Boston Tea Party, Worcester

The model aeroplane at the Worcester branch of the Boston Tea Party.Regular readers will know of my love affair with the Boston Tea Party, the coffee shop chain which started off in Park Street, Bristol, and is steadily spreading north, east and south. That’s not to say that I like all the branches, but the ones I don’t tend to be the exception rather than the rule. So, when I found myself in Worcester on a rainy Saturday afternoon with an hour or so to kill, I made a bee-line for the Boston Tea Party on Broad Street.

Like its siblings, the Worcester BTP is instantly recognisable as a BTP, but sufficiently different to be its own place. Also, like every one I’ve been to except the Cheltenham Road branch, it’s split over two floors. And this one has its own aeroplane! With lots of windows, plenty of space and a great layout, this is a relaxing place to drink good coffee with friendly, helpful staff, which is all I’m really looking for.

You can read more of my thoughts after the gallery.

  • The Boston Tea Party in Worcester, as seen from Broad Street
  • The Boston Tea Party, stretching away down Angel Place...
  • The view from upstairs looking out over Angel Place towards Broad Street.
  • Inside, and the view from the Broad Street end...
  • ... and looking the other way
  • However, the best view is to be had by looking up.
  • A closer view of the espresso machine....
  • ... and a helpful explanation of the origin of the beans.
  • ...which you can buy to take away with you if you like (there's tea too)
  • A somewhat depleted cake cabinet (well, it was closing time).
  • The window-bar downstairs.
  • A nice, but sadly bricked up, fireplace.
  • Some of the comfy chairs downstairs.
  • And the downstairs sofas.
  • Another view of the downstairs sofas.
  • Now I'm confused! Am I at Park Street after all? No, wait, it's a picture on the wall...
  • Argh, it's that plane again! It's coming to get me! Time to go upstairs.
  • The plane, as seen from upstairs.
  • The view from the top of the stairs.
  • Another view, this time from the other side.
  • And the view, looking back towards the stairs.
  • The main seating area beyond the light well.
  • Comfy chairs by the window, looking out onto Broad Street.
  • Sheep!
  • One of the communal tables upstairs.
  • My seat of choice, looking out over Angel Place.
  • However, it also affords good views into the light well, where I can keep an eye on things. Here the plane dives for the sofas
  • The sofa downstairs, sans plane.
  • A slightly barred view of the cakes.
  • The counter, as seen from above.
  • Another view from my seat.
  • The spring espresso blend.
  • Afternoon tea: eggs florentine!
  • I was ordered to take a picture of this salad by the waitress: 'because it's so nice'
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Perhaps the best thing about the Boston Tea Party is the way that it manages to find great places to put its coffee shops. From the original on Park Street, through smaller spaces such as Cheltenham Road, right up to the huge upstairs in Exeter, the branches (with the odd exception) seem to be in interesting, intimate buildings. So it is with the Worcester branch.

Located on the corner of the pedestrianised Broad Street and Angel Place, the Worcester BTP is long and thin, with the long side facing onto Angel Place and its market stalls. Being on a pair of pedestrian streets makes the outside tables a great option, unless, of course, you visit on a rainy day…

There are doors on both Angel Place and Broad Street, which makes the downstairs a bit of a thoroughfare. From Angel Place, you enter a large, welcoming open space with the counter opposite and the café stretching away left and right. There is some very pleasant-looking seating to the left, but since that’s the Broad Street end, the people coming in and out could be annoying. To the right there is a small window-bar behind you and, at the far end, the stairs. However, the best bit is above you, where a light well connects the two floors and, hanging in the middle of it, is a bright yellow model of an Avro trainer biplane. I’m not sure what scale it is, but to give you some idea of size, it’s easily bigger than me!

Upstairs is probably the nicer place to sit and is effectively split in two by the light well, giving it a feel of two intimate spaces rather than one big room. With windows along the length of both streets, along with the plain white walls and ceilings, both upstairs and downstairs feel light and spacious. My only complaint is that there aren’t many of the Boston Tea Party’s trademark sofas and comfy chairs, just one set upstairs by the door, and one set downstairs next to the fireplace. Otherwise there are lots of tables and chairs, mostly for two or four people, and quite a few long communal tables.

My favourite spot is at one of the two-person tables in the narrow space between the light well and the windows overlooking Angel Place. That way I can keep an eye on everything 🙂 If I had company though, I would probably try to nab one of the sofas…

Overall, I really liked it. It was late in the day when I got there and hence quite quiet, but I imagine it would still feel fairly cosy even when full (a trick a lot of BTP branches manage). Staff, as ever, go a long way to making or breaking a place and the two serving me were wonderful. Although they close at six, they were still serving customers (including food) as the clock struck six rather than trying to usher us out of the door.

I’ve not said much about the coffee, cake or food since it’s the usual (excellent) BTP offerings. One thing I didn’t realise is that BTP change the espresso blend (from Bristol-based Extract Coffee Roasters) on a seasonal basis. The current one is sweeter than I remember the previous ones, but nice nonetheless.


You can also see what I made of all the other branches of the Boston Tea Party that I’ve visited.

18 BROAD STREET • WORCESTER • WR1 3NF
www.bostonteaparty.co.uk +44 (0) 1905 26472
Monday 07:30 – 18:00 Roaster Extract (espresso + bulk-brew)
Tuesday 07:30 – 18:00 Seating Tables, Sofas, Comfy Chairs, Tables (outside)
Wednesday 07:30 – 18:00 Food Breakfast, Lunch, Cake
Thursday 07:30 – 18:00 Service Counter, Order at Counter (Food)
Friday 07:30 – 18:00 Cards Visa, Mastercard
Saturday 07:30 – 18:00 Wifi Free (with code)
Sunday 09:00 – 18:00 Power Limited
Chain Regional Visits 13th April 2013

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11 thoughts on “Boston Tea Party, Worcester

  1. This sounds good – my mother grew up in Worcester and some of Vicki’s friends live there- but I am intrigued by what kind of plane they have: from the front it looks like a De Havilland Tiger Moth, but difficult to tell.

    • Have a look through the gallery: there’s a couple of shots of it from different angles. As I say in the post, I believe it is an Avro trainer, but I’ve no idea whether that is a specific model or a generic term.

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  7. I stopped going to BTP Worcester in 2013 because the coffee was poor. Plenty of other places in Worcester who can do it better!

    • Interesting. I’ve never had a problem with BTP’s coffee. Where else would you suggest in Worcester? I struggled to find anywhere else when I visited, but I believe a few places have opened since then.

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