Gifted| There are two things I am guilty of as a Londoner. The first, not having an absolute clue about the city and two, I wasn’t the biggest fan of tea. Yes, I said it. A Londoner who didn’t like tea? I’m a disgrace!!
Up until around last year (thank you ever growing adult taste buds!), I really hated tea. I mean really hated it. Maybe I was making it wrong before? But ever since certain coffee shops and their Iced Green Peach Tea came in to my life last year, I’ve never gone back (I’ve just had one as I wrote this) So when Teatulia in Covent Garden invited me over to try some of their teas and cakes, my boyfriend (who loves tea) and I decided to jump at the offer and make a touristy day of it too.
A little bit about the shop…
Boasting organic, pesticide free and no artificial flavours or preservatives, the tea is delicious and this shop really fits in really well with the Covent Garden scene. The shop its self is decorated to the brim with their very own teas and books! But don’t just think this is another “cosy shop” because they also serve incredible cocktails & mocktails and transitions well in to a bar after 5pm.
Teatulia is named after their own garden in Bangladesh, Tetulia. This garden was the inspiration behind the name (obviously!) Tetulia, Bangladesh is where they grow all their own tea themselves. That is the best way to guarantee that it’ll be pesticide free, organic and simply the best flavour it can be by it’s arrival to you.
With the shop opening at 10am, I wanted to get there early enough that we had the whole place to ourselves to chat with the store manager about their history and also late enough that we could experience the atmosphere when people came in early afternoon. We opted for an 11am visit where we had the whole shop to ourselves for a while.
Tea, Books and Cocktails
On arrival, our first tea of the day was hot Jasmin Green Tea. I’ve never tried Jasmin Green Tea before! Which coincidentally that day won the Great Taste Award 2019! If it wasn’t obvious already, the tea was really tasty!!
We were also given 3 cakes to try while there too. These were made in house and some of the best cakes I’ve eaten. They were: Mango and Tumeric, Green Tea Gin & Tonic, and Lemongrass and Ginger all topped with white chocolate. The Mango and Tumeric cake took us both by surprise, we thought it might be quite strong but the mango flavour really stood out and was close to becoming my favourite before I tried the Green Tea Gin & Tonic one… This was hands down my favourite cake and I think I ate almost every crumb before remembering I should be finishing the other two!
Next up we tried their signature Lemongrass cocktail which was so so good (even at 11am in the morning) and an apparent favourite with the locals! I can really see why. It had the perfect balance of lemon and wasn’t bitter or overpowering at all. My boyfriend & I paired this Lemongrass cake thinking it might be a bit too much but the flavours were so different (in a good way) for each and really complimented each other (duh)! There is currently no vegan options but they are planning for a beetroot brownie to come soon. Trust me, if it’s anything like their other cakes. It’s going to be good.
“Better for you, better for our planet, better for everyone.”
We spent most of the time relaxing and honestly I couldn’t stop taking photos on the interior. I didn’t manage to read any of the books on the shelves because I know that if I grabbed one, I’d not be able to put it down and will be in there all day.
After we wolfed down everything, we were given more drinks! This time I tried a Passion Fruit Mocktail and my boyfriend had Hot Masala Cha with Oat Milk (so I could try it). Masala Cha is something my boyfriend drinks quite a lot so when he took a sip and went “ah, now that is good.” I trust his opinion thoroughly.
I really enjoyed the Passion Fruit Mocktail. A bonus that it was topped with little pansies. Passion fruit is usually quite bitter but this was super refreshing and I ended up finishing it all. The lemongrass cocktail definitely has stiff competition.
After a while, a group of people came in which only added to the charm of the shop. It gave the atmosphere a quiet little buzz. I can also see this place being really popular in the evenings, so could be a fab spot to pop by if you’re in the area for some after dinner drinks.
Overall I would recommend Teatulia to anyone if you’re in the area and even more so if you’re not. Teatulia had such a nice atmosphere, really fun staff and most importantly, everything was really delicious. There wasn’t a thing that I tried that was even a little bit “meh”
You can find them here:
36 NEAL STREET
LONDON
WC2H 9PS
Is Teatulia on your radar when in London? If not, it should be!
Disclaimer: This experience was gifted to me but all the opinions stated in this article are my own and honest. I’d never promote something that I didn’t fit well with this blog. You can read more on my disclaimer here.