Iford Manor Teas

Pretty good, and the best thing about it is that you can get about three steeps out of it before the flavour starts reducing. Like most oolongs, I find that the first half cup isn’t that great, but then my taste buds adjust and I love it. Really good oolong!

I’ve just had long boring day, topped off by replacing a punctured tyre in a rain storm.

This tea was my antidote, and to my relief, it’s just what the doctor ordered. It’s got a nice smooth soothing flavour, but not overpowering and with something interesting and subtle about it (if I was a proper sommelier I’d find some taste or smell to compare it to, but I’m not in the mood).

Highly recommended nice and hot with a spot of milk to make it even smoother.

My tea timer on my phone told me to make this using 70degC water and to steep for 2 mins. I usually use slightly hotter water and am careful with the timings because any more than a minute makes it horribly bitter.

It was a bit of a pain to get water at 70degC and I ended up mixing together hot and cold water to get the right temperature, but I followed the instructions precisely, even heating the mug (I made it with a tea ball) to make sure it was right.

The result was a better cup of sencha than I have had for a long time, a fuller taste without being bitter.

I’m learning….

A lovely rooibos tea with no need for any sugar. Its nicely sweet without being overwhelming and the smell is crazy good.

I like really smokey tea, sweet but really dark which is why I think I steep for a minute more than anyone else might want to. I got this tea for christmas and it has a really good vanilla and wintery feel. I’d recommend Iford Manor to the british steepsters as they aren’t too bad on price either.

Will at Iford manor teas sent me a sample of this tea when I ordered some other teas. It’s a beatuifully fresh-tasting clean oolong. It’s not a very very powerful one, but it’s good enough to taste just as good on the second brew. It has the sweetness of a first flush darjeeling but just the faintest smokiness of an oolong to remind you what you’re drinking. An excellent tea.

I had a tea party for my birthday with some incredible cakes and of course a selection of teas. I wanted to get a few more people enthusiastic about tea. I can recommend it, it was a wonderful afternoon. Of course there were people who asked what my favourite tea was, so I showed them this to give them the idea. It’s an excellent tea – probably not the best First Flush Darjeeling there is, but it’s delicious and much cheaper than some of the other ones you can get

It’s taken me three or four tries to get this tea right, something which I probably should have expected as it’s quite cheap on the scale of First Flush Darjeelings. Now I’ve got it right, though, it’s absolutely delicious and I know exactly why I tell people that First Flush Darjeelings are my favourite type of tea. So sweet and gentle, I just love drinking it.

For the record, the trick is to use slightly more leaves than usual, use water at 85degC and steep for 1.5 mins or thereabouts.