Suggestions

Any readers out there who have any suggestions as to cafes they think we should visit feel free to leave a comment :)

Sweets Tea Rooms

Due to staying at a relative’s we found ourselves in Westhay which is just short of Glastonbury in the heart of rural Somerset. Considering the weather wasn’t too aggressive we crept out of our shelter and investigated the local area where we quickly stumbled upon the Sweets Tea Rooms which we had heard from others that was quite a favourable little coffee shop.  It wasn’t much to look at as you approached, a small patchy grass area which held a car-boot on a Saturday and a old shed that once appeared to hold a ‘Peat Science Museum’ but has gone unused for quite some time from the looks of things.

The tea room itself was modern and elegant in a country cottage sort of manner; with wooden furniture and scenic paintings and photos hung around the walls which local artist and photographers have taken or drawn that are all for sale to the customers that come in. The tea rooms stuck out quite oddly from the outside, it appeared as a little building full of life with customers chatting away timelessly and flowers in little teapots on all the tables situated in a derelict and lifeless area, but from the inside it felt homely and cosy, so somewhat a strange experience.  The tea room itself is a small family run business, It is a road side cafe located on the Somerset levels in Blakeway between Wedmore and Westhay.  Its main clientele appears to be walkers and cyclists who want a tea break during their visit to the surrounding nature reserves.

Upon entering, the staff were very friendly, smiling and greeting the customers as they enter.  We decided to sit inside in order to get a better feel of the ambience of the place; they had large wooden tables and chairs which gave it that extra country edge. They sell a various homemade cakes, teas, and coffees as well as a small lunch menu which offered a nice variety of choice. We ordered a pot of tea for £1.20, a Latte for £1.80 and a black filter coffee for £1.60 which we thought to be reasonably priced. You have to go up to the counter to order but one of the waitresses brings it over to your table.        

The black coffee was a little on the sweet side with very little bitterness in the aftertaste, it had a medium strength and a lasting aftertaste, not a place for coffee on the go as it seems very possible to spend a whole afternoon here in the cosy almost country cottage atmosphere. Overall a very nice cup of coffee and very reasonably priced at £1.60. As for the pot of tea, it was well presented, within the pot you could get roughly 4 cups of tea out of it, Served with a jug of milk for the pot of tea. Unfortunately the cups were too small, so in future I would much rather get a mug of tea as opposed to the pot as the cup size was rather small. But that is more down to personal preference. Overall  the latte was very average, it was served with a little too much froth for my liking and tasted quite weak thus making it very hard to taste the actual flavour of the coffee and presentation was very mediocre, however the overall experience of the cafe was lovely and defiantly worth a try if your ever in the area.  

The Artful Dodger

The next stop on our journey around Somerset’s cafes for the best coffee, takes us to Burnham on seas Artful Dodger. An Oliver twist themed breakfast place, that sells a plethora of things all in keeping with the theme of Oliver Twist. Situated just outside the main stretch of Burnham town, it’s tucked away enough so that if you’ve never been there you will never think to look there for it. It’s on word of mouth popularity. I think that it needs more publicity as it is the best place we know of to eat breakfast.

As you walk in your first reactions are on the size of the place, as outside appearances make it appear smaller than it is. By the counter area they have listed on a chalk board, the menu's most expensive breakfast being at only £4.00 and the cheapest just a mere £2.40 with great quality food served until two in the afternoon, its defiantly worth a trip.

The hot drinks aspect of the place ranges from a mug of tea to a filter coffee, so not your wide range like the average coffee shop. Cold option drinks are also available, but the food is what makes the Artful Dodger successful. Keeping in theme of the cafes name, the decor is designed to be within the olden times, with blue and yellow wallpaper and various old fashioned items.

As far as the atmosphere goes the staff are always in high spirits no matter how busy they get, they are also very welcoming, to the point where you find yourself saying thank you and good bye upon leaving. They offer a very straight forward menu with 10 different breakfast options to choose from, with extras optional only at the price of 60p an item.

So if you’re a lover of a hearty English breakfast and want good value for money, this is the place for you. For those not wanting breakfast at 1 in the afternoon, there are also various lunch options available. The only negative point I would point out, would be that with it being on the smaller side and being so loved within the area, you sometimes have to wait for a table, usually that’s only 3 minutes at the most.

Overall we would all definitely agree it’s a place we would want to recommend and want others to know about all across Somerset.

The Coffee House

So as you all know we are going round Somerset doing a coffee tasting experience over the summer. We started off in sunny old Weston super mare, in a place called the coffee house, situated at the lower end of the high street near the winter gardens. The staff at the coffee house where very welcoming, either on your own, with your family or your friends they are very easy to talk to. Unlike your conventional coffee shop, it felt that the customers were encouraged to stay longer, whereas if you were in a much more commercial place, they would want to get you in and out as quick as possible.

Within the coffee house you are given the option to sit on comfortable wooden cushioned chairs or alternative sofas are available for a more relaxed approach to your day. Furthermore the fact that they have a wide selection of books, all along the side of where the seating area is located, you have the option to sit and read if you wish. As for the general look of the coffee shop, it is well layed out, with an open planned feel to it, mirrors where on the adjacent walls, to make the place appear more open.

Our choice in drinks was the £2.40 Latte and a black Americano,  we found them to be a good size and the Latte was nicely presented with the leaf pattern presented on top. The taste was rich and it had a smooth texture too it. We would suggest this Coffee House location to anyone visiting the area, as its good value for money.

'Sit Long, Talk Much, Laugh Often'

This blog is about four close friends and our summer expeditions to find the best coffee shops around Somerset. It started out due to the realisation that we spent too much time sitting in Marks kitchen drinking tea and coffee, the four of us have spent the last three years hanging out together using Marks kitchen as a kind of cafe location.


As you can probably tell we are not your usual students, and enjoy the social aspect of sitting enjoying hot drinks and chatting away. This is where the idea came from, why not venture out of the kitchen and go on road trips round Somerset and nearby places to find the best coffee places there are based on the price, the drink itself, the atmosphere, and design and the customer service that they had provided.

We have chosen to visit independent coffee places or small chains rather than the well known coffee shop chains such as Starbucks and Costa Coffee that most people rely on due to the fact that they can continuously reproduce the same cup of coffee across the globe. We are guilty of sticking to these chains on a day to day basis, Starbucks is my downfall. We are not looking for the most affordable and available coffee, but the best taste, the best place, the best community and surrounding area, the best service and the best moment.

Hopefully we can inform people of more local independent cafes to try, breaking the trend of the big well known chains.