Ahmad Tea

1 bag for 250mL water @100C, steeped four minutes drunk bare.

I just got a big box of this as a gift.

A mostly Ceylon base, I think, and very smooth, with some copper notes. The cardamon smells divine, something like bergamot, only not so oily. Less spicy on the tongue than it smells, but very refreshing. A very effective hot-tea-on-a-hot-day-cooldown drink.

Snow, ice, wind chill advisories: another week requiring solid, sensible, stout black tea. This qualifies. Not quite as strong as my old faithful PG Tips; a little keemun in there to add a little perkiness to the dark base. Requires no special steeping attention—throw it in and go. That’s always a plus.

I’m all over the map with this one, Keemun in one note, not in the next; this morning it kinda came out meh—brown leaf juice. Still quite drinkable and not unpleasant.

Tastebuds could be off (chocolate chip cinnamon rolls do that to ya), but this isn’t nearly as Keemun-heavy as I recall from my first experience. At any rate, it’s a good, smooth morning tea. Predictably excellent—as are all the Ahmad varieties I’ve tried.

Second quarter’s investment at the neighbor’s garage sale. This one doesn’t seem to get much love in other reviews, except for the cute packaging.

I’ll be the rebel: I like it. The product description, at least the one posted here, doesn’t mention the varieties in the blend, but educated guess would say lots of Keemun and a little Assam. Sweet and melba-toasty without milk.

Not as strong as my preferred Assam weekday morning teas, but it’s Sunday and I’m blessed with an hour in the patio glider watching Tazo take his morning nap in the sun. I don’t need to be kicked awake today.

Love our little neighborhood—-local constabulary stops to play basketball with the older kids and flash his lights for the younger ones, neighbors speak pleasantly, people drive carefully for around pedestrians and patrons of the ice cream truck, and when you find a tin of tea for a quarter at the citywide garage sale, you can be pretty sure nobody’s trying to poison you.

Actually, I paid the quarter for the tin—it’s adorable, a little red call booth. An ounce of looseleaf in good condition was just a bonus.

I don’t go seeking out tea with bergamot in it. But this, even though I can’t vouch for its age and freshness, is plumb tasty! There’s just enough bergamot to add a happy, lemony little bounce to each taste. Each variety of black tea makes its presence known; maybe a little heavier on the Darjeeling, but the Ceylon and Assam keep it from getting too astringent.

Best 25 cents I’ve spent in a while.

As you can probably figure from my reviews, Ahmad is my favorite brand for bagged tea. Spearmint is my least favorite flavored tea. It’s like sipping tea with gum in your mouth. Except I NEVER chew spearmint gum. Ick. So what happens when my favorite bagged brand makes my least favorite flavored tea? Maybe I am giving them a pass because I trust them, but I don’t find this repulsive. It will never be a favorite but if someone offered me a cup I would definitely accept. The mint is not overwhelming and I can taste the green base. I did not find this astringent. I heated the water to heavy steam then turned off the kettle and waited until it grew quiet before pouring – no idea what the temp is but it works.

Tony bought this awhile back when he placed an order for his beloved Earl Grey, thinking I’d like it, since I love black tea. It’s ok. I have drank a cup once in awhile, just to avoid hurting his feelings mainly.
Now it’s a sipdown!

First tea of the morning. Tony has a thing for Ahmad Earl Grey, so when he ordered some, several months ago, he also got a 100G tin of this for me. I feel that I should drink a cup from time to time, & since today is Father’s Day, here it is.

It’s not a bad tea, actually, but not a tea Im fond of.It’s sufficiently bold, pretty bassy, with an astringent bite. It is the type of breakfast blend that I shouldn’t drink before breakfast, or that I should include some form of sweetener or coconut creamer with, as I can feel in my gut the rising of queasiness that comes from certain teas on an empty stomach. I should drink it more often so that it gets used up, & then I can take the tin home & refill it with something wonderful.

I just realized the I’ve logged my teas this morning in the reverse order of how I drank them, LOL. I started with the one I was currently drinking, back tracked through the 2nd one, & now I’ve arrived at the one I sipped in bed.

This is a basic EB. No real high or low notes, but drinkable.