Why we are all going tea total

10 April 2012

For many a bleary-eyed office slave, a cup of Tetley is the only thing that can get you up and running in the morning. But thanks to a new wave of outlets around town devoted to selling and serving exclusive teas, Londoners are discovering that there's more to char than a splash of milk and two sugars - and it can make the perfect after-work tipple, too.

These days, you need to know more than just your Assam from your Earl Grey - you need to be able to distinguish your white tip oolong from your sparrow's tongue. Exotic teas can be as delicate as wine, and as rarefied as white truffles or artisan chocolate.

Many will have been plucked from single estates, infused with the unique flavours of their soil, and aged until they achieve the perfect balance of texture and sweetness. There are different colours to choose from too. White tea is the most sought after by enthusiasts right now, a pale dried concoction made with young leaves which are steamed or fired to inactivate the oxidising process.

They retain the high concentrations of catechins present in fresh leaves and, when drunk as tea, are said to have amazing cleansing properties. Black tea, the type most often drunk in the west, is highly oxidised, with the strongest flavour and greatest level of caffeine. Green tea, however, is rich in antioxidants, and is said to provide a wide variety of health benefits, including burning fat.

So it's time to say goodbye to your bog-standard brew. Thanks to places such as Tea-Smith in Spitalfields and Yauatcha in Soho, the cuppa is on the upper. We highlight the best places to get the taste for posh tea. And there won't be a tea bag in sight, guaranteed.

Teasmith

Amid the busy food outlets in Spitalfields market, this compact tea bar is an oasis of calm. The menu specialises in fine blends sourced from small-scale producers, including Chairman Mao's favourite, the Phoenix Supreme, a fruity oolong with the taste of lychee that's £5 a pot-for-one, or £22 for a 50g bag.

Owner John Kennedy, formerly an IT expert in California, developed a passion for fine tea in San Francisco's China Town before heading to Hong Kong to learn from expert tea masters. If you like what you taste, you can buy a bag of your chosen blend to boil up at home.

Favourites include white peony (£4 for 50g) and Jasmine Pearls (£6.50 for 50g), a handpicked rolled green tea whose delicate scent comes from using flowers which open over night.

6 Lamb Street E1 (020 7247 1333, teasmith.co.uk)

Yauatcha

This is the place that lit the fuse for London's posh tea obsession. Established in 2004 by Hakkasan's ¸ber-chef Alan Yau, this basement dim sum restaurant in Soho has an eye-catching tea-room at ground level - walk past the translucent blue window and you'll be enticed by the pretty display of impossibly delicate Oriental patisserie.

As well as refreshing iced fruit tea infusions and the Peal Leong, a smoothie made with mango, guava orange juice and oolong tea at £3.50 a glass, the menu of Japanese teas is encyclopaedic: the High Mountain Fo Shou from Taipei (£12 per pot) goes down nicely with the green tea macaroons. The best bit? You can have a brew at any time of the day, from morning til way beyond dusk - the last pots are served around 11pm, so it's somewhere to go after work in Soho without getting sloshed.

15 Broadwick St, W1 (020 7494 8888)

Postcard Teas

With its picture-postcard looks, this teashop and gallery takes its name from the owner's love of vintage postcards and pick-of-the crop tea. For a minimum charge of £1.50 you can try any of the exotic teas on the menu, with the fee dropped if you buy some for home. The interior is simply furnished with a long tea-tasting table in the centre of the room.

Teas brought back from owner Timothy D'Offay's recent travels to Asia include Mountain Grey (£4.50 per 50g), an Earl Grey blend of highgrown teas from Darjeeling, and Coffee Blossom, the first white tea ever to be scented with blossoms from coffee bushes.

9 Dering Street, W1 (020 7629 3654, postcardteas.com)

East Tea

From a busy pitch in Borough Market, this stall's tea selection will leave you gasping for a cup of uji matcha (£9.50 per 50g), a shade-grown Japanese green tea. It's a busy spot perfect for foodies to stand around and talk tea over a steaming brew. Ask for a taste of the Pu-erth 1992 blend (£8.50 per 50g), a rare Chinese tea fermented for around six years. It often pops up on obscure wine blogs when wine buffs make comparisons between vine and leaf.

Borough Market, Borough High Street, SE1 (020 7394 0226)

Tea Palace

This chic Notting Hill tearoom features 165 speciality teas from across the globe. Sit in the curtained window and work your way through the selection over brunch or afternoon tea (from £17 per head), or over a dessert made with a subtle tea infusion. Those with a nose for exclusive blends can also take their selection home to try.

All blends are created on the premises, including the sleep-inducing Sweet Dreams that's based on an ancient Ayurvedic recipe (£6.95 for a 50g carton). The rare White Snowbuds blend starts at £4.50 for a sample caddy.

175 Westbourne Grove, W11 (020 7727 2600, teapalace.co.uk)

Tea

Set in the churchyard of St Paul's Cathedral, this contemporary tearoom with a Thirties feel seats 20. For £2.25, you can get something from the Super Teas menu, with each brew designed to perk you up or chill you out according to specific ingredients. The Activitea blend is said to deliver the tea equivalent of a cold shower. This is the only place in London that offers white tea to go - so you can pick up a cup of Silver Needle (£3.50) on your way to work.

1 Paternoster Square, EC4 (020 7248 6606)

Yumchaa

For all its shabby-chic style - maple wood floors, exposed brick walls and antique dining room chairs - this intimate teashop and bar actually opened less than a year ago in Camden Market. The Chinese-born owner Trinh Hoang is something of a tea alchemist, offering an off-the-wall mix of fine tea infusions and blends for £2 a pot (£2.10 for white tea), as well as many being available in loose form.

For sit-down customers, there's an everchanging menu of just 25 teas, so you won't be completely overwhelmed. Popular right now is the green tea mixed with ginseng and lemongrass (£5.50 per 100g) and white peony paired with wild rosebuds (£7 per 50g).

West Yard, Camden Lock, NW1 (0778 2162 896, yumchaa.com)

Perfect tea tips:

Always use water that has just come off the boil.
With green tea, allow one teaspoon per cup and brew for three mins. For black and white, allow five mins.
Don't throw away green tea leaves, you can use them again.
Purists say you should never add milk.

3 teas to take home

Mountain Grey: if Earl Grey's your thing, why not upgrade to Mountain Grey, a similarly flavoured blend of high-grown teas from Darjeeling? £4.50 per 50g from Postcard Teas
Jasmine Pearls: handpicked green tea from South China whose leaves are gently rolled into pearls and delicately scented from fresh jasmine blossoms. £6.50 for 50g, TeaSmith
Ti-e Guan Yin: Chinese oolong tea whose long, curly leaves are harvested by monkeys. Its orchid-like aroma gives a suitably flowery taste. Available from East Tea

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