Manchester Musings #1 - The Tea Hive

This is the first in a series of things to do in Manchester! I moved here a year ago, and am still finding my feet with exploring some of the great places Manchester has to offer. I love digging out independent coffee shops, and places that help to make Manchester feel 'homely'. 

So, first up is the Tea Hive. Located in Chorlton, I first visited the Tea Hive in February with my friend Laura. We'd both heard great things about it, and wanted to try it for ourselves! The menu has a good array of sweet and savoury, so with neither of us being very hungry, we decided the share the Light Lunch, and both ordered different teas.

The lunch was great, but certainly not what i'd call light! It came with a good sized bowl of lentil soup, which we loved, along with a houmous bagel. Both dishes were so full of flavour, and we honestly loved it. The light lunch also comes with a huge slab of cake, and we chose the carrot cake. Carrot cake is a definite favourite of mine, which means I'm also hugely critical whenever I try a different one. This certaintly passed the test, and we left Tea Hive that afternoon as very happy customers, eager to return.

 

I next returned in May with my friend Ruth and once again it came up-trumps! I ordered the lemon cake, which is two sponges cut in half, so you essentially receive a 4 layer slice of cake. AND it tasted soooo good! There was lemon curd and some kind of buttercream in each layer. Amazing.

The last time I went was last week! There is some renovations going on around the shop, and it looked as if it was shut, but happily it wasn't, so Ruth and I got to return!

Once again, Tea Hive lived up to expectations and we were served really yummy cakes. They seem to shake-up their cake menu quite a bit, so it's always unknown what choices you'll be faced with.

  

 The only really 'negative' experience I've ever had there, was last week. We both ordered Chai Tea Lattes which ended up arriving in a large teapot, and we got at least double the amount it would have been if it had been served in a mug. It was also loose leaf, and so we just ended up with quite milky drinks, and the pot had lots of milk foam mixed in with tea leaves... not the best chai tea latte experience i've ever had, and i certainly won't order it again, but their drinks range in huge so i think it'll be ok!

All in all, great place, great cake! Highly recommended!

Fran xx

All opinions are my own and I was not asked, paid or sponsored to write this post.