The *only* business with both a website shop *and* a real tea house in London!!!
I can heartily and genuinely recommend both Mei Leaf's website, and their shop in London, UK for buying competitively priced, excellent Chinese (and a few Japanese!) single estate, whole leaf teas. Also, tisanes, herbs and some tea/fruit blends. Absolutely brilliant.
Tea is not meant crushed into dust and put in a paper and plastic bag with glued edges. It is meant to be taken from the tree in whole leaves, cared for and processed only by those with generations of knowledge of traditional Chinese tea making and then presented, still in withered, processed and dried whole leaf form, to be brewed 'gong fu' style in either a small pot or a gaiwan.
The teas from Mei Leaf are absolutely these sorts of teas and I will absolutely continue to buy teas online from Mei Leaf, and to visit their London tea house both to buy teas and to drink tea!
My favourite aspect of Mei Leaf is their shop in London - I visit quite regularly and can say wholeheartedly that you will not find another proper tea house in London which has both the range and quality of teas that Mei Leaf can offer. Indeed, all the other tea houses I know of in London do not have a tea house which serves tea on demand, however you can sample a variety of teas in these establishments - but only if it is your intention to buy.
What is truly remarkable about Me Leaf's tea house is that you can visit, order tea, and *not* be immediately presented with a large teapot - you will be asked what sort of tea ware you prefer: a gaiwan or small clay yixing pot for example, typically holding only around 100ml of water, but which can be brewed numerous times - this is an experience everyone who thinks they love tea but has not tried Chinese gong fu tea drinking absolutely must experience, because once you do, you will not go back to teabags - I can almost guarantee you this.
Mei Leaf is the only place in London that you can sit for hours drinking some of the finest teas available both inside and outside China/Japan.
They deserve 10 out of 5 stars ;-)
1 maggio 2022
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