Everything You Wanted To Know About Good And Proper Tea

Good & Proper Tea, the crowd-funded teashop on Leather Lane – has put together a rather lovely series of events spanning the next couple of months

Good & Proper Tea are on a mission: to change the way people think about, and drink, the nation’s favourite hot beverage – the humble cup of tea. Having roved around town and the summer festival circuit with their crowd-funded mobile brew bar, one thing is clear – there’s a real appetite from London’s tea lovers looking for a decent cuppa.

The world’s greatest capital city is home to some of the best coffee shops, where you can not only choose how much frothy milk you want, but where the beans are from, how and where they were roasted and, most importantly, the brewing method used to create your particular cup.

Though tea has remained the nation’s favourite hot drink (in a nation of 64 million, 165 million cups of tea are drunk every day in the UK), the quality on offer when we are out-and-about is more often than not distinctly average. Good & Proper Tea wants to change all that: to offer tea drinkers the quality and variety that until now has been exclusive to coffee drinkers.

Tea Tasting Evenings – Tuesday, August 2; September 6; October 4; November 1, 7pm-9pm
“We get excited about getting others excited about tea, so are delighted to be back with the first of this year’s events. If the extent of your tea knowledge is the box of supermarket bags you have at home or you love your coffee but have yet to fall for the humble cuppa, then this could just be a turning point… Over the course of the evening G&P founder Emilie will cover everything from where tea is grown, how it is produced to the impact provenance has on flavour. We’ll then taste our way through a selection of black, oolong, green, white and herbal teas, as well as the ever-popular matcha. You’ll even learn how to brew the perfect cup at home. The event lasts approximately 2 hours & tickets include tea cocktails plus a 20% discount on all teas & teaware bought on the day.”

Grain & Knot Woodcarving Workshop & Brunch – Saturday, August 20, 11am – 1:30pm
“Come and learn the art of crafting your very own wooden butter knife with the lovely Grain & Knot, accompanied by treats and brunch at our Leather Lane shop. The morning will start with delicious tea and breakfast treats, carving your butter knife, followed by crumpets served with plenty of toppings to choose from. Crafting a butter knife will take around 1hr30-2hours, you will be shown the safest way to use wood carving tools and leave with your very own timber creation.”

London Terrariums Workshop – Wednesday, October 6, 7pm – 9pm
“Join the wonderful London Terrariums for an evening making your own Demijohn Terrariums. You will learn how a terrarium works; how these self-contained ecosystems survive so well on their own and how to look after them. The evening will kick off with tea cocktails & nibbles, before a short introduction explaining the history & science that goes into building a terrarium, from the different plants you can use to why activated charcoal has become an essential for us.Then it is up to you guys to get your hands in there and build your own!London Terrariums will supply you with a Demijohn Jar which you will fill with various Fittonia and Ivy and an arrangement of pebbles and moss. Ask any questions you have and by the end of the session, you will have your own exciting miniature garden to take away and watch develop over the next months and years. All cocktails & nibbles plus terrarium contents, Jar and tools are included. Plus they’ll send you home with a London Terrarium Tote Bag to pop your terrarium in and a care guide should you have any further questions”

But, it’s not all about the tea – the food is terrific – house-made sweet and savoury buttermilk crumpets – from Sourdough Crumpets with Butter & Sea Salt, Raspberry Jam, ‘Nutella’, Smoked Salmon & Cream Cheese on Rye or Gluten Free Crumpets…!

At each class, attendees will have a chance to chat to inspirational Founder Emilie Holmes (30, Brockley resident and 2x crowd-funding success story) and take a look at some of the fantastic tea paraphernalia on sale at Good & Proper Tea.

Good & Proper Tea – Where and how

Good & Proper Tea Leather Lane is open Monday – Friday from 8am to 6pm; the full selection of teas, tea paraphernalia and ceramics is  available to buy via www.goodandpropertea.com

• Good & Proper Tea Leather Lane, 96a Leather Lane, London EC1N 7TX
• Good & Proper Tea Old Street, The Bower, London EC1V 9NR