I've recently spent a few days searching London for a good tea house.
It's the largest city in Europe, as well as one of the most
cosmopolitan, and yet there is almost nothing on offer. After some
searching, I came across a single, decent tea-house ("TeaSmith", near
Liverpool St., if you find yourself in London).

[ Details/ranting at http://half-dipper.blogspot.com ]

I've no experience of decent tea-houses in big US cities, but get the
general impression that tea seems pretty well-received there. I
recall articles from MarshalN and DogMa on what seemed to be a fair
showing around Cambridge and Boston, while the Phyll-xCasperx-
Davelcorp axis make California sound rather enlightened. Sspeakfreely
even showed me what appears to be a half-decent tea menu from a shop
she used to frequent in Charlottesville.

>From observing the utter lack of tea houses in London, and the media
response to the single decent tea house that I did encounter, I remain
sincerely surprised at the distance between English people and their
tea. This is particularly counter-intuitive given our culture's
saturation in the subject. What happened? Last week-end's
exploration around London was a genuine education, and has certainly
made me re-think my quiet ambition to open a small gongfucha spot in
my home city.

Frightening.


Toodlepip,

Hobbes

The good news no competition. The bad news some of the most expensive
retail space on the planet in London proper. I think if you looked at
the percapita consumption it looks like the British still drink tea at
home or work. I know London has it share of Arabic and Indian stores
so that is where the expatriates get theirs. I occasionally report on
the trials and tribulations of my local tea shoppe run by a British
expatriate which started it's fourth year of business this January. I
can tell you tea doesn't sell itself. I wouldn't start a teashoppe
because I would have to give people what they wanted. What do you
think of the London Cuppa brand blended exclusively for Londoners?

Jim

On Apr 18, 9:06 am, HobbesOxon > wrote:
> I've recently spent a few days searching London for a good tea house.
> It's the largest city in Europe, as well as one of the most
> cosmopolitan, and yet there is almost nothing on offer. After some
> searching, I came across a single, decent tea-house ("TeaSmith", near
> Liverpool St., if you find yourself in London).
>
> [ Details/ranting athttp://half-dipper.blogspot.com]
>
> I've no experience of decent tea-houses in big US cities, but get the
> general impression that tea seems pretty well-received there. I
> recall articles from MarshalN and DogMa on what seemed to be a fair
> showing around Cambridge and Boston, while the Phyll-xCasperx-
> Davelcorp axis make California sound rather enlightened. Sspeakfreely
> even showed me what appears to be a half-decent tea menu from a shop
> she used to frequent in Charlottesville.
>
> >From observing the utter lack of tea houses in London, and the media
>
> response to the single decent tea house that I did encounter, I remain
> sincerely surprised at the distance between English people and their
> tea. This is particularly counter-intuitive given our culture's
> saturation in the subject. What happened? Last week-end's
> exploration around London was a genuine education, and has certainly
> made me re-think my quiet ambition to open a small gongfucha spot in
> my home city.
>
> Frightening.
>
> Toodlepip,
>
> Hobbes

I've not come across "London Cuppa", but judging a book by its cover,
I suspect that it's a solid blend, along the lines of "Yorkshire
Tea"? I rather like that, to be honest. It's robust, it does the
tricky, when you want something sound and unchallenging - particularly
if you're entertaining someone and they don't want "your funny Chinese
stuff".

You're right; it does look like very, very hard work. Like pushing
water uphill. Sisyphus would nod in sympathy. I wish "TeaSmith" all
the best, and hope that the conversion rate sustains business. It
would be a crime if London had absolutely no oriental tea houses.

The odd thing is that we're not naturally resistent to such things,
and are even quite adventurous with our food and drink of late, by our
conventional standards. It's like decent Chinese tea has simply
dropped out of the national consciousness.

I struggle to believe that we used to drink more green than black
before World War 2.
(Ref: "T Ching", I think).


Toodlepip,

Hobbes

On Apr 18, 10:06 am, HobbesOxon > wrote:
> I've recently spent a few days searching London for a good tea house.
> It's the largest city in Europe, as well as one of the most
> cosmopolitan, and yet there is almost nothing on offer. After some
> searching, I came across a single, decent tea-house ("TeaSmith", near
> Liverpool St., if you find yourself in London).
>
> [ Details/ranting at http://half-dipper.blogspot.com]

hobbes,

have you checked inside fortnum & mason lately? last summer [or was it
the summer before -- time gets away from me] i stopped in there ...
the boxed and bulk tea is for sale at the front of the shop, of
course, i.e. right when you walk in from piccadilly. but toward the
back [on a sort of mezzanine] is the tea-room. and at one end of the
tea-room *used to be* what i can only describe as a 'tea bar' -- an
actual bar [as if for alcoholic beverages] at which one could sit and
order fine teas to taste.

