Food Review: Mr Bubbles, 1, St Mary's House, London Road, Sheffield S2 4LA

Great tea is hard to find. Trips to Betty’s, Claridge’s, Fortnum and Mason, Andrews, a hundred greasy spoons and a dozen tea merchants’ tasting sessions all living proof that perfection is personal and elusive.

Some cheap char comes close, many posh brews are poor.

But who’d have thought tea heaven would be lurking in a Sheffield launderette?

Mr Bubbles Café and Launderettes at the St Mary’s Gate end of London Road opened just before Christmas. It is the idea of manager Samantha Lee and the owners – a couple of smart but shy plumbers who worked on student flats in the area and spotted a shortage of laundry provision.

Of course tea heaven is a subjective concept.

One man’s Darjeeling delight is another woman’s weak-as-water nightmare.

But we’re talking about proper tea here.

Brown, rich and punchy, bright, bold and malty with a hint of depth and class. Tea like the Full Monty, blended at Birdhouse Teas at Nether Edge and bagged and brewed in Mr Bubbles with three-minute tea-timers to get that mashing moment just right.

For me - and I like a fairly strong cuppa - three minutes would make creosote, but each to their own.

The timer is a nice touch and the tea is bliss.

“The owners had worked on student flats in the area and realised there were around 500 students in the immediate vicinity and only 10 washing machines between them,” said 38-year-old mother of two Sam who’s been a clothes maker and designer for much of her working life.

“The plan was to have a laundry with a coffee machine but I had the idea of making it into an independent café.

“There is a retro one, in London but we didn’t know that when we started. There are lots of them in the US.

“We get our meats and cheeses from Deli Italia, our bread from the Depot Bakery in Kelham Island and we had our baristas trained by Sam Binstead at Upshot Espresso on Glossop Road.

“We opened just before Christmas. Jan