{ Food for thoughts }: Tea please!

They are sometimes things that are meant to be. Not that I'm really superstitious or fatalist, but sometimes, it looks like they just had to happen.

A few weeks ago, after a pretty stressful meeting at the Job Center in Camden, I decided to treat myself to a tea in Chinalife, a nice teashop on my way back to the tube station. I was first attracted to this shop because of the display in the front window : Chinese and elegant. The door was open, so I had a glimpse of the ambiance and decided that it could be nice to try the place and maybe review it on this blog.

When you enter the shop, you can see it's divided in different areas :

first there's the "tea shop", offering a variety of high quality loose leaf chinese teas, blossoming teas, cosmetics products, essential oils, magnificent cast iron tea pots,...
then there's the "tea bar" where you can enjoy an amazing range of teas to take away. Ask the shop assistants for their help if you can't choose. They are really nice and helpful!
Finally, the "tea room" : sit down and enjoy your tea in an elegant but casual atmosphere. All teas are brewed to order. You can enjoy pure blends, as well as tea lattes, and frappés. And why not indulge yourself with a tea cocktail? Chinalife just launched a range of fruity or milky cocktails, served warm or iced.

I tried two of their cocktails :

"Red Hippy" , an exotic and intense Yunnan infusion with raspberry nectar and rose petals. A bit too tangy for me but still really nice.

"My way is the Thaï way", delicious and fresh, made with Osmanthus scented Oolong tea blended with lemongrass, mint and lime. I really love that one!

The shop has been created in 2007, as an extension of the Chinese medical clinic "Acumedic", which provides lifestyle solutions for health and beauty.

Now let's get back to what I was first saying : "They are sometimes things that are meant to be."

During my improvised visit to Chinalife, I had the pleasure to meet the manager, and tea expert, Don, who asked me if I could be interested in selling some of my cakes in his tea bar.

So here we are!
From next Wednesday, you'll be able to enjoy Chinalife's beautiful teas with some of Petit Gâteau's lovely cakes!

On the menu : Amaretti, Chocolate Crinkles, Pistacchios & Pink Praline Financiers!

So if you are in the neighbourhood, I can only warmly recommend you to stop by and try a light Oolong cocktail with a financier or a Yunnan tea with a nice intense Chocolate Crinkle!

If you do, please let me know!