Louie’s Coffee & Teahouse
241 High Street, Crowthorne RG45 7AH
+44 1344 771700 • louiescrowthorne.co.uk
Crowthorne is a village in southern Berkshire that is famous for Wellington College, a private school that educates approximately 1,100 students between the ages of 13 and 18. It was founded as a national monument to the Duke of Wellington, one of Britain’s great heroes, who brought an end to Britain’s wars with Napoleon (1799 to 1815). Queen Victoria laid the foundation stone here in 1856 and declared the college open in 1859.
The village itself is not particularly memorable, but it is surrounded by Buckler’s Forest, 104 acres of wildlife habitats, woodland, acidic grassland, heathland, and ponds. After a stimulating walk through some of this beautiful countryside, visitors to the area find themselves craving a pot of tea, and the perfect place to provide that is Louie’s Coffee & Teahouse. The last building on one of the roads out of the village, it is a very welcome sight, and although it is always busy, there is usually a free table by the window or at the back of the large space near the shelves that display a plentiful supply of good loose-leaf teas. New customers often assume that Louie is the proprietor, but he is the proprietor’s son, aged 13 and much too young to be running his own tearoom. The friendly neighbourhood café tearoom is actually owned and managed by Louie’s father, Paul Mitchell, who has created a really inviting and comfortable atmosphere that has his customers coming back and back. Paul knows many of them well, and when he has time, he pauses at tables to chat and catch up with news.
Many of the customers are retired gentlefolk, and a quick perusal of the menu explains what attracts them to this really relaxed and neighbourly tearoom. Paul’s breakfast and brunch offerings include all the foods that British people love in the morning—porridge with honey, scrambled or poached eggs on toast, croissants, toast with marmalade, and even American pancakes with maple syrup. The lunch menu includes soups, quiches, baked potatoes, fresh-cut sandwiches, and toasted croque monsieur. The afternoon-tea menu asks customers to create their own, choosing sandwich fillings, favourite type of scones (plain, fruit, cheese, gluten-free, or vegan), and their preferred cakes. That last involves a difficult decision because all the cakes look really good! The menu is very thoughtfully compiled, and Paul can cater for the most special of dietary needs. And there is, of course, an extensive selection of teas, available to drink in the tearoom or to take home in very attractive branded tins. The tea list includes 13 blacks, eight greens, and one white, plus a few herbal infusions, and Paul offers a 20% discount for every tin refill.
It is so uplifting to find a tearoom like Louie’s. It offers everything customers want and more—the excellent tea is presented in disposable paper sacks that make it easy to separate leaf from liquor once the tea has reached its optimum strength and flavour; and the atmosphere is chatty and friendly. With its calm, attractive décor and the care that Paul has obviously put into choosing the colours, furnishings, wall decorations, and menus, it provides Crowthorne residents and visitors with the perfect place to meet friends and to rest and recuperate over an excellent cup of tea.
