Tea Amid the Natives

‘Tea is one of the mainstays of civilisation in this country’ George Orwell.

There is nothing more soothing than a pot of freshly made tea - but it can be frustratingly difficult to find one. Order a tea in your average café, and you’ll probably end up fishing a teabag from a paper cup of tepid water. On behalf of iON I’ve been investigating some of the places in Oxford and Central London where a good cup of leaf tea can be found, and where the discerning tea drinker can pick up supplies of green, white and flowering teas from around the world.

In Oxford, the High Street is the place to go for a good cup of leaf tea. The Rose definitely has the best menu of specialist teas, but seemed keen to move us along and maximise the flow of cake-eating tourists. The Grand Café, while more of a coffee place, did have some leaf teas, and let me linger over my Lapsang. The third option is Valerie’s, the latest branch of a chain which can also be found in many London locations, with branches close to Notting Hill (94 Holland Park Avenue) and Marble Arch (15 Great Cumberland Place). Valerie’s specialise in delicious French pastries as well as offering a decent range of teas.

Some of my favourite places for tea in London are not primarily cafés. The London Review of Books Bookshop (14 Bury Place), close to Covent Garden, serves leaf tea and wonderful cakes. The Victoria & Albert Museum (Cromwell Road, South Kensington) has a famous tearoom decorated by William Morris, and the Wallace Collection café (Manchester Square) situated in the garden courtyard, is a wonderful place for afternoon tea, and not usually as crowded as the V&A either. The Wallace Collection is just minutes from Marble Arch. If your nearest bus stop is Notting Hill, the Tea Palace (175 Westbourne Grove) is a real temptation, offering an extravagant but throughly delicious afternoon tea with a huge variety of high quality blends to choose from. You can also buy some of their wonderful teas to take away - the green Angel Peach comes particularly recommended.

Another excellent place to buy tea for your home is Postcard Teas (9 Dering Street). Just a minute away from the bustle of Oxford Street, this peaceful haven offers a wonderful choice of carefully sourced teas from around the world. It’s not a cafe, but customers are welcome to stop for a while and try a cup of their chosen tea with a slice of sponge cake. I enjoyed a cup of Korean Nokcha, an unusual green tea with a biscuity flavour, and ended up coming away with several of their elegant tea tins. Covent Garden’s Tea House (15a Neal Street) is also a treasure trove of different blends and presents for tea drinkers. Back in Oxford, Cardew’s in the Covered Market is the best place for high quality leaf teas and exotic treats like jasmine pearls, tightly bunched leaves which gradually unfurl in your teacup.

- Vera Bird