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.