Black tea
Marian Road breakfast
Our house black tea. Brisk, malty and generous with milk. The pot most regulars order before work.
MaltHoneyWood
Highland black tea from the Mambilla Plateau, Taraba State
The tea wall
Fourteen teas, each one chosen by taste
Every tea on our wall has been tasted against at least ten others. Most come from Nigerian highlands; a few travel further because nothing local tastes quite like them.
Black tea
Bergamot black
A clean citrus lift over a steady black tea. Excellent with lemon and a slice of cake.
CitrusMalt
Mambilla black tea scented with bergamot oil
Spiced black tea
Cross River cocoa chai
Our most requested blend. Brewed with milk on the stove for those who ask, and lovely black too.
CocoaGingerClove
Black tea with cocoa nibs from Ikom farms, ginger and clove
Smoked black tea
Smoked pine black
Bold and savoury. People either fall for it at once or never order it again, and both are fine.
SmokeWood
Leaf dried over pinewood, in the old campfire style
Green tea
Highland green
Fresh cut grass and a cool, stony finish. Brew it cooler than you think, and it stays sweet.
GrassyMineral
Spring green tea from the Mambilla Plateau
Green tea blend
Mango and moringa
Soft tropical fruit over a green base. A favourite iced on hot Calabar afternoons.
MangoGrassy
Green tea, moringa leaf and dried Benue mango
White tea
Jasmine silver pearls
The pearls unfurl in the pot. Delicate, floral and good for three infusions.
JasmineHoney
Hand rolled white tea, layered with jasmine flowers seven times
White tea
Silverleaf needle
The tea we are named after. Pale, honeyed and quiet. Order it when you have time to sit.
HoneyMineral
Downy white buds, picked by hand in spring
Oolong
Rose oolong
Creamy, floral and gently sweet. A beautiful choice for afternoon tea.
RoseHoney
Lightly oxidised oolong with dried rose petals
Roasted oolong
Old wood oolong
Toasty and long. The taste keeps changing over four or five infusions.
WoodMineralHoney
Charcoal roasted oolong, rested for two years
Herbal
Calabar zobo cooler
Our tea room take on zobo. Served hot in a pot or iced in a tall glass. Caffeine free.
HibiscusGingerClove
Hibiscus calyces with fresh ginger, clove and pineapple peel
Herbal
Lemongrass and uziza
Bright citrus grass and a gentle peppery warmth at the end. Caffeine free and very calming.
LemongrassUziza pepper
Garden lemongrass with a pinch of uziza seed
Herbal
Red bush berry
Naturally sweet and caffeine free. Children love it, and so do grandmothers.
BerryHoney
Red bush with dried berries and hibiscus
Herbal
Peppermint and lime
Cool and settling after a heavy lunch. Ask for it with a slice of fresh lime.
MintCitrus
Whole peppermint leaves and dried lime peel
Example prices for this demo. A pot serves two generous cups. Add milk, lemon, honey or Calabar pineapple slices at no charge.
At home
Take a tin home, then brew it right
The same guide our staff use behind the counter. It even keeps time.
Brew guide
Choose a tea and how many cups. We work out the leaf, the water and the time, then count it down for you.
Cups, 250 ml each
2
Leaf5 g
Water500 ml
Heat95°C
Steep4:00
4:00Steeping time
Ready when you are.
Where it grows
Most of our leaf comes from the Mambilla Plateau
Up on the plateau in Taraba State, the air is cool and the rain is steady, which is exactly what tea bushes like. We buy black and green tea there each season, and taste every batch before it reaches the wall.
Our herbs are closer still. The lemongrass grows behind a friend’s house in Akpabuyo, the hibiscus comes dried from the north, and the cocoa nibs in our chai come from farms near Ikom.
- Bought directly where we can, with a fair price agreed before harvest.
- Tasted in a line up of at least ten before it joins the wall.
- Stored in airtight tins away from light and heat.
Tins to take home
Every tea, in a plum tin
Any tea from the wall comes in a 100 gram tin, enough for about forty cups. Refills in a paper pouch are ₦1,000 less, so bring the tin back.
Gift boxes of three small tins start at ₦16,500 and can be sent anywhere in Calabar the same day by our rider.
Questions
Tea questions we hear most
Which teas are caffeine free?
All five herbals: the zobo cooler, lemongrass and uziza, red bush berry, peppermint and lime, and any iced herbal. Ask for them after 6pm if you want to sleep well.
Can I have milk in green tea?
You can have your tea exactly as you like it. We suggest trying green and white teas without milk first, because their flavours are delicate.
Do you sell tea bags?
No, only loose leaf. A small cotton strainer bag is free with your first tin, and it works in any mug.
Can I taste before I buy a tin?
Yes. Ask at the counter for a tasting spoon of any tea, or order a tasting flight of three small pots for ₦8,500.
Marian Road, Calabar
Come and taste before you choose
Walk in any day from Tuesday to Sunday. A tasting flight of three small pots is the best introduction to the wall.