Calm in a Teacup
Teacup Coffee Shop in the historic Beck Huis is situated in Central Worcester facing the town’s Church Square. Despite its down town situation, the cool interior of the old, thick walled historic home and the scented, rose-filled garden behind the house provide the visitor with an unexpected haven of delightful calm. This tranquil spot is the perfect setting to unwind and enjoy a cuppa and indulge in the delicious confectionaries baked in Teacup’s kitchen.
The first sign of the establishment’s elegant style is evident in the unmissable Teacup sign outside the building on the corner of Church and Baring Street. The lovely mint-coloured board features the name in curly cursive text as well as jaunty, wide-brimmed teacup embossed with a pastel pink heart – certainly a statement of style and warmth that catches the attention and beckons you in.
The owner of Teacup in Alet Naudé, the young woman responsible for the venue’s yummy fare and stylish flair. Alet grew up on a farm near Worcester and has always dreamt of having her own establishment. She started Teacup in 2010 at another venue in Worcester and moved to Beck Huis in December 2015. This is her dream venue as she wanted a place where one can see into the garden when you enter the front door. This move has proved highly successful as Teacup has a regular and growing clientele.
“I developed my love for cooking in my family home as growing up with three brothers, when I baked, there were always willing mouths to eat the cakes and cookies,” explains Alet. “After matric I completed an ICA Professional Baking and Cooking Diploma. This included practical work in a restaurant kitchen in Franschhoek. I also worked as a waitress and found that I truly enjoyed working with people. After graduating I also completed an interior design course and then worked towards starting my own place.”
“My assistant Athina Hannie is a true star and helps me make Teacup what it is. She started working for me in 2011 directly after she matriculated and has been part of the Teacup team since then. As it is our policy to bake all our confectionaries ourselves, over the years she has learnt and is now a very accomplished baker.”
Beck Huis Guest House
Beck Huis Guest House and Teacup are in the same building. “The guest rooms have always been part of my dream and during the past four months we have been advertising our rooms as a guest house,” says Alet.
This home is a listed historic building and was built in 1941. In the 1850’s it was sold to the Beck family. Cornelius Beck was a lawyer and the home became known as Beck Huis. The house at the back of the property was the house for their unmarried daughters. The family grew and sold vegetables. After the restoration in 1970 the house has been used as a museum.
-------------------------------------------
Description of the business
Teacup is a coffee shop situated in the central block of Worcester’s central business district. It has plenty of street parking and is within walking distance of the upmarket pedestrian Quenet’s Arcade shopping area. Our stylish establishment is located in a beautifully restored Early Victorian era (1841) building which is a historically listed building. The indoor seating is inside the cool interior of this old home and the outdoor seating is in the scented rose garden and under the striking arched pergola.
The space available to our patrons is quite extensive. Although we have seating for 100 people, 50 inside and 50 outside, we keep our function numbers to 30 to be able to offer a quality service.
We also offer conference facilities. Teacup can accommodate 22 people in the conference room and we offer the venue, refreshments and a meal to our conference attendants.
Teacup is open on weekdays from 08h15 to 16h00 and on Saturdays from 09h00 to 12h30. We serve a wonderful selection of breakfast options and cakes, muffins, scones, pancakes and more throughout the day. On our lunch menu there is a wide range of salads to choose from as well as wraps and our legendary home-made burgers. We are also currently awaiting our liquor license.