A good steaming cup can be found everywhere, from neighbourhood cafés to the most elegant historic coffee shops. But the atmosphere you breathe in real tea rooms is unique: they are places frozen in time, nicely furnished, where you can stop for hours to chat in the company of a good brew and a slice of cake to share, or some savoury snacks. Here are the tea rooms to try in Florence.
The best tea rooms in Florence
La Via del Tè
One name stands out among them all in Florence, the one of La Via del Tè, a company founded in 1961 by Alfredo Carrai, a passionate traveller who fell in love with the precious leaves in China, India, in all those producing countries that over the years have made, together with a rare ability to know how to create balanced blends, the brand's fortune. A few years ago, the Carrai family also started plantations in Italy, keeping to innovate and study new projects. To enjoy the house specialities, the Santo Spirito address is the best place to stop and sip a good cup, paired with typically English treats such as scones or savoury finger sandwiches.
La Via del Tè – via di Santo Spirito, 11 – laviadelte.it
Mago Merlino Tea House
It was 1977 when Rocco Iacopini decided to open a place entirely focused on infusions, with a selection that gives great emphasis to organic. People come here to taste refined teas and try the ancient ritual of tea, but above all to enjoy a unique atmosphere in the pillow room, with carpets and fabrics from the producing countries, design objects that recall the style of the Far East and create a comfortable and elegant environment. And for the genre fans, amid one biscuit and the other, there’s also palm and tea ground reading.
Mago Merlino Tea House – via dei Pilastri, 31r – Facebook
Oronero
In town since 2010, this shop in Piazza Pitti is a happy temple for all tea and chocolate lovers. Here you can find everything from loose teas to herbal teas, plus the many accessories needed to organise an afternoon tea at home, starting with the beautiful cast-iron teapots. It is not really a tea room, it is more of a shop, but a good cup with a biscuit for those who want to stop and warm up on a cold day is never lacking.
Oronero – Piazza Pitti, 1r - Facebook
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