Brand Review - Yumchaa

I just so happened to visit London last week with several theatre friends, who were eager to explore the sites and sounds of Camden. I had been several times in the past and loved every minute of it that I could take in. The sites, tastes and smells of Camden are a delight, especially by Camden Lock Market, where I always like to go to get a bite to eat. There are scores of takeaway food stands and some craft stalls too, which offer a plethora of cultures, choices and tastes to the local resident and tourist alike.

Overlooking the market is a lovely tea room-esque place which has a great seating area on a balcony and enough chairs and tables inside for those averse to the sun (in the rare event it shows itself). Yumchaa or yum-chaa, which is Cantonese for drink+tea, has several tea-rooms around London, Soho and Tottenham Street are the other two permanent shops for those that are interested. Their motto is simple.. Tea is at the heart of what we do.

Taking a small paragraph from their website (www.yumchaa.com) they say - "The foundations of brewing a good cup of tea are The Leaf, The Water and the Freedom for the two to mingle. We blend and serve only quality loose leaf tea. Tea leaves contain the essential oils and compounds which provide the basis for a good cup of tea." Basically, what they are trying to say is, they like tea, they make great tea, and they'd like you to try some of theirs!



I decided to go for a 'Courtesan' tea which is to quote Amazon, 'Sexy, Red and slightly tart', which is kinda like me, except the red part! This tea was sensational. It was packed full of flavour and was really refreshing on a warm sunny afternoon. The ingrediants which make up Courtesan are as follows: Strawberries, Raspberries, Apples, Blueberries (plus others) mixed with Rose Hips and Hibiscus. See where all the flavour is coming from?

The tea was survived up in a cute little teapot/cup combo with a tea strainer in which to pour the tea through. I'm certainly not aware of anywhere close to me that offers tea like this, and it adds a little to the occasion and fun when you get to have tea in a different way. The staff inside were really helpful and polite, dealing with the queue of people waiting in a timely and happy manner. Inside you can buy the many many teas that Yumchaa offer, along with the teaspot/strainer to relive the experience when you're at home and work. I was actually going to buy one of these but unfortunately we suddenly realised we needed to be at a theatre we're due to perform at in August as part of the Camden Fringe, so had to rush off without one. 

Would I go back to Yumchaa for a cup of refreshment? Certainly! My friends and I had a great time and would certainly go back. It's also worth noting we went to a honey stall which we were overlooking and tried a sample from 'Wild Hive'. The chap at the stall was really friendly and if I wasn;t going to be walking around London for a while, I'd have definitely invested in a few jars of their honey, which as I said was a delight.

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Bye for now!