Britmy old friends....I need your help.

[AntiBlitz]

Since all britmy old friends are born out of the womb as tea connoisseurs, i must enlist your opinions of this place. 

The ol' lady wanted to check out this place called the British Bell Tea Room, seems like a fancy upscale restaurant, and with the theme it seemed worth a try.  So this is where you come in, and tell me what you think, as well as what you think i should drink.  I myself dont drink tea, so im not really sure where to start with all this, since there is a lot of tea to choose from.  Anything i should stay away from?  or definitely try?  Are these even british? or is this like a "chinese restaurant" where it isnt really chinese, but rather what we think chinese food is.  Any food in the menu you think i should definitely try?

The place seems quite upscale, and i dont wanna spend a shitload of money trying out teas lol, so let me know what you think, go or avoid it? what should i drink or stay away from?  how stereotypical is this of me to ask?

http://britishbelltea.com/

This spoiler link will take you to the teas i assume you can drink while there

(click to show/hide)

http://britishbelltea.com/purchase/
http://britishbelltea.com/tea/

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[Christo]

So this is where you come in, and tell me what you think, as well as what you think i should drink

tea

[Son Of Odin]

tea

mushrooms

[Tore]

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[AntiBlitz]

tea

you hungarian scum, what kind of tea?(wait, you are hungarian right? so many of you to keep track of)

[Christo]

you hungarian scum, what kind of tea?(wait, you are hungarian right? so many of you to keep track of)

I'm like the only frequent poster that's Hungarian, I hope you are joking.

[Kalam]

Since all britmy old friends are born out of the womb as tea connoisseurs, i must enlist your opinions of this place. 

The ol' lady wanted to check out this place called the British Bell Tea Room, seems like a fancy upscale restaurant, and with the theme it seemed worth a try.  So this is where you come in, and tell me what you think, as well as what you think i should drink.  I myself dont drink tea, so im not really sure where to start with all this, since there is a lot of tea to choose from.  Anything i should stay away from?  or definitely try?  Are these even british? or is this like a "chinese restaurant" where it isnt really chinese, but rather what we think chinese food is.  Any food in the menu you think i should definitely try?

The place seems quite upscale, and i dont wanna spend a shitload of money trying out teas lol, so let me know what you think, go or avoid it? what should i drink or stay away from?  how stereotypical is this of me to ask?

http://britishbelltea.com/

This spoiler link will take you to the teas i assume you can drink while there

(click to show/hide)

http://britishbelltea.com/purchase/

visitors can't see pics , please register or login


visitors can't see pics , please register or login

I'm no brit, but I did grow up somewhere where we had teatime. That's a decent enough selection, though I do feel a local health food store might have a similar line. It depends on where you live, I guess. I was surprised that they didn't carry white peony tea, or other major white teas. In my experience, part of what you're paying for there is the ambience. The best processes for brewing tea also differ depending on the tea, and can range from something like grinding up some leaves and spices with a mortar and pestle and mixing it with a brewed tea to a gaiwan or the classic kettle and strainer method. Ultimately, though, it's best to ask a friend with similar tastes who's been there to see if it's worth going to, or reviewers that you generally trust.

[AntiBlitz]

I'm like the only frequent poster that's Hungarian, I hope you are joking.

in some other thread i called someone german i think, and they were british lol.  I just didnt want to hurt your feels if and national pride by misrepresenting you in my sarcastic insult.

I'm no brit, but I did grow up somewhere where we had teatime. That's a decent enough selection, though I do feel a local health food store might have a similar line. It depends on where you live, I guess. I was surprised that they didn't carry white peony tea, or other major white teas. In my experience, part of what you're paying for there is the ambience. The best processes for brewing tea also differ depending on the tea, and can range from something like grinding up some leaves and spices with a mortar and pestle and mixing it with a brewed tea to a gaiwan or the classic kettle and strainer method. Ultimately, though, it's best to ask a friend with similar tastes who's been there to see if it's worth going to, or reviewers that you generally trust.

nobody i know has spent the coin to try the place, i feel like you need to have a want to go to the place and try it out.  We on the other hand(myself and the gf) love to go to restaurants and try them out, so anything thats new is always intriguing.  The only opinion i can see are the google review crap, and people who may regularly eat this food and give me recommendations!

