La Tetería in Málaga draws you in

pull up a chair

You've been in Málaga's cathedral, as well as several other churches, and not only the Museo Picasso Málaga but the Casa Natal de Pablo Picasso, too. Up on the hill is the Alcazaba (castle) and below it the Puerto (port). If only there was a decent tea salon mixed in with all these tapas bars.

Well, I'm here to tell you there is. It's called La Tetería and it's a dream. Some tea shops make a half-hearted attempt at proper tea, but this place is definitely not one of them.

Chairs and tables are set outside in the shadow of both the Iglesia San Agustín and the above-mentioned Picasso museum, and everything about the place draws you inside. The decor, the music, the friendliness of the staff - all of it indicates that good things are going on here.

'What about the tea?' you ask. As good as the rest of it is, it's the tea that really matters. For a tea salon in a very busy tourist-saturated area, their selection is extraordinary.

such a selection

Plenty of flavoured green tea:

One called a 'moroccan' (green tea, mint and sugar), one with the name 'viento sur' (hibiscus, orange, mint, and 10 vitamins), and another called curiously 'fata morgana' (rose petals, cornflowers, and sunflowers). Yet I was most interested in the 'buen día' (Darjeeling, Japanese green, Ceylon with fresh strawberries and vanilla). I got a small canister of that last one and can tell you about it later.

Many flavoured black blends:

A 'suenos de buda' (black and green tea, ginger, and clove), and a concoction called 'canemón' (Earl Grey cinnamon and lemon). The creatively named 'crema irlandesa' (whiskey cream and cacao) in addition to their 'jengibre melange' (ginger, mint, and guava).

For white tea, there was a Pai Mu Tan and then several flavoured blends. A stawberry/vanilla, a cherry/jasmine, and a mango/lime.

I rarely get excited about flavoured tea, though. 'Do they offer any  single estate tea?' I hear you asking. Actually, yes. As if you had to ask.

There were two sorts of Assam: a Bazaloni G.F.B.O.P and a Rembeg T.G.F.O.P. (I had the former and it was delicious), at least three sort of Darjeeling: a Tukdah F.T.G.F.O.P. first flush, a Darjeeling de Otono F.T.G.F.O.P.1 (Margaret's Hope), even a green Darjeeling from Selim Hill F.T.G.F.O.P.1 and finally a Sikkim 'Temi' F.T.G.F.O.P.1.

I'm not going to list all their tea here. You can find quite a lot on the website La Tetería. There's also plenty of Rooibus and tisanes. There was also a section called 'Preventative and Curative Infusions' that I really hope I don't need for a long, long while. My plan is to stay as healthy as possible in the meantime.

La Tetería was much more than I expected. My assumption was that there wouldn't be much in the way of tea drinking in southern Spain. Gladly, I was mistaken. I can definitely recommend this place. If you find yourself in Málaga, you should definitely let yourself be drawn in.