Ah, London. Beloved London. Very few cities captivate me the way the big cities of the UK and Ireland do, and London is the exclamation point for this part of the world. It is a contrasts of styles that meshes well together from old Roman and Victorian architecture to one of the birthplaces of punk rock and alt rock. Here resides a royal family and also the great freedom movements of due process of law, capitalism and republican democracy. It has the Tower of London to the more modern Shard dotting its skyline. From rustic pubs to techno raves to old proper tea shops, a chance at socialization over good food and drink aren’t far away.
As a Connecticut Yankee, we lost the fine arts of the afternoon tea. So when I visit the UK and Ireland, I always try to fit one into my schedule. I’ve been privileged to have visited London on several occasions. Most recently, to celebrate a victory over battling Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, I took a mini holiday to London to see some relatives and do something I always wanted to enjoy: a proper afternoon tea on a double decker bus. Thankfully there are reasonably priced options to partake in this delight.
If you have a good 90 minutes to spare, it will be 90 minutes you’ll never forget. The English Tea Bus by Golden Tours offers a cute double decker ride through the heart of London and it’s many icons while enjoying some prosecco, good tea and a full plate of sandwiches, scones and pastries that make proper afternoon tea so delightful. The bus tour starts by Victoria Station and soon a glass of sparking white wine (Presecco) or a mamosa is poured, with a plate of sandwiches and pastries at the ready. Soon, you’ll pass Buckingham Palace and towards Big Ben and Westminster Cathedral before crossing Westminster Bridge.
The bus will cross the Thames three or four more times on a different bridge each time, giving different vantage points along the Thames to the London Skyline. Once you reach the South Bank of London, a choice of Earl Grey, Breakfast Tea, Green Jasmine, Peppermint and Chamomile. Being a Star Trek Next Generation fan, I follow Captain Jean Luc Picard’s preference of Earl Grey, hot (make it so!). While taking in the sites, making new friends over chatter and the pleasant disposition of the staff, you will see many of the major London landmarks along the ride including Buckingham Palace, Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, the London Eye, The Shard, London Bridge, The Globe Theatre, the Royal Courts of Justice, Saint Paul’s Cathedral, The Tower of London and London Bridge, to name a few.
For some tea to go, Twinings original tea house located on Strand Street in the financial district, simply known as “The City,” The flagship Twinings shop located directly across the street from the Royal Court of Justice and London School of Economics resides in a Victorian Era stone storefront and offers both a wide array of teas to take home or for tastings and flights on premise. They do offer a masterclass in tea tasting on site. Since I was looking to make the rounds to Saint Paul’s Cathedral and to the Globe Theatre just across the Millennium Bridge. For any tea lover, this is a must stop and an easy location to reach while spending a day in London. There even is a little tea museum tucked away in this building that is over 300 years old, and is London’s oldest tea shop, and one of the city’s oldest consecutively running businesses, since 1706!
I had the pleasure of taking some loose leaf teas home, and enjoying a Lady Grey on site. Lady Grey tea is a milder, softer take on Earl Grey. It adds lemon peel to accompany the bergamot orange, and is not as full bodied with the black tea leaves as Earl Grey. Twinings first debuted this tea in the early to mid 1990s and named it after Mary Elizabeth Grey, the wife and partner to Charles Earl, the Second Earl Grey, an esteemed British Whig statesmen from the mid 19th century. Lady Grey itself is a trademark and IP of Twinings, so other brands and tea producers use the term Madame Grey and Empress Grey for similar blends.
Not too far from the Victoria Street Station pick up an drop off spot for the English Tea Bus lies a very cute and independent family run tea shop abutting the southwestern side of Buckingham Palace. The English Rose Cafe and Tea Shop is the quintessential afternoon tea place. It is quaint and friendly with cute floral arrangements and old Victoria Era architecture. It is also incredibly reasonable in pricing with an afternoon tea costing around 22 GBP, when most can run in excess of 35 or 40 GBP.
Since I had an afternoon to spend in the Chelsea-Kensington neighborhood, I opted for an afternoon tea before making my way to see a West Ham United game. An afternoon tea can be a nice hold over meal until a later dinner, and it is relaxing given the tea and coffee offerings at English Rose Café. They serve Clipper Tea, and I opted for their Classic Everyday black tea. It was rich and full bodied with ethically sourced leaves from red soil farms and hills in India and Africa. The afternoon tea spread is a nice blend of cheese and berry scones, chocolate cake, macaroons and finger sandwiches. I also highly recommend their coffee and espresso drinks. I had an excellent Americano here that helped put a little extra perk in my step after a leisurely afternoon in London.
These are just the tip of the iceberg in tea and coffee culture in London, but they give a quality sampling if different English styles of the afternoon tea experience. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of excellent cafes, tea shops and bistros in London, and it might be nigh impossible to chronicle all of them. For some excellent resources about the culinary scene in London, I recommend following the Lady in London’s blog, Eating Europe’s blog, or even a more traditional lifestyle publication, Vogue’s Tea Lovers Guide to London. In any event, the best advice is taking a look at an area of London you want to see and look up what tea and cafe options are nearby and explore. The journey often times is the joy of getting to a destination. Cheerio, and enjoy a cuppa when you do!
Leave a Reply