[Strudog]

For me, Tea is something that is different for everyone, some like PG, some like Tetley, but for me it has to be Yorkshire Tea, and i think the other two teas are awful, It comes down to personal preference.

For the place that you have but forward, it does look like a smart place to go and looks very much 19th century England feel or maybe a Downton Abbey feel, something you Americans sen to love. But to me it looks like it a place with a whole load a descriptive names for different tea' that probably taste somewhat the same and there will be a rather large price tag to go with. If you want something different i guess this would be something different

It will be your personal preference, if you just want the bog standard tea then go for the black teas and depends whether you want it flavoured , but it looks lie there are a variety of flavours which you won't get in England, apart  from all the herbal teas, just go with what you think tastes nice.

[SixThumbs]

I agree that you're probably going to pay more for decor then anything else, although the exit sign and ceiling kind of ruin it for me.

[Son Of Odin]

Why don't you just go to a grocery store and buy different kinds of tea and try them out? Earl Grey, ceylon, green tea are nice basic stuff.

Then again you can make tea from basically anything. I drink chaga mushroom tea, which is tea made out of a mushroom that lives on damaged parts of birch trees.

My new favourite tea is ginger + orange flavored green tea. If you see that shit somewhere, buy it! It's awesome!

Oh and usually with green tea you don't want to make it in boiling water because 100 degrees of celsius is too much. 90 is somewhere you want to keep it to get the best flavor.

[Kafein]

I don't like tea except traditional mint tea: you fill half your cup with sugar, then you pour the tea.

[Grumbs]

Most people just drink branded stuff that comes in t-bags like http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PG_Tips

Main thing is that you let it infuse for a few mins with boiling water then add a bit of milk. Nothing really fancy about it

[Overdriven]

Why don't you just go to a grocery store and buy different kinds of tea and try them out? Earl Grey, ceylon, green tea are nice basic stuff.

Then again you can make tea from basically anything. I drink chaga mushroom tea, which is tea made out of a mushroom that lives on damaged parts of birch trees.

My new favourite tea is ginger + orange flavored green tea. If you see that shit somewhere, buy it! It's awesome!

Oh and usually with green tea you don't want to make it in boiling water because 100 degrees of celsius is too much. 90 is somewhere you want to keep it to get the best flavor.

Pretty much this.

I've tried many different teas and most of them store bought. I've also brought tea back from various trips. I went to the nilgiri hill tea plantations in India and brought back some selections and the difference (freshness) was incredible.

I wouldn't spend out on something like that for tea, though I suppose you go for the all round experience more than anything.

[AntiBlitz]

Why don't you just go to a grocery store and buy different kinds of tea and try them out? Earl Grey, ceylon, green tea are nice basic stuff.

well because we arent necessarily going for the tea, we are going for the restaurant experience.  We like to go try out new restaurants we find, and experience what is has to offer.  Its about the atmosphere, theme, and most importantly the food.  Just something we enjoy doing. 

But while we were there, i figured id ask if there was any of these i should try in particular, or if there was something that was highly recommended by the heavy tea drinkers, as i personally dont have any experience with it at all.  So thats where you all came in, was hoping for some good suggestions, as well as if the place even seems authentic in capturing the atmosphere it is attempting to portray.

I wouldn't spend out on something like that for tea, though I suppose you go for the all round experience more than anything.

ya, unfortunately, this is a, i would say, one of a kind restaurant lol.  Ive never seen one like it before, so its unique.  I guess maybe not to europeans lol, but to someone who cant get there, this seems somewhat exotic, so in turn, its seems enjoyable, if not for atleast a one time experience.