“Builder’s Tea” is the drink of choice for many Londoners; a dark reddish brew usually made with a common kind of English Breakfast blend like PG Tips and laced heavily with milk and sugar.

According to Tara Calcraft, however, the teas most often found in Britain are really of very low quality compared to those available in other parts of the world. Indeed, people in the UK have rarely even gotten the opportunity to sample or purchase high quality teas until quite recently.

Even as the coffeehouses of the 1990s brought a new appreciation for good coffee to the people of London, this teahouse is doing its part to bring this same kind of renaissance to the world of tea. This is just the place for people looking to stock up on supplies to make their own special afternoon tea at home.

There are four major types of teas; black, green, oolong, and white.

Black teas are made by the natural oxidization process that occurs as the tea leaves dry. This retail-only store carries about 50 types of black tea, including some special flavoured teas of their own creation.

Green teas are from tea leaves that are heated so they dry without oxidizing, and the store carries about 25 kinds of green teas.

Oolong teas are semi-fermented and some of the most popular of these teas come from Taiwan.

White tea is very rare, and it only gets picked during a few weeks out of the year in the Fujian province where its processing is a closely-kept secret. This modern tea emporium has a nice selection of both oolong and white teas, and some of them are even organic.

The shop has everything you need to make your own very special afternoon tea.

Tea Palace

Address: 12 Covent Garden Market, Covent Garden, WC2E 8RF

Telephone: 020 7836 6997

Opening Times

Monday to Saturday 10am-7pm, Sunday 11am-6pm

Pricing

£3.25 (sample tea caddy), £8.95 (125g tea caddy)

Photo courtesy: acme

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