Tucked away in Southwark Street between the Globe Theatre and Borough Market in London is a little gem - the Bramah Tea & Coffee Museum. Run by Edward Bramah, who founded the museum in 1992, it is the sort of place you would least expect to find among the concrete and high-tech steel edifices of modern London and yet in an area where so much tea was imported in the 20th century, it is understandable that the museum should be near London Bridge.

Edward Bramah, who started his tea career in Malawi in the 1950's, collects antique tea and coffee pots - surely a quintessentially English thing to do. He's even written books on the subject - 'Novelty Teapots - five hundred years of art & design' and 'Coffee Makers' by Edward Bramah (ISBN 870 948 335, £50).

The museum houses part of Edward Bramah's collection of tea and coffee pots and is decidedly quaint. Their teashop serves a range of Indian and Chinese tea at an affordable price of £1.50 per pot. Served with a five-minute timer, you can also have a water refill for your second or third infusion (they don't call it brewing here). And indeed, it is described as the best leaf tea in London.

Admittedly it isn't the over-brewed, milky-sweet 'Chai' that I'm used to every morning, but their tea is delicious nonetheless. The museum is also a good place to learn about production of tea & coffee - key exports of South Asia. 1999 saw the end of the London Tea Auctions which leaves the Bramah Museum as one of the last links to the "tea routes" of yester year.

If you're fortunate enough you may even enjoy a personal explanation of 300 years of tea drinking in the UK from Edward Bramah himself. The story starts in the 1620's when tea was usually purchased from the Apothecary (pharmacist) as a health drink. It meanders through the "Tea Gardens" of old London to the Industrial revolution of the 1700's and carries on to the Opium wars of the 1800's. Skirting the tea rationing years of the Second World War we arrive at 1955 with the introduction of television. The advent of commercial TV helped promote tea and saw the arrival of 'quick brew' and 'super brew' versions. As a major percentage of our tea in the UK is now infused from bags the museum offers a great opportunity to see, smell and taste real 'tea leaf' tea.

Apart from visiting the Bramah Tea & Coffee museum you can also buy Bramah Tea. Visit the official tea site of the Tea Council at www.teacouncil.co.uk for all the history and details about tea.

Best Places to buy Tea

Of course everyone has his or her own opinion. One can buy teas and knickknacks from the Bramah museum. They stock a range that includes Assam, Darjeeling, Assam Broken Pekoe, Ceylon Broken Pekoe and their own traditional leaf blend from India: Earl Grey, Keemum, Lap sang Souchong & Rose Congou from China; Green Teas such as Gunpowder and Jasmine; Formosa Oolong from Taiwan and Senchas Japanese Tea.

You can also potter on down to Harrods where the Food Hall serves a range including their own brand Millennium Moon Tea - picked by moonlight on the eve of the new millennium no doubt! (www.harrods.com).

The other option is Fortnum & Mason's where they seem to have an even larger selection including herb infusions and gift packs (www.fortnumandmason.com).

Best Places to Drink Tea

According to the tea council the best place to drink tea this year is at The Dorchester, where for a mere £23.50 you get a choice of six types of sandwich, scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam and pastries galore. A snip at the price! Alternatively you can always take afternoon tea at the Bramah Museum for about £10, or you can buy some of their teas and infuse it at home.

How to make tea.

The suggested Tea Council method for 'The Perfect Brew' can be found at Tea Council (Click on 'The Perfect Brew' link). Alternatively click here to read about the Bramah way to make traditional leaf tea.

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