Bou Tea

A welcome escape from the craze of Covent Garden and the Opera district, Bou Tea is a one of the newer editions to the area. They have pages full of teas to try and actually encourage their patrons to linger around the shop and enjoy a re-​steep at no extra charge. The service is great; if you mention what you’re in the mood for, they will helpfully talk you through the menu. And at a mere £2 for a pot, you can throw down a couple quid for one of the homemade goodies, fresh baked and enticing from their counter-​top location. Extra hipster credit is given for the walls of the shop, adorned with one-​of-​a-​kind doodles. But if you tire looking at these, you can also make use of the free wi-​fi.

I am thrilled to have found Bou Tea. Being so particular about the tea I drink, and even more so how it is prepared.
The space is open and light, with large front windows. There are several sizes of tables, and one or two out front if you’d like to watch the world go by. The decoration is urban and modern, and this is by far one of the most un-​stuffy tea houses that I have been to. Not gendered and not ethnically located (i.e. not «pan-​asian» themed).
They have an expansive and well thought out list of teas, so anyone from traditionalists to herbal tea drinkers will find something to please.
My tea was served in a yokode kysu, which is a side-​handled japanese style teapot. It is nice to see tea served in something other than a British style pot.
I ordered a Hojicha, which was prepared with the right temperature of water, and they timed the steeping process, bringing the pot to my table when it was ready to drink. Colour me thrilled! Excellent execution.
I also ordered a piece of carrot cake, which was moist and delicious. I suppose I should also mention that they serve Monmouth coffee, hot chocolate and sandwiches, muffins, and other baked goods, which all looked excellent.
I will be back, for sure, to try more from the tea menu and once uni is back in swing, I will be studying here for sure.

Every once in a while I put down my liquor glass and go for a civilised tea and cake excursion. Us girls do love tea, you know. And what better location than Bou Tea, right in the middle of Covent Garden?
Not just content with tea, they serve hot chocolate and Monmouth Coffee too. I’ve never actually had this, as I’m convinced it is like crack, one taste and I’ll be hooked for life!
I do like their cake selection, brownies, banana bread, fruit loaf and the best flapjack I’ve had in ages.
Adorable little teapots and cups and saucers with tiger print design. Very quaint and cute. But nothing really grabbed me as being special about the place. It has a funky design, but I’m not sure I would go out of my way to visit here.

I was well impressed by this place. As I was walking down Wellington Street on a cold, windy night and looking for a respite from the weather for the 45 minutes I had between work and another engagement, I was about to stop into a Costa next door when I saw a sign on the black and innocuous frontage of an unidentified business that said happily, ‘We are open!’ Okay! I crossed the street and took a closer look.
It was a tea house! That I’d never heard of!
How could I have been thinking, only moments before, that I might settle for a Costa in exchange for the warmth of its radiators when this beauty sat, nearly empty, next to it.
I went inside and took a look at the blackboard with the ‘tea of the day’. The guy behind the counter greeted me right away and proceeded to engage me in an extended conversation about Bou Tea’s tea of the day, its ethos as a tea house and the plethora of other types of tea available. I went for an afternoon blend after having smelled it, and then I took a seat.
The tea took a while to arrive, but as it should have, as it was left steeping at the counter on a timer before being brought to me. And, oh, it tasted magnificent. If just a simple blend tasted so clean and satisfying, I can’t wait to try some of the more specialty teas!
Also, my tea cup had a purple and gold-​plate motif, and my saucer had a tiger on it. A tiger! (see picture) Even if the tea were bad, this would probably compel me to give Bou Tea five stars. I gotta be honest.
But it wasn’t. The tea was good. The space was good (it was on the acceptably cool side of the hipster-​twatty scale. You know that I mean.). The service was good. The location was good.
£2 for a pot! But, more importantly, Bou Tea says right there at the top of its menu that it ENCOURAGES patrons to linger and to bring their pots back up to the counter for a resteep of their tea leaves. So, effectively, £2 for multiple pots of tea and a cool place to hang out for a while!
I am a huge fan already.

I found this place by accident. I was walking from the Southbank to the Royal Opera House. I was a bit early for the ballet I was due to see and was just ambling along Wellington Street when a noticed a sign outside this shop saying ‘Monmouth Coffee served here’. Now, I am a big fan of Monmouth Coffee. The only problem with the main Monmouth Coffee shop in Covent Garden is that there usually queues and there aren’t many tables and chairs… you can never get a seat. I peaked inside Bou Tea and there was a couple of empty tables… what’s a boy to do? I went in and promptly ordered a cappuccino. The coffee was made to delicious perfection…
This place makes a refreshing change from the plethora of chain coffee shops that you get in Covent Garden. It is more like the kind of independent coffee/​tea shop that you find in North London. It is out of the way from the main buzz of Covent Garden and the place is very relaxed. They have the daily papers for customers and also an extensive selection of teas. I will definitely go back and I will try some of their appetising food.

Great new tea shop just up from the Lion King. They have a huge menu of black, white and green teas which they serve at a very reasonable price in a pot which can be refilled twice over for free. Particularly impressed with the silk tea which smells and tastes as if it has milk added already when it has no milk in it. They also do Monmouth coffee, very nice hot chocolate and a selection of tasty food which I have not tried owing to being a cheapskate. The only reason I give it 4 stars rather than 5 is that I find the décor a bit too bright white and sparsely chinese style tea for me, I prefer the over stuffed armchair British approach to tea drinking. Also the bathroom door is hard to close, hard to lock and easily stuck.