Souper Juice - Tunbridge Wells

This long thin café fills an oddly shaped space on the end of a row of shops. They have used the space well, fitting in a fair few tables, the large kitchen and serving area and a bathroom. The shape of the café also means that from where I am sat, right in the middle, I can see the whole place. The floor and seats are dark wood and the block colour walls give the place a fun, vintage look.  

The entire menu is up on chalk boards behind the counter and it all looks fab! Living up to its name the two main areas are (all together now) soup and juice but there are some other tasty looking options too. I however, have chosen the ‘Mars Bar’ cake from the tempting cake display in the window (passing up an amazing looking Rainbow Cake for another time) and it tastes good but nowhere near as good as it looks, covered in edible glitter! The range of drinks is amazing, from hot drinks to iced tea and juices and smoothies, very healthy and delicious.

I love the tea, it comes in a tea-pot that has an in-built strainer (I spent a little while wondering where my strainer was after I opened the lid and saw tea leaves)more places should invest in these innovative little pots.

I like what they’ve done with the place and the range of cakes and tea mean I might be stopping here again!

Twitter: @souperjuice1
Facebook: facebook.com/souperjuice1
Website: souperjuicebar.co.uk
Address: 11 Monson Rd, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN1 1LS

Me

Hello!

I’ve been touring tearooms and blogging about my experiences for just over six months now and I haven’t really said much about me. Hi! My names Georgie, I’m 23 and from Kent. As you can guess I love tea and tearooms and cafés and its my hope one day to open up a tearoom of my own. I’d love to hear from you and this is the real reason for writing this short message. There are two way of contacting me (apart from leaving a comment here) and they are:

1) Email me at Time-For-Tea-Blog@hotmail.co.uk

2) Tweet me at @TimeForTeaBlog1

I seriously would love to hear from you, let me know if you’ve been to any of the places I blogged about and what you thought. Or if there is a place I haven’t blogged about that you think I should check out, let me know and I just might, if you leave your name too, I will put in the blog that you recommended me that place.

Happy tea drinking!

Georgie x

Lo-Gi - Tunbridge Wells

A far cry from the mismatched homey atmosphere of Juliets or The Nutmeg Tree, Lo-Gi (standing for low glycemic index, the ‘ranking of carbohydrates from 0-100, according to extent at which they raise the blood sugar levels’ as the ‘dietary requirements manual’ the owner showed me says) is a clean cut health food café boasting ‘simply delicious food’ and a wide range or gluten free, dairy free, sugar free, vegetarian AND vegan food (wow!).

Lo-Gi was created by couple, one of whom is a coeliac and the other a diabetic and their two children who are both dairy intolerant when they found there were few places all of them could find ‘good quality healthy choices’ (as the story of Lo-Gi on the back of the menu states). They are confident that here, anyone with any dietary needs can come and find something and from the looks of the healthy and delicious looking options on the rather full menu and after having a nice chat with one of the owners about all the options (whetting my appetite…) I think they are probably right!

The café is full of bare wood, from the tables and chairs to the floor and even the lower half of the counter. I really like this because it feeds into the healthy and natural feel of the place while keeping it modern with flowing shapes and bright colours. All around are wide café windows and views of passing shoppers and cars, which at the same time are muted by the music and seem somehow distant and unimportant as you concentrate on the inside space and enjoy the menu.

I was most excited with the way my tea came, in a glass mug with a bowl ‘lid’ that turned helpfully into a place to put my teabag and empty sugar packets (yes, sugar, don’t judge me!) I love being able to see the beautiful colour of tea all the way through before and after adding the milk. A truly calming and healthy café experience, highly recommended!

Twitter: @eatlogi
Website: eatlogi.com
Address: 5 Ely Court, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN1 2SP

Juliets - Tunbridge Wells

I’ve been recommended Juliets, by a few people and sitting here looking around at the friendly staff and happy customers (and eating the richly delicious rocky road) I can see why. This sweet little café has been open for four years and is run by couple Juliet (who brings 18 years catering experience to making this café perfect) and Simon (the chef) and I like that they have written a personal message to the customers at the bottom of the menu, introducing the new seasons menu, which ends ‘Enjoy, Juliet and Simon’.

