When I was searching about places to go in Stratford upon Avon (apart from the Shakespeare-related places), I found Benson’s House of Tea! I was immediately interested because:
1. The name is “house of tea”
2. They have £5 breakfasts with bottomless tea (or coffee, if you prefer that)
Since they’re located just opposite Shakespeare’s Birthplace, it was fairly easy to convince my family to make this place the breakfast place.
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| The restaurant |
I got their English breakfast and it was delicious! And their English Breakfast tea was amazing! It really is the best English Breakfast that I’ve tried so far.
Which means that after breakfast, I headed straight to their tea shop (just a few shops down, less than a minute’s walk) and got myself some of their teas.
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| Tea shop, with non-tea souvenirs too! |
They had some Alice in Wonderland china that I was so tempted to buy. But we were only halfway through the trip and I didn’t want to risk breaking anything so I didn’t dare pick anything up.
In the end, I got their Stratford All Day Blend and their English Breakfast Tea.
Their teas are supplied by members of the Ethical Tea Partnership. According to their website:
The Ethical Tea Partnership (ETP) is a not for profit membership organisation that exists to improve tea sustainability, the lives and livelihoods of tea workers and smallholder farmers, and the environment in which tea is produced.
To achieve our vision of a thriving tea industry that is socially just and environmentally sustainable we focus our work on four key areas:
Raising Standards
Tea Workers
Smallholder Tea Farmers
Climate & Environment
So not only are you drinking great tea, you’re drinking tea that was made ethically. And if I remember correctly, all the tea is blended in-house as well!
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| Back of package, if you’re interested |
These loose leaves are pretty easy to store since the top has those latches (unlike Lupicia and T2, where I have to use tea clips)
Like I mentioned earlier, their English breakfast is the best that I’ve had. The tea is very bright, with an almost berry-ish aftertaste. It goes extremely well with food and tasted pretty good with milk too (which is a surprise because most of the teas I own are meant to be drunk straight. My dad, on the other hand, is ecstatic).
The Stratford All Day Blend has a malty smell when dry (I hope I remember what malty is correctly!). It’s a little more bitter than the English breakfast, but otherwise tastes similar. A good, strong cup of tea, although if I had to pick between the two, English Breakfast would win hands down.
If you’re visiting Stratford upon Avon, you have to visit Benson’s House of Tea. I really hope that on my next trip to England, we can pay this place a visit again.
Links & Information
Benson’s House of Tea:
Tea Shop
Restaurant (menus available here)
Opening hours:Monday to Saturday 9 – 5.30, Sunday 9 – 5.30
Address: 40 Henley Street, Stratford upon Avon, Warwickshire