The Geordie Tourist.: Living Social

Tea and More at Mrs Pumphrey's Curious Leaves Tea Bar.

I had one last voucher after my mad spending session over the past few months. I’m talking about Groupon and Living Social Deals by the way. I always seem to find things and then buy the vouchers, before I know it I've got like ten to use. I then use them just before they run out, or normally on the last day if I’m cutting it fine.

This one was for Mrs Pumphrey’s Curious Leaves Tea Bar. I paid £10 and got a voucher for £20 to spend in the shop on whatever it was that I fancied. Having never been before, I didn't know what to expect.

Curious Leaves is a gorgeous antique looking cubby based in the Grainger Market in Newcastle. If you've never been to the Grainger Market before then what the hell are you waiting for? It’s been ages since I went and just from going the other day I've found so many cool and eclectic places that I just have to visit. Among them was a bakery, cake shop and a place selling authentic Turkish street food. My mouth is watering just thinking about it all.

As soon as I spotted Curious Leaves, I fell in love instantly. It is the tiniest little shop. One side has a gorgeous looking tea bar. High stools sitting against a counter-top, rustic shelves in the background showcasing teas and quirky tea pots and cups. The other side has tables and chairs, not just any old chairs though; no these were like miniature church pews. It was part little school house, part café. There was a fridge with sandwiches and cake and things too.

Above all of that though, Curious Leaves is about the tea. Their menu was extensive. I’m not really a tea drinker, but I do enjoy the odd cup of herbal tea. (Or I force myself to enjoy it anyways. I think the more you drink it the more you start to like it.) I love chamomile tea now. They had guides on the wall about how to brew the perfect tea. You could make your own tea blends too.

I went with my mam for a little girly catch up. We both ordered some carrot cake. She then got just your average cup of tea and I went for chamomile tea (shock)

The carrot cake was amazing, so moist and tasty. Sometimes you go places that specialise in one thing and the other things they sell aren't up to scratch. That definitely wasn't the case here. My chamomile tea was something else entirely. It came on a little wooden tray in a clear tea pot. You could see the flowers inside. There was a timer too and a flask with more hot water in if I needed it. The lady that served us was so friendly and helpful. She told me the recommended brewing time of the tea and when it was ready the timer would go off. It was such a nice touch and made the trip for me.

What we ordered came to about £7 ish. Since I still had a lot to use from the voucher I decided to get one of those all in one teapot and mug things. (Not using proper English at all there, but you know what I mean.) It has a cool retro design on it and I hope it's going to help me get into drinking more tea.

The shop filled up quite fast when we were in there so its obviously a popular place, which I don't doubt for a second. I definitely want to go back to Curious Leaves. Maybe I'll be more bold next time and try one of the more 'out there' flavours.

Opening times are 09:00-17:00 Monday to Saturday.

Have any of you been to Curious Leaves before?

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A Quick Look at The Brownie Bar Newcastle.

Brownies 00:26

I had a Living Social voucher to use up for The Brownie Bar in Newcastle. So I dragged by brother along who was more than happy knowing he was about to get some free food.

The Brownie Bar is located in Eldon Gardens. They sell over 30 different flavours of brownie; have monthly specials, and new flavours coming out all of the time too. It was set up by sisters Sarah and Rachael cawkwell in 2010, who started off making brownies in their kitchen at home. Their aim is to bring the gooiest brownies in the widest flavours to the brownie loving public, or the ‘don’t really have a clue about brownies’ person like myself. As well as the shop, you can find them at markets and things too.

The voucher I had was for two to get a hot drink and two brownies each. I paid £6 which is really good value I think.

I had never been to the Brownie Bar before, but had passed it on a couple of occasions. I love the look of it. It’s like its own little island just sitting there. I love the mixture of the bright white counter tops and lit up signs mixed in with the dark woods on the floor and the other fixtures. They have little stools, making it an actual bar. You can see all of the gorgeous looking brownies waiting to be picked in the display cabinets too.

I managed to get a couple of photos (I took the majority of them at home), not many though as we got our stuff to takeaway. Sometimes I hate when you get discount vouchers and you aren't allowed to eat in. Fair enough I know you're getting it for a fraction of the cost, but it takes away from the experience for someone like me. Especially if I've never been to the place before. It was empty too, so we could have squeezed in somewhere.

We made thew mistake of getting our brownies as soon as we went to Town (we still had shopping to do) Not knowing that we would have to carry them around with us. I got a hot chocolate for my drink which I had to just bin. It was far too hot and after carrying it around for half an hour I couldn't go in any of the shops. It was a bit of a waste actually.

Since we had to take them home, we got to share them with everyone else. (every cloud and all.) It was a good job really. They were quite rich and there's no way we could have ate two full brownies each.

The flavours we went for were Millionaire, Pistachio, Crème Egg and I’m sure the other one was a mixture of Nutella and Peanut Butter. They were nice in small quantities, I just think brownies aren't for me, they're quite rich. I reckon if I had of warmed them up and had them with cream or ice cream it might have been a different story. You live and you learn though.

You can order brownies online if you can't make it to the shop. If you want the shop instead, opening hours are Monday to Friday 10:00-19:00. Saturday 10:00-18:00, and Sunday 11:00-17:00.

What's you favourite brownie flavour from The Brownie Bar?

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