The founding of Waterloo Gardens Teahouse came about after a series of fortunate events. When the local butcher decided to close his doors it was a loss to the community. We then thought that it would be nice to create a place that could act as a hub for the area.
The main objective was to have a venue of outstanding quality which was welcoming to people from all backgrounds. No airs, graces or pretence – just a relaxed atmosphere with something different to offer from the norm.
What it looks like when you walk in...
A coffee shop seemed like the obvious thing to open up, but it just seemed a little boring – nothing that we could really get our teeth into. It always surprised me that whenever we used to go out, and ask for tea, we would invariably be served something that was close to undrinkable.
The rules stated that ‘Drink tea at home and coffee when you go out’.
So a Teahouse it would be…
We tracked down the best teas that you could get your hands on - after a year of research, meetings, travel and tastings. Our list of nearly 50 teas we thought would offer something for everyone. Every single tea selected to go on our list had been carefully tasted and compared against other similar teas, to ensure that we would stock only the best that was available. We also have seven teas that were 1st place winners at the World Tea Championships, including our Earl Grey, Breakfast Tea, Jasmine Pearl, White Silver Needle, Mint Tea and Sencha. No other teahouse in the UK stocked these teas and we realised then that we were setting the pace for others to follow, including more established teahouses in London.
We didn’t expect everybody to suddenly drop coffee in favour of tea, so we had to ensure that the coffees we served were as good as you could get. The coffee beans we use are always Fair-Trade and organic. We serve the coffee in 8Oz and 12Oz cups – the way it should be. In keeping with our ethos of being equal for all, we offer soya milk at no extra charge.
Along with a cup of tea or coffee, we liked the idea of having delicious cakes. Not the cakes we are so used to seeing in all the chains – frozen, bland, pre-packaged, generic. Whilst standing outside the teahouse one day (or butchers as it still was then), a lady approached me and asked what our intentions were. After hearing the low down, she started raving about her neighbour, Jackie, who had just started baking gluten free cakes. Jackie lives around the corner from the teahouse, and she now drops off wonderful combinations such as Chocolate/Orange and Chilli cake, and Ginger and Pear cake. A couple of her cakes are also dairy free, as well as the Chocolate and Beetroot cake which is vegan. When you try them, you will see what all the fuss is about!
Our theme colour was chosen to be orange. Why Orange? Well, in the olden days, tea was exported from the East to the West, via Holland. If a tea was deemed good enough, it would go to the Dutch Royal Family, hence being graded as ‘orange’. It is from this that the term ‘orange pekoe’ is derived, which is a grading of tea.
There must be a million artists living a stones throw away from the Teahouse, so we thought it be a good idea to have a place where they could exhibit their work. Along with established and internationally renowned artists, we wanted to provide the opportunity to artists who had never had a chance to be exhibited before. The Global Fund, for HIV/AIDS, Malaria and TB was a cause close to our hearts, so it was decided that all commissions earned from the gallery were to be donated to the fund.
