Our afternoon tea – better than ever

Afternoon tea at Metrodeco in Brighton

We’ve just refreshed our Afternoon Tea.

We’re really proud of what we’re offering because – truthfully – we don’t believe there are many in Brighton that can compete. Hope you agree! Click here to find out more about what’s in it.

We’ve also got a new post at our mdtea blog on pregnancy and caffeine.

Free tea for a year! And the winner is….

Okay the judges are retiring to consider your suggestions for the name of our new vanilla and rhubarb rooibos tea.

As we explained here, the winner will get a free Afternoon Tea for two (worth £28), a gourmet pouch of tea emblazoned with the winning name (worth about £5) and a free pot of that blend whenever they visit Metrodeco in the next year.

There were so many excellent entries, our panel of experts has asked for an extra 24 hours to deliberate.

Don’t be frightened to try and sway their decision in the comments section below!

So – in no particular order – here are the choices:

Help tea shop name new blend and win free tea for a year

How would you like a free Afternoon Tea for two (worth £28) at Brighton’s 1930s tea salon, Metrodeco?

And how about a free gourmet pouch of our newest blend to take home with you afterwards?

In fact – what the heck! – how about a free pot of that blend every time you come to the tea rooms FOR A YEAR?

Sound good? Well read on – and you could have all three.

Foursquare swarm party: the movie

I just know you’re going to enjoy this….we’ve enlisted Robert De Niro, Meg Ryan, Robert Duval, Clarke Gable and others to help us promote this week’s Foursquare Swarm Party at Metrodeco in Brighton.

Foursquare flashmob: be part of history

Right, we’re all set for the second attempt to unlock Foursquare’s elusive Swarm Badge.

I’m sure we all know what this is all about now – but there’s an explanation in our blog about our first attempt if you’re not sure.

The key points are: 

1. We need 50 people to ‘check in’ within an hour of each other;
2. There’s never been a successful dedicated swarm party in the UK – there have been swarm badges unlocked where people were already gathered for other reasons (like football matches and conferences) but no actual swarm parties as far as we know – so you have a chance to be a small part of internet history;
3. It will only work if you invite as many people as you can to come and join in - so please share this blog (here’s a short url you can copy and paste: http://bit.ly/cGK2Y1 or use the ‘share’ button above or below)
4. There’s a free glass of bubbly for the first 50 people to check in.

 Thanks to all those who suggested dates and times that are best all round. We’ve gone with the most popular and so I’m really sorry if you can’t make it.

So, all that remains is for me to plead, beg, beseech and implore you to come along, even if you’re on your way somewhere else or on your way home and you don’t have much time.

The details are as follows:

What: The UK’s first Foursquare flashmob right here in Brighton!

Why: To unlock the elusive Swarm Badge

When: Thursday 12th August, 7pm-8pm

Where: Metrodeco Tea Salon, 38 Upper St James’s Street, Kemp Town, Brighton – view map

Who: If you’re reading this, you’re invited. It will be a great opportunity to meet other social media types or simply to stop by for a cup of tea and a piece of cake.

Foursquare flashmob: let’s try again!

You've got these - but what about the Swarm Badge?

Okay, after a fantastic attempt to unlock the Foursquare swarm badge yesterday, we fell short – we had 30 check-ins and we needed 50.

We’re now looking on this as a ‘dress rehearsal’ and we want to have a another attempt a.s.a.p.

Aral (@aral) and Greg (@GR3GD) both made the excellent point that we didn’t do enough to tap into Brighton’s wealth of ‘geeks’.

We’ve checked with Foursquare and there hasn’t been a successful Swarm Party in the UK before – so if we can pull it off we’d all be genuinely the first to unlock a swarm badge at a dedicated flashmob.

QUESTION: What day/time within the next week or so do you think would be best to have another go (bearing we could only do after 6pm on weekends due to being full with customers).

Please reply on the comments section below and we will announce date/time later today or tomorrow.

Foursquare swarm badge to be unlocked in Brighton

The swarm badge is unlocked when 50+ people check-in somewhere at the same time

We’re helping our customers to become among the first in Britain to unlock the highly-coveted ‘swarm badge’ on the latest social-networking phenomenon, Foursquare.

This prize is notoriously hard to unlock and can only be won when 50 or more users check in at the same place all within a short time of one another. This rare event is known around the world as a Foursquare flashmob.

Although there have been several swarm badge parties in the US – and at least one as close as Ireland – we think this could be the first in Britain.

Twitter tips for business

Recommended reading - Joel Comm's Twitter Power

We’ve been playing away again!

I mean blogging at other sites, you smutty lot!

This time we wrote about how we’ve used Twitter to grow customers on the Brighton Twitter Social Meet-up blog managed by Wendy Kier

Have a read if you want some tips on:

-          how to involve customers in your business and to use their ideas,

-          how to use Twitpics and other photo services to enhance brand,

-          how to search the Twittersphere to find people who might want to connect with you, and

-          some tips on optimising the appearance of your page

Helen

Improve your bottom line with Foursquare

Metrodeco's Helen checks in to Foursquare

We’ve written a guest blog for Brighton-based training provider Silicon Beach Training called How To Use Foursquare for Business.

In it we offer tips for small businesses on how to use the location-based social network, which is growing frighteningly quickly, to attract customers.

If you find this post useful, please come back and read our blog at this site on Brighton’s Tweeting Tea and Coffee Shops.

Hardly Amy Winehouse…the debut music video of a Brighton cafe!

Okay, it’s hardly Amy Winehouse…but there can’t be many small tea shops on the South Coast of England who have released a music video. Besides, we think Brighton-based singer/songwriter and comedienne Hannah Brackenbury, who penned the track recently after a visit, is as good as any of the current crop of British singers. Honest

This is the first rough cut of The Metrodeco Song – and it was filmed on a sunny afternoon in Kemp Town, Brighton, and Hove. We are currently in promising talks with a charity that’s close to our hearts and some music industry big wigs about making a proper recording in a studio and re-shooting the video so we can flog it on iTunes. All proceeds to that good cause, obviously.

So if you like it, please, please, pleeeease click on the ‘share’ options above or below and tell your Twitter, Facebook and MySpace followers and friends. Or just spread the link to this blog around.

Thanks,

Helen,
Metrodeco