafe! Her name is Celine, and if you see her, she will be more than happy to help you if you have any questions or concerns!
Here is me and Celine drinking some tea together!
I hope you enjoyed my recommendations on places to visit in London for buying tea as well as tasting tea! Let me know some places you guys recommend from London in the comment section below!
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