A bit Windy. (Heydon shop and tearoom)

Heydon Shop and Tearoom,

Heydon,

Wed-Sun 10:30-16:30,

Highly Recommended

The original blog below was written in January 2014 but I have returned on more than one occasion to find things are consistently good except for the cake which unbelievably gets better on each visit. The latest trip was June 2016 on a beautiful day with 5 other cycling guest who were also all very impressed.

2016 cycling guests about to be impressed by Heydon Tearooms

But here is what I found the first time I blogged about it
Due to the festive season and bad weather, cycle cafe and teashop reviewing had been on hold for the last two weeks. Fortunately there appeared to be a window of weather opportunity this morning, albeit a very windy one, to get 2014 ratings under way. I was joined by cycling guests Andrew (who is notoriously hard to please) and Chris (Mrs Crusader) as we started the ride from the driveway of hard to please house in Alysham. Due to the windy conditions we decided on a shortish ride to the Heydon shop and tearoom. This had scored particularly well on a hot day last summer (pre blog) so I was keen to see how it performed in more Wintery conditions.

Although it was very windy it was also rather mild but Chris had dressed up for an Arctic expedition. This meant that every few minutes she removed some item and handed it to me to carry (headband, inner gloves, outer gloves, scarf etc.) as apparently this was my job. I stuffed them into every available pocket.

We set off with the wind slightly behind but it was not long before we were being buffeted from the side before meeting the wind full on. This would have been an excellent opportunity to see if the wind tunnel tested design that had allegedly made my bike super drag resistance had worked. Unfortunately any attempt to do this was ruined due to me now being the size of Mr Blobby thanks to all the excess clothing accessories I was carrying, and Mr Blobby has a large drag coefficient.

As we approached Heydon we cycled past a fellow cyclist who had stopped and was photographing the hedge with his phone camera. He didn't see us coming and was startled when we gave him a cheery hello. He had the guilty look of a man caught in the act of doing something very naughty. I can only think he must have stopped for a comfort break and likes to take a photo of where he has been. Maybe he has a cycle comfort break rating blog I need to check out. (I did, he doesn't)

Standing in Heydon Shop and Tearoom outdoor seating area trying not to be blown away

We arrived at Heydon shop and tearoom to find we were the only customers so could take the prime window seat. The outdoor seating area was tempting but I was worried any cake we ordered might get blown away.

View of Heydon green from teashop outdoor seating area June 2016

Although the cake selection was not huge and no chocolate cake there were a number of tempting looking ones so I awarded a good effective cake selection score (ECS).

Cake selection. All very tempting.

Note on the June 2016 visit there were more cakes including a chocolate and Strawberry one described by two of my guests as the best chocolate cake they had ever had.

June 2016 selection

Along with my hot chocolate I ordered Coconut and Blueberry cake, Andrew cappuccino and data and apple slice and Chris semi skinny mocha and lemon sponge. I tried all 3 of our selected cakes and they were all excellent. Andrew thought his coffee was brilliant (and he is notoriously hard to please), Chris thought her coffee very good but I was disappointed with my hot chocolate as it was rather weak. As all the other ratings were high an extra spoonful of chocolate powder could have moved the Heydon shop and tearoom to the top of the ratings league (unfortunately hot chocolate has remained weak on all visits). Regardless this is one of my favourite teashops and I expect there will be many return visits (there have been).

I can't remember if I mentioned it was windy, but it was. However we had the wind behind on the way back so we returned to Hard to Please house in double quick time.

Cafe ratings for Heydon shop and tea room based on last 3 visits of 7. the last was 4th November 2021

Hot Choc Quality	Guest Hot Drink Quality	Effective Cake Selection	Cake Quality	Ambiance and Atmosphere	Café Rating
6.07	8.33	8.48	9.03	9.13	8.21

See also Sportive 5
Map of route taken in 2016

Click link to download 41 mile Norwich Heydon loop gpx file for your gps