Whittard of Chelsea

I have a distinct soft spot for this shop. As a lover of hot drinks and the whole idea of taking time to relax and be indulgent for five minutes, this is a treasure trove. Not only do they sell tea and coffee, but a vast and exciting supply of instant teas (my favourite), hot chocolates, teapots and crockery, chocolate, and everything you could possibly need to produce any of the said drinks at home.

The coffee is ground just for you, although you may need to do the research on your preferred grind before you go in, because some of the staff are unsure, and it's not really something you're able to take back later.

This is Whittard's only actual retail outlet in Wales (bar a discount store in Bridgend), so is worth a look for anyone who is not familiar with their products.

I may of mentioned before but I cannot live without tea and cannot be awake without coffee. Good thing that Whittard specialises in both. There is a great range of both in store as well as mugs, accessories etc.

I get my stronger than Arnie coffee from here that puts hairs on your chest. I've never tasted anything quite like it. Prices reflect the speciality of the store unfortunately, but I real don't care when I feel like a God after 'suppin' on my man coffee.

I have a girlfriend. This girlfriend is particularly enamoured with the culture of tea, and all the trappings that goes with it. The kettles, the pots, the cozies, the whistle old timey kettles make on the stove as they reach the prime temperature. She can recite listings of the entire Twinings inventory. Stephen Fry stands in order of her powers of tea love.

So when I say she loves Whittards, understand that this is not some mere fling in the heat of night. This is love, pure and true. The kind of love that Shakespeare spent about a hundred sonnets chronicling but never quite completely managed. This is the kind of love that inspires war. This is the kind of love that Julia Roberts feels for herself every single day.

Me, I'm not such a fan. Tea is tea. If they made a whiskey cafe in the middle of Cardiff, I'd be inclined to the kind of lunatic reverence my girlfriend has for Whittards, but at the moment... well, it's just tea.

I really like tea. I drink about 10 cups a day. And my cup is big enough to qualify as at least 2 cups worth, so I think it's fair to say that I drink A LOT of tea. I gave up caffeine almost four years ago, and since then I've been experimenting with all kinds of herbal and fruit teas. Wittard is fun because they have a lot of fancy teas, and sometimes they have ladies with trays of samples. At least, the London Wittard does; I don't think I've ever see them doing this in Cardiff.

In fact, the Cardiff store isn't quite as special as the London branch and I was fairly disappointed with the range they had in Cardiff.

Still, the tea is nice, and there are lots of gorgeous tea pots and cups and things. I don't find that the stock changes that much though, and I can't say I've found anything new and wonderful in there for a while. But if you're new to Wittard; it's awesome. If you're used to the one in London, you'll probably be disappointed.

This is my favourite place to buy cafetiere coffee, they have a wide selection of strong or mild coffee's to choose from. Staff are always willing to give their opinion and any information about the certain coffee you have chosen, they also have a handy leaflet to look at and read about each different coffee and their unique tastes and aroma. Whittard also sells a variety of cafetieres, tea pots, coffee cups and plates in many different designs. Easter and Christmas time is my favourite time of year to visit this small store, usually there will be chocolates and sweets on sale in these seasons offering miniature Santa clause's for Christmas and chocolate rabbits for the Easter season. Walking past this store and not noticing it is almost impossible, the sweet aromas of coffee beans fill the air and almost mesmerize you into the store.

Great selection of coffees, teas etc. Used to love buying hot chocolate from there and bags of mini marshmallows

A very small shop which sells coffee beans, mugs, little gifts and cute little jars of sweets. Good prices and helpful staff. Situated in queens acarde cardiff.

A small shop selling coffee beans at good prices, great little gifts, mugs etc good prices & helpful staff

tiny shop but well presented with plenty of nice and unusul gifts of mugs etc.sells fresh coffee-so smells divine