Tea Smith

Tea Smith is the temple for tea lovers. Even for tea amateurs like me. I was wondering in the market, looking for a place to a quick breakfast. And instead i lost myself for an hour, sipping tea like it was whiskey. No, it was not alchoolic, it was a slow pleasure that was worth any second.
I learned the difference of drinking tea, the same tea, in a cup and in a small bowl. It’s like beer and wine. Two different kinds of pleasure.
Enter, let the owner advice you, relax, enjoy tea.

Visiting Teasmith is an almost spiritual experience. A specialist tea shop and tearoom without any of the pretence you might expect, Teasmith is a real pilgrimage for those interested in the world of loose leaf tea.
I’ve been into loose leaf tea ever since working for snooty tea & cofffee emporium, Whittards, many moons ago. I’m only just developing my palette for tea without milk & two sugars, and left my visit to Teasmith inspired to taste more!
Stocking and serving an impressive selection of teas — from delicate white needles right through earthy greens, aged oolongs and malty back teas to specialist Pu-​erhs (and everything in between) — Teasmith are sure to have something to suit your taste. You can sit and enjoy a cup of tea at their brew bar, or select some tea to take home with you from their boutique.
The staff are incredibly welcoming and knowledgable. They are happy to introduce you to new teas or methods of brewing, and are sure to inspire a tea drinking passion in you by the time you leave!
I’d recommend trying their version of a traditional Afternoon Tea, where you are taken through a series of interesting and delicate teas, each of which is accompanied by a cake or biscuit balanced with flavours and textures to compliment the brew.
Teasmith is not on the cheap side, and it really is a specialist shop for people who are serious about tea. If you are looking for a quick cuppa you might be shocked at the price tag, but if you are interested in tea and would like to learn more, Teasmith is the perfect place to start.

It’s a unique place to visit and try the kinds of tea that aren’t served at Starbucks or your local market. They have a variety of teas — green, white, black, etc — that start at £3.50. So it’s not cheap for a serving of tea, but you can make the most out of it. They recommend that you try multiple infusions of most of the teas. Meaning that the flavor develops with subsequent uses of the original tea leaves. So you can get quite a bit of mileage (and caffeine) from your premium leaves. So the idea is to stay there and relax and NOT to just get your hot tea to go. I made that mistake once too.
Also the staff is friendly and will provide samples of other interesting tea varieties. The teas vary from refreshing cold infusions, nourishing green teas, to bold flavors brought on by aged leaves… and much more. The tea enthusiasts here are just like wine and whisky lovers who can meticulously break down every sip into it’s elements. They aren’t too snooty about it too. I didn’t spot one monocle or an extended pinky sipping style.
My main criticism is that the layout isn’t as inviting as most coffee/​tea shops. It feels like they are awkwardly stuck between being a café that serves tea and a shop that sells tea related merchandise. Although they offer wifi, the place just doesn’t feel right for lounging purposes. If you look past that and the sticker shock, you are in for a cool experience.

As someone who is more used to wine or whiskey tastings, it was somewhat new to do head here and almost do a tea tasting.
It is a very interesting place with a bar where you can try the various teas. I would be lying if I said what the tea was that we had — but it was really fantastic. And it was interesting doing the comparison of a couple of cups of the tea (as one of the other reviewers has said); and the staff there are really friendly. I may pop along for one of their proper tea tasting experiences one night!

Saw this in the Time Out guide to London and thought I’d give it a shot with my partner. We went in and it was a little quiet but the woman behind the bar greeted us very warmly. We sat down and looked at the incredibly detailed and wide-​ranging menus for tea. I will say at this point it costs from around £3.50-£7 to sample the teas and it did make me wince a bit then I thought about the Frappuccino I have in Starbucks sometimes and how that costs £3.80 and it made me feel a bit better.
We were helped to pick two different teas, I had a Nockcha, a type of Korean green tea and Rob had an oolong tea. She explained to us all about the flavours and how it arrives in 3 different infusions (so essentially you get 3 cups of tea) and how the process works, the differences between the infusions. I also ordered a walnut and miso biscuit which she said went very well with my tea.
When it arrived in lovely little porcelain cups it was absolutely lovely, a toasty flavour in the first infusion, the second was smooth and almost smoky and the last one was, as the woman told me, a bit worse-​for-​wear. It tasted a bit bitter and slightly of seaweed. Still, a realy nice experience. The biscuit was lovely, both salty and sweet and you get two sizeable ones for £1.50. All together our tea-​tasting experience came to £10 and it was worth it just to have it explained to us and it really made me consider tea a lot more than PG tips and semi-​skimmed.
Certainly somewhere to go for an experience, a treat. The reason this place gets 5 instead of 4 stars was the service. We had an Asian woman who was one of the chirpiest and most lovely people I’ve ever had serve me, she was attentive and seemingly infinitely knowledgeable. If you’re her boss and you’re reading this then give her a sticker or a raise or something. Thanks for the super experience.

With only bagged teas and no one that seemed too knowledgeable about their wares, we found Tea Smith to be only okay
They offered different tea kits at $ 90 & for about 8 cups of tea, that’s a little too pricey
William Curley Chocolate bars were also on the counter & the sign said award-​winning for the last 2 years running but no one knew what the award was & what they won it for… they just said they won it for everything
Riiiiiiiight…
Bought the Milk Choc bar & it was good but nothing OMG-​inducing or award-​winning-​worthy in my mind.
We got the Matcha Smoothie for take-​away & while it was good w/​its green tea & soy milk, it was NOT worth the $ 10 we paid for it

Cool, elegant and stylishly sophisticated is just part of Tea Smith’s charm. Another is the extensive and impressive array of Teas to choose from.
Every sense will be satisfied.

Tea Smith is only about tea, and they take it seriously, it is like science.
I was a bit suspicious about this place because it looks like too designed, too polished. All the teas are packed is similar tea smith packets and so on. On my first visit I was surprised because I was immediately offered to taste some tea, and then left I alone. I mean, usually in these sort of specialty shops the staff is immediately on your skin and you don’t get to take a look on your own… anyway I ended up buying a bag of some smoke tasting green tea. I was blown away, it is by far the best green tea I have ever had!
Yes it is expensive. But what can you expect if it hand picked? The selection is wicked and they also have a tea bar but this far I haven’t had the courage to try it out. I am still the coffee addict and staying that way –for now.

Very cosy tea shop where there is a bar area to order tea, cakes, and snacks.
The shop specializes in oriental teas from China, Japan, and Korea. For £3.50-£5 per tea, it is well worth it if plan to stay for some time, as they will keep replenishing your cup with fresh tea.
Their matcha tea cake was very good, although rather small for £1.50! The staff are very curteous, although rather shy and not entire enthusiastic to recommend teas to try. They also have a massive selection of teas for sale, as well as tea accessories.
Excellent place to go after a day out at Spitalfields Market, and a perfect place for a leisurely afternoon with a friend or two.