Fashion inspires an afternoon tea collection

A London café Pret-a-Portea is inspired by various designers when creating colorful cookies and pastries for their afternoon tea collection. Everything looks very pretty and picture-perfect. A great way to show that fashion and tea indeed combine. For all fashionistas out there this is the ideal place if you would like to drink out of Paul Smith china or perhaps consume a Chanel clog made of chocolate.

Same Fusy | Tea House Review

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When you visit Warsaw, the Old Town seem like an obvious place to visit, however when you are there you can miss many interesting places that are not as visible as others. Same Fusy is exactly such an invisible place. Although it is located on a busy street the entrance looks inconspicuous and you wouldn’t expect that there is an atmospheric 15th century dungeon hiding beneath. This tea room was created in a renovated basement, which was earlier damaged from a fire. When entering the place it feels like entering a different world – an impression of calmness, away from hurrying people and street noises. The walls and vault are covered with neatly placed red bricks and they have a typically gothic look. Some of the tables are made from whole tree trunks giving this place more of a folklore touch, which is very noticeable here. A wall of tea caddies and various pots serve as decoration in the counter area. All this is illuminated  by warm candlelight giving the place an atmosphere of mystery. 

The menu arrived very quickly at our table. It was a thick book with wooden covers that listed pretty much any tea you could wish for – black, green Chinese and Japanese, white, flavored, oolong. Choices are many and it’s hard to make up your mind when you are there for the first time. Finally we decided on trying Masala Chai and Snow Dragon. We received our teas soon after, with brewing instructions from our waiter. I can say that Snow Dragon didn’t get much of my attention, but the Chai smelled of sweet, aromatic spices and was very good.

While sitting and enjoying tea two things were clear to me. First, the service at Same Fusy was very good, the waiters were quick to receive and serve new guests, they informed the guests about how to handle the tea, which is particularly useful when you’re a newbie. At the same time there were not too intrusive and I have to say I was impressed, which doesn’t happen very often. The second thing however was not a pleasant – the loud, traditional folk music was getting on my nerves and although it was fitting the vibe of the place it was also contradictory to the relaxed nature of tea rooms. Maybe we simply arrived there at the wrong moment, but I would consider this the one minus I can think of.

Same Fusy has two rooms one for smokers and the other for non-smokers, as well as a fresh, clean bathroom. I think being there was a great experience and I’d be happy to return.

 

 

Address – Nowomiejska Street 10, Old Town, Warsaw, http://www.samefusy.pl/

Albert and Jack’s | Tea House Review

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Albert & Jack’s is actually a bakery and deli which offers other health food, cheese, tea, coffee, chocolate and lunch products. Located in the northern part of Stockholm, the expensive district – Ostermalm. The interior is very small, not ideal for sitting around and relaxing. There is only a few seats and people who come in and out all the time and be frustrating for those sitting down. The inside of this bakery is not decorated to be anything in particular. When I was inside I had a feeling of being in a half-store half-small warehouse – overall rather simplistic.

They have a small selection of teas – about 8, which you can either buy in a bag or drink on spot. Trying to find a tea that had interesting ingredients (all of them have strange names) I picked up Miss Saigon – a green tea with carrot pieces, scented with vanilla and exotic fruits. It cost 35 SEK (a bit more then 3 EUR) which it an ok price for Swedish standards, slightly overpriced otherwise. The tea was fun to try, but it missed a punch or some definition, which makes me wonder what the other teas at Albert & Jack’s are like. The teas here are packed in bags coated in white foil and white, handwritten labels, which I haven’t seen before and I think it’s quite eye-catching. Opening time from 7:00 on weekdays is perfect for getting some breakfast and tea before work. They have a standard breakfast package, which you can also expand ranging from 65 – 85 SEK (6 – 8 EUR). I also noticed that they sell various glasses and the Eva Solo Teamakers. 

The staff was neither nice or unpleasant, perhaps a bit slow and absentminded. Since I’m looking at this place from the ‘tea-point-of-view’ I can not say much about the quality of food there, as I have not tried it. If you get satisfaction from finding teas that are not available elsewhere Albert & Jack’s will give you just that. It will make you feel like you’ve found something that few other people will have, but I question the quality of the tea itself. 

Address – Engelbrektsgatan 3, Stockholm http://www.albertjacks.com/

Related products – Albert & Jack’s Miss Saigon