Sinensis Camellia

Being fairly well versed in most tea-related gossip,
puns and trivia, the name of our next destination
'Sinensis Camellia' (the botanical name for the tea
plant - NB it should really be 'Sinensis camellia', of
course...) was not lost on us.

Even by our standards our trip up to London was
fairly fraught as Lily lost her ticked on the train.
When Amos politely expounded the situation to the
inspector he was rather less than sympathetic and
threatened him with an ASBO should we not sit
down and cough up the exorbitant fine.

The rain - which had been threatened all week -
chose the exact moment we left the Naughty Office
at Victoria Station to descend in one enormous
mass, and we arrived at the charming top floor
courtyard tearoom (just off Carnaby Street)
soaked to the skin and muttering menacing curses
to the Heavens and Southern Trains.

Slave to research, Amos had selected this
particular destination (on the advice of a good
friend and fellow tea lover) to celebrate a 'Special
Occasion' and despite our inauspicious arrival we
were not to be disappointed.

A lot of thought has gone into making the interior
of this well-thought-out little tearoom as pleasing
on the eye as to the palate. They have strived to
create a welcome oasis or tranquillity for body and
soul that we appreciated greatly, as we dripped
our way through the clientele to our table in the
corner.

One wall is lined with huge tea caddies, featuring
many usual suspects and many more we'd never
seen before, ranging from Cupid's Delight ("a
tonic for the reproductive system"), to Gout
Remedy, ("flushes away excess uric acid
deposits"), to Toxin Tea ("loved by your liver!").
Opposite there is a rather shamanistic array of
similar 'health' products like soaps, scents and
teapots.

If anything, the slightly commercial aspect of all this
detracted a little from a very credible afternoon tea
experience. We paid London's ubiquitous (it
seems) thirty-odd quid for gorgeous home-made
scones, sandwiches and cakes, two cups of
"White Eternity" and even received a "free"
sample of tea to take home, in a little bag.

Had we not arrived so late, and had we had more
time and deeper pockets, it would have been a
very convivial place to while away an hour or
several with their extensive catalogue of tisanes
and infusions as many of our fellow guests
seemed to be doing. Alas, and although in the end
we had enjoyed our meal and found solace from
our morning's misdemeanours, we were forced to
break for home before Amos' curfew ran out.