This is a page describing the various tea houses I have visited in London. I’m something of a tea aficionado and so I’ve been seeking out the capitals best and most authentic venues.

Teanamu Chaya Teahouse, Shepherds Bush

This is the ultimate ceremonial tea experience in London: an intimate, beautifully-decorated room set in a quiet residential street, Teanamu serves a mouthwatering range of Chinese and Japanese teas alongside delicious Asian-Western open sandwiches and sweets.

The staff are extremely friendly and knowledgable, helping you to select a tea by gently guiding you through the options, rather than imposing their opinion. The teas (which were delicious) were served gong fu in clay pots and each table was equipped with an electric kettle, allowing you to re-steep as frequently as you liked. The food was incredible and all the more impressive for being handmade on site (everything except the clotted cream!).

You can find Teanamu Chaya Teahouse at 4 Melina Road, Shepherds Bush. Visit their website at teanamu.com.

Mei Leaf (formerly ChinaLife), Camden

The tea room at Mei Leaf is an oasis in the bustle and vitality of the lively borough of Camden. The tea room is housed in one of several adjacent shops, specialising in Chinese medicine, traditional books and acupuncture treatments. The tea room is tucked to one side of their tea shop, alongside a glass booth containing a myriad of medicinal herbs; this makes for surprisingly pleasant viewing if you watch being weighed out.

Tea is served on a small wooden tray, complete with a perfectly-folder napkin occupying one corner and a small yam cookie (a bitesized confection made of yam flour, think the tea equivalent of an amaretti biscuit served with coffee). Your chosen tea is brewed for you and served in a decanter, allowing you to pour your teacup as you please. The decanter holds quite a lot of tea but, for those bent on an all afternoon session, they will happily re-steep your tea as often as you wish.

I have tried their Superior Grade Iron Goddess oolong and it was delicious! Seriously, one of the nicest teas I have ever drunk. Their Jin Xuan and Ruby GABA oolongs are also fantastic! The full range is impressive: there are 3 white teas, a yellow tea, 10 greens, 12 oolongs, 6 black teas and several puerhs to choose from. There is also an enticing range of herbal tisanes.

Tea can be served in a decanter, pictured below, or in full gong-fu style. The price of the latter is a little more expensive, coming in at around £6, but worth the experience if you have the time!

There are also tea pots, including several beautiful cast iron models and a moderately priced Yixing Zisha for £59; tea caddies; infusers and, of course, a large number of teas available for sale. All of the teas are available to drink in the tea room and so you can try before you buy, or take home some of your favourite.

You can find Mei Leaf at 99 Camden High Street, NW1 7JN. Visit their website at meileaf.com / chinalife.com.

TeaLife, Bloomsbury

This is a small, quiet teahouse, tucked just West of the British Museum. The frontage is a little neon for my taste but, upon entering, I was relieved to find a wealth of teas and teaware inside.

The interior is a jumbled, eclectic mix of ceramic, teas, notebooks and other haberdashery contents, all arranged higgledy-piggledy on a floor-to-ceiling shelf running the length of the shop. This makes for some interesting browsing as you wait for your tea and, if you share my magpie qualities, a sincere temptation to buy just one more teacup!

The tea is served on a small tray and poured, in traditional gong fu style, in front of you by a member of staff. I found the experience pleasingly traditional and it brings a certain relaxed quality to the tea house.

I have sampled the matcha and a delicious milk oolong on my visits. The latter was delicious and I would thoroughly recommend it. I have also been working my way through their sweets – of which there is an exotic selection: frozen mung bean desserts, mochi and miniature cakes.

I have a real love for TeaLife, it’s a quiet, bizarre-feeling venue in the heart of Bloomsbury, with delicious teas and extremely friendly staff.

You can find TeaLife at 21 Museum St, London WC1A 1JN.

Tea Postcards, Mayfair

This is a tea house worth visiting. The place boast several oolongs (including a few fine Wuyi rock teas), several puerhs, a whole host of blacks including some English blends, and some Japanese and Chinese greens. There is also a selection of very fine teaware, both ceramic vessels and metal caddies and strainers.

Tea Postcards is tucked off several busy streets in Mayfair, with a handsome yet unassuming frontage – it’s easy to miss. The interior is home to a selection of the teas, available to buy or try (if you try a tea and go on to buy it then the cost is waived), and a long table at which to sit and drink your brew. As with all good tea shops you may steep your leaves as many times as you like.

The teaware on offer leans towards the contemporary and Japanese, and everything is exceedingly high quality. The whole experience befits the area and oozes class. If you’re nearby, I thoroughly recommend popping in for a steep and a chat with the friendly staff.

Good and Proper Tea, Clerkenwell

A gem of a teashop that offers a small but robust range of teas, tucked on one end of Leather Lane. Good and Proper Tea is a modern-looking, wood-panelled tea room stocking a reasonable selection of high-quality teas: they have 4 or 5 black, 5 or 6 oolongs, several greens and a pair of delicious white teas.

I stopped by one morning and sat with some of their Eastern Beauty oolong, a delicate, sweet and delicious tea. Their selection looks amazing but, be warned, the prices are a little high and they don’t offer refills! Regardless, the atmosphere is pleasant and sophisticated and the staff friendly.

You can find Good and Proper Tea on Leather Lane and Old Street. Visit their website at goodandpropertea.com.

Yumchaa, various locations

I stumbled across Yumchaa whilst at work as there is one just across the street. My eyes caught the words “loose leaf” on someone’s takeaway cup as they walked out of the café and, naturally, I had to give it a try. The branch I visited was on Tottenham Court Road, right next to Goodge street, and had a chic, modern feel. Most of the patrons were working quietly on Macbooks and the place had a nice atmosphere.

I had been in search of some good quality matcha and so I sampled one of their green lattes, weighing in at £3.60 apiece. The drink was delicious, not oversweet and genuine tasting.

On a later occasion I tried their Russia Caravan, (a blend of Assam, Lapsang Souchong and some other delights) and their Midnight Grey (Keemun, bergamot, lime and cornflowers). Both teas were enjoyable but, truth be told, a little feeble. I also tried their cakes: a Red Velvet and a Carrot Cake. The cakes were pleasant but a little disappointing, truth be told, I was hoping for that elusive “wow” and, sadly, it fell slightly short.

My overall conclusion is that the teashop offers a nice atmosphere and some pretty decent teas and it would be a good place to work or to spend a long conversation with a friend. However, if you’re looking for the idea venue for a tea ceremony, this isn’t for you.

You can find Yumchaa at several locations around London. Visit their website at yumchaa.com.