I then started blending different varieties and combinations in the charming village of Holmfirth, Last of the Summer Wine country, where I’d decided to set up a tearoom suitable for “taking tea”. Blending was new to me, but with some of the finest ingredients and plenty of help from regulars and local businesses, I soon had a range I was happy with and very, very proud to serve. Well, once our tearoom customers tasted it, word soon spread and before I knew it, I’d had labels done, got it packaged and was selling it for people to enjoy at home – not just here in our lovely valley in West Yorkshire, but across the globe.
And Holmfirth Tea was born
At first I just wanted tea that tasted really good. Not bitter, like most teas I’d tried, which could be a bit heavy on the tongue and somehow just didn’t satisfy.
I wanted something fine, fresh and full of flavour. Something to sit with and sip. None of this dashing around people do with a takeaway cup of coffee in their hand. No, I wanted a splendid, refreshing, restorative cup of tea to drink at any time of the day.
I sat with my customers for hours and tasted different combinations of tea. Several tasting sessions later (not to mention slices of cake), we settled on an absolute belter of a brew for the first of the range and called it
Original Blend.
A quality test came next, which was passed with flying colours after a highly respected British tea merchant tried and endorsed the Original Blend. Chuffed to bits, I spread the good news with customers and together went on to create the rest of the range.
There you have it, Holmfirth Tea, a truly local’s brew that everyone can sit back, relax and enjoy. Just like I did.