The whole place is mismatched from the crockery and cutlery to the art on the walls and even the chairs and tables (even the staff’s clothes!) this gives the whole café a gorgeous at home quirky feel that is unique and that I adore! I could get lost forever studying the beautiful pieces of crockery and artwork laid out on the tables and walls all around for myself and my fellow customers.  The slightly up-beat music that flows around the shop, enveloping you as you enter, immediately pushes all cares aside and allows you to enjoy your tea/lunch-having experience in peace (though some of the choices, such as a marching bands rendition of ‘When the Saints go Marching in’, are a bit odd, the music seems to be as eclectic as everything else.) I’m also happy to spot a fresh orange juice maker behind the counter next to the hot drinks machine, perfectly in place, as at home as the coffee maker (an extra I think all cafés should have).

The tea, from a company I have never heard of before called ‘Prince and Sons’ (as a barista tells me, recently changed from Tea Pigs, which is still available in the in boxes from behind the counter) is lovely and the food, including the gorgeous rocky road and other scrummy looking cakes, looks great. I will certainly be back to try more or it! The only negative thing is that they were out of my two favorite cakes, Sponge and Lemon Drizzle… this is part of the reason I will be back!

I love this fun, quirky café with its mismatched things and happy atmosphere, I will definitely return as the atmosphere is perfect for writing (for me, anyway.)

Twitter: @julietsandmore
Website: julietstunbridgewells.co.uk
Address: 54 High Street, Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN1 1XF

The Javabean Cafe - Tunbridge Wells

This trendy café is actually rather large and it needs to be! Every time I walk past it seems to be full of customers. I knew I had to try it out myself.

The inside is well laid out and I like that one wall displays the work of local artists (available to buy), a different one every four weeks, or so the sign says. I love the beautifully painted with quirky images, such as a power line with birds on it (to advertise the Twitter page) over the window, tea pots and mugs over the hot drinks station and wine bottles and glasses perched on top of a black board. Though, this time, I only had a cup of tea, I can almost hear the delicious looking chips and the cakes behind the glass counter (so close) calling out to me… next time. A sign to my left also boasts ‘Home made waffles!’ I shall have to try those too!

Though the kitchen closed an hour ago, I managed to get my hands on a menu offering a wide range of burgers, sandwiches, jacket potatoes and make-your-own breakfasts (choosing three, five or eight items from the breakfast menu.)

I love the local artwork, the hand made cards on the counter, and all the other small touches that make this place so different and beautiful, highly recommended for a trendy break from the norm.

Twitter: @javabeanTW
Facebook: facebook.com/javabeancafetunbridgewells
Website: javabean-cafe.co.uk
Address: 67-69 The High Street, Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN1 1XX

The Tiffin Cafe - Tunbridge Wells

As the menu hedder states: "Tiffin\Tif'ffn\, n. A lunch, or light repast between breakfast and dinner; originally English slang tiffing, v. Taking a little drink or sip, but introduced into India, and brought back with a new meaning."

The Tiffin café or just Tiffin is another of Tunbridge Wells' true hidden gems. Were it not for the sign at the end of the small street its on, I would never have found it myself. This small café is decorated beautifully with pictures of the town, flowers and even veggies! There are even fresh herbs growing in the window. Though its small, with five tables inside and two out, it is by no means crampt or uncomfortable, quite the opposite. The large front window and open door fill the room with light and air and give it a trully welcoming feeling (aided in no small part by the table heaving with home made cakes opposite the door, yum! Naturally I had to sample one for myself, the Chocolate Orange cake was divine!)

Sat on the sofa that runs along one wall of the room I cant help but smile as the relaxing music, my mug of perfect tea and gorgeous cake calm me right down and cheer me up emensly after a long morning at work and the fact that the teas are all fair trade just makes it all better.

Hidden down the bottom of the high-street, on a little side street, this cute café may be harder to find than some of the others but its well worth looking for.

Twitter: @tiffincafetw
Website: tiffincafeandcatering.co.uk
Address: 5 Castle St, Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN1 1XJ