Bird & Blend Angel Tea Boutique: 100 Blends, Camden Passage

Bird & Blend Tea Co. at 26 Camden Passage, Islington, London N1 8ED, opens at 10am from Tuesday to Saturday, 10.30am on Mondays and Sundays, and it is the first Bird & Blend shop to open in London. Behind the counter stands a wall of 100 loose leaf blends, and the staff, called Tea Mixologists, will also make you an iced tea or a tea latte. The shop sells a signature London Fog tea at £8.50 for a 50g pouch, which makes about 25 cups. It is a small, playful tea boutique on a lane known for antiques.

The shop is at 26 Camden Passage, Islington, London N1 8ED, which Bird & Blend describes as five minutes from Angel underground. Camden Passage is a pedestrian lane running off Upper Street, so you walk the final stretch on foot, past the stalls and small shops that give the street its character.

Because the lane is pedestrian, there is no kerb to pull up at, and the simplest plan is to take the Northern line to Angel and follow the signs down the passage. Allow a minute or two to find the door among the neighbouring antique dealers.

The Angel shop publishes its hours day by day. Monday is 10.30 to 18.00. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday are each 10.00 to 18.30. Sunday is 10.30 to 17.00. The shop therefore stays open half an hour later on Tuesday to Saturday than it does on Monday.

A weekday afternoon is the easiest time to talk to the team. On Saturday the passage fills with visitors, so reaching the counter takes more patience. Sunday has the shortest day and the shop closes at 17.00, which suits a late brunch followed by a tea purchase and a walk.

Bird & Blend calls its team Tea Mixologists, and describes the shop's famous wall of tea as holding 100 loose leaf blends. The range runs from the award winning Sticky Chai and Strawberry Lemonade to the Great British Cuppa. The shop is built around choosing: you ask for a flavour, a mood or a type and the mixologist points you to the right jar.

If you do not know where to start, say what you like to drink now and let the staff work from there. The blends cover black, green, white, fruit, herbal and rooibos styles on the Bird & Blend website, so there is room for people who avoid caffeine too. The shop is the quickest way to smell a blend before you commit to a pouch.

The shop's team can make you an iced tea or a tea latte on the spot, according to the Angel page. That makes it a stop for a drink as well as a bag of leaf. A chilled fruit blend is the obvious choice in summer, while a chai latte suits a cold November afternoon on the lane.

The site also describes Tea Blending Workshops and Tea Lock-Ins held in the shop. Bird & Blend publishes a monthly note on what is happening in the Angel store, so check the store page before your visit if you want to join an event. The workshops give you a hands-on look at how a blend comes together.

Each Bird & Blend shop has a signature loose leaf tea named for its location. The Angel page introduces its London Fog tea, rated 4.8 out of 5 from 33 reviews on the website. A 50g pouch, about 25 cups, costs £8.50. It is the obvious first purchase if you want a bag that tastes of this particular shop.

Other blends on the page also sit at £8.50 for a loose leaf pouch, including Windsor RoyalTEA, West Country Pear Cider Tea and Sussex Sea Swim Tea. The consistency makes budgeting easy: three pouches come to £25.50. If a blend is marked sold out, as Brummy Custard Tea was on the page, ask the staff for the nearest alternative.

Bird & Blend's own description encourages visitors to pop into other independent businesses on the high street, and Camden Passage is built for that. The lane is lined with small shops and antique stalls, so tea shopping fits naturally into a slow browse. The tea shop is the modern note on a historic street.

For a short plan, buy your pouch at the counter, then wander the lane with a drink in hand. If you need a lunch idea or a gallery to round off the afternoon, ask the Karpo APP for options near Angel and it will fit them to the shop's closing time.

The shop suits gift buyers who want a bag with a name and a story, such as London Fog, and it suits people who love to try before they buy. It does not suit anyone who wants a long seated tea service, since the Angel page describes the shop and its counter rather than a dining room. For a table and a pot, look elsewhere in Islington.

The honest tip is to skip the busiest Saturday window, because the Tea Mixologists are there to answer questions and a crowded counter takes that away. Visit on a weekday if you want a full conversation about flavours. Bring a reusable bag, since the pouches are packed for carrying.

Bird & Blend sorts its blends on the website by type and by need, including sleep and relaxation, energy boosting and caffeine free. Browse those lists before you leave home, so that you arrive at the Angel counter with a short list of three or four blends and can use the Tea Mixologists to choose between them rather than to start from scratch.

A good habit is to pair one familiar favourite with one blend you would never pick yourself, such as a fruit tea if you normally drink black. At £8.50 a pouch the risk is small, and the shop lets you smell a canister first. Take the pouches home, brew by the instructions on the label and note which one you finish first.

Address: Bird & Blend Tea Co., 26 Camden Passage, Islington, London N1 8ED. Hours: Monday 10.30 to 18.00, Tuesday to Saturday 10.00 to 18.30, Sunday 10.30 to 17.00. Nearest station: Angel.

Go on a weekday afternoon for the best conversation. Skip Saturday midday if you dislike queues. A single pouch of London Fog at £8.50 is a sensible first buy, and the shop's iced teas cover the rest of the afternoon.