i was as thrilled to discover this as i was dashed to learn that they
had just shut it down. nobody could tell me when it was to re-open. i
was so exercised about it that i actually hunted down the tea-room
manager and asked him about it. his explanation was that they wanted
to 'take a step back from it' and see if they could find someone who
really knew enough about tea to run it properly.

now i don't know if this was strictly the truth, or whether he was
just trying to placate a disappointed client. but if they were truly
open to the idea of re-opening this thing -- which i found rather
remarkable, even in F&M -- there may be either [a] another tea source
for you in london, or [b] an opportunity waiting to happen ...

at the very least, have a look round at the teas for sale up front.
they're rather more serious about their china teas than i had
expected, so it was a pleasant surprise. at that time, at least, i saw
quite a bit of pu'er, some keemuns, various greens, etc. [none at
bargain prices! but that's another matter.]

the other place to check [just for purchasing your own leaf to take
home] is the tea counter at harrod's. again, i'm not talking about
their shelves of boxed blends, but the actual counter where a sales-
clerk will weigh a specific whole-leaf tea out and package it to your
specification. they have shelves and shelves of metal canisters, so
it's stored away from light; and i'm guessing their turnover is pretty
high, so it ought to be fairly fresh, too. i bought a high-end dian
hong there, whenever it was that i was last there, and it was quite
distinguished as i recall.

cheers, corax

Il professore,

Many thanks, F&M and Harrods have been stricken from my tea-
consciousness for quite some time - I'll endeavour to go and have a
peek. Their names used to be synonymous with good Indian and Ceylon
teas; it's heartening to hear that they've got something from a little
further east, too.


Toodlepip,

Hobbes

On Apr 21, 7:47 am, HobbesOxon > wrote:
> Il professore,
>
> Many thanks, F&M and Harrods have been stricken from my tea-
> consciousness for quite some time - I'll endeavour to go and have a
> peek. Their names used to be synonymous with good Indian and Ceylon
> teas; it's heartening to hear that they've got something from a little
> further east, too.

ciao hobbes, il piacere e' mio.

do let us know what you discover, if you get a squint at their
offerings. as i say, my last visit to blighty was some time ago [i now
recall exactly: it was march 2006], so the kaleidoscope may have
turned yet again ... and not for the better. but i'd be a bit
surprised if these purveyors haven't both actually *expanded* their
asiatic tea-offerings in the months intervening. that of course
presupposes that they do have buyers who are paying attention to the
global market -- which is begging the question. still -- even without
an internet connection -- all they have to do is hop across the
channel, and they will notice quite a bit of such buying going on.

[for that matter -- though i do realize that you said 'searching
*your* city for gongfucha,' not 'going to paris for gongfucha' -- you
should treat yourself to one of those cheap eurostar weekends
sometime, and make the rounds: maison des trois thes; thes de chine;
le palais des thes; mariage freres; and yes, fauchon and hediard ...
you'll find more gongfu-worthy teas than you can shake a teapot at.]

all the best,
corax

A tea-trip to Paris is a great idea, thanks for the suggestion... I've
not been back there since honeymooning two years ago, and haven't seen
any of the tea venues that you mentioned.


Toodlepip,

Hobbes

> not been back there since honeymooning two years ago, and haven't seen
> any of the tea venues that you mentioned.

Very subtle, Hobbes.

On Apr 23, 3:25 am, HobbesOxon > wrote:
> A tea-trip to Paris is a great idea, thanks for the suggestion... I've
> not been back there since honeymooning two years ago, and haven't seen
> any of the tea venues that you mentioned.
>
> Toodlepip,
>
> Hobbes

Hey Hobbes
you can't believe how much your post struck a chord with me. I live in
London, and am amazed at the lack of good places to have a good
oriental tea. That said, when it comes to tea houses, I find the Tea
Palace, in Notting Hill, more than adequate. Although they are a
British-style tea house (afternoon tea and all) they have an adequate
selection of China choices. I have also heard great things about
Yauatcha (an oriental tea room *** dim sum restauarnt in Soho) but I
have never tried it myself--and likely won't until it stops being an
'in' place to be and be seen. I also like Indian and Ceylon tea though
(they are in my DNA, whereas China green is an acquired taste) and for
those, nothing beats the tea room at the Bramah Tea and Coffee Museum
in Southwark. I have never tried the Tea Smith, but will do so now!

As for tea shops:
Harrods and F&M have a decent selection (India and Ceylon remain core,
but they have expanded their horizons) at steep prices.
The Tea Palace also sells a selection of teas
And I find trips to Chinatown always a source of cheap tea (not
necessarily good tho'!)
That said, i find I often order samples from Upton and In Pursuit of
Tea in the US.

Oh, and: as far as I know, green tea ceased being popular in this
country towards the tail end of the 19th century, due to the war with
China. The last five generations of Brits have had their palate shaped
around India, Ceylon and Kenya tea (often in the builder's tea
version) and that, I think, partly accounts for the limited
availability of china tea.

Best
carla