It may be five long (or should that be Oolong) months before we pick up our mugs to celebrate another national day of tea (21 April 2026), but here at The Garden Cinema we feel every day is a great day for tea.
And never more so than on Sunday 23 of November, when we will be partnering up with our friends, The Tea Makers of London, for a glorious afternoon of tea tasting and learning more about its fascinating history. They will take us through a selection of teas (including a seasonal Christmas blend), share some intriguing stories behind Britain’s favourite drink, and teach you some simple tricks on how to brew the perfect cup.
After the tasting there will be a pop-up shop, giving you a chance to buy any tea you’ve fallen in love with, or an advent calendar - just in time for Christmas! And to ensure you won't go hungry, our wonderful neighbours at WA Cafe (a Japanese patisserie and fellow Covent Garden independent) are very kindly donating some of their delicious strawberry shortbread as a sweet treat.
Tickets for the tea tasting are just £12.50 each, and restricted to 2 per member, meaning you can bring a fellow tea enthusiast along. They include the tea tasting, a complimentary sweet treat, and a cup of your favourite tea to enjoy after the tasting finishes.
Optional - but recommended - is sticking around for the screening of Tea with Mussolini (starring some icons of cinema, including Maggie Smith, Judi Dench and Cher, no less!), which will start at 16:00. A combo discount is available when adding both a ticket for the tea tasting and for the screening to your basket, which will reduce the film ticket price down to just £7.50.
Event timings:
13:00 Doors open
13:15 Guided tea tasting with The Tea Makers of London
15:15 Pop-up tea shopping and sweet treats by WA cafe
16:00 Optional screening of Tea with Mussolini
About The Tea Makers of London:
A family-owned firm that celebrated 15 years of tea making earlier this year, The Tea Makers of London are based here but - perhaps unsurprisingly - originated in Asia. Founder Sam Sameen, who grew up in Sri Lanka, described how his business grew from a carefree childhood playing hide and seek with his cousins among the tea bushes that surrounded his grandfather’s home in the tea plantations of Sri Lanka. Describing how the business developed, he added: “What began with just a few carefully chosen Sri Lankan teas and a handful of customers has grown into a trusted brand offering a wide range of authentic, meticulously sourced teas from some of the world’s most revered tea gardens.”
They are “unambiguous” in their commitment to quality tea by treating their farmers with “equity and respect,” he said, and by prioritising low-intervention farming methods and minimal processing of the leaves. As a company, they champion craftsmanship, traceability, and flavour discovery, and now - they’re inviting you to share in their joy of tea!
About WA Cafe:
WA is a small independent patisserie, tucked just around the corner from The Garden Cinema in Covent Garden. Their highly skilled bakers and patissiers produce a unique range of quintessentially Japanese breads and pastries, made fresh daily. Paying homage to French patisserie techniques, many of their delicate sweet treats use the iconic flavour of matcha green tea, as well as yuzu citrus, kurogoma black sesame and azuki red beans.