Meredith A.
Yelp
You are in for a treat at this independent, family run coffee/tea shop in Leeds! I think the only bad thing about it was that it is quite small, so it can be tough to get a seat. Everything else was unique and made our visit quite special! It is dim inside, but that makes the interior feel sort of calm and relaxing after coming in from the busy street. I like the brick walls and the general hipster-y rustic touches. The menu looked amazing and was written on chalkboards. I wish we'd been hungry enough for a meal, but instead we got a nutella brownie and I split a large pot of chamomile tea with my friend. My boyfriend got a decaf latte, and my friend's fiancé got an espresso.
They brought it all out to our table - on real plates, and in real china teacups! I mean, where on earth can you get that? When our teapot came, they brought out a timer and said once three minutes had passed, the tea would have steeped to the proper strength. It seems pretentious, but honestly it's brilliant. Tea that's too weak or too strong can be nearly ruined, and you want to taste it as it's supposed to be tasted. I was disappointed that chamomile was their only herbal tea (though it was lovely) - even their mint tea was 50% caffeinated green tea. My boyfriend's latte had some nice foam art of a tree or a leaf, and my friend's fiancé's espresso came with this hilariously tiny bottle of water. Not being an espresso drinker, I'm not sure why that was necessary, but it was quite the charming touch! Our brownie was quite big and I think only £2, and we devoured it happily.
We passed a very pleasant hour here, drinking from our china cups - pinky up of course, how can you not? Despite some of the excessive touches like the timer and the wee bottle of water and the china cups, this place is not pretentious at all. It is casual and come-as-you-are, and a great place to have tea or surely a meal. No doubt whatever you order, something about it will pleasantly surprise you!