The only place I’ve ever enjoyed a proper iced coffee is Corfu. I’m not sure why, but Corfu people really know how to make it – maybe it’s something to do with the climate. Each time I’ve come back to England in search of a taste of holiday, and each time I’ve failed. That’s until I tried Jimmy’s Iced Coffee at the recent Bournemouth Air Show, which is the most delicious ‘off-the-shelf’ iced coffee I have ever tasted. It really gives Starbucks a run for its money!

I love the fact that Jimmy’s Iced Coffee is a local business, based just up the road from me in Christchurch, Dorset. It’s been set up by brother and sister duo Jimmy and Suzie Cregan, who grew up in Dubai but settled in Bournemouth in their teens. For this reason they claim the business has “an ex-pat, relaxed attitude”. Their business idea came about during their time in Australia, where they found amazing off-the-shelf iced coffee, but realised that there was no decent equivalent in the UK.

I came across Jimmy’s Iced Coffee initially via Facebook. I’m a digital marketer by day, and I love the approach that their business is taking towards growing a community of supporters online, particularly via Facebook. I had a chat with founder Jimmy by phone, and he explained “we are just a bunch of fun loving individuals, who are just being ourselves, especially through platforms such as Facebook. It’s free advertising for us – we already have over 1200 people ‘liking’ our page.”

As of last Monday, Jimmy’s Iced Coffee hit the shelves of national supermarket chain Waitrose, which was no mean feat. Earlier this year the product was launched in the prestigious department store in central London, Selfridges.

A handful of simple ingredients go into Jimmy’s Iced Coffee, including English milk, which was an important requirement for Jimmy. The coffee is ethically sourced, freeze-dried Honduran coffee, flavoured with a sprinkling of unrefined Demerara sugar and some natural red seaweed apparently, which in Jimmy’s words, “holds it all together nicely”.

I personally prefer Jimmy’s Original (the full fat versions always seem to taste the best), but the Skinny is just as lovely. In the pipeline is a Decaf and Gingerbread version.

Go on, try it! A list of stockists is available on the Jimmy’s Iced Coffee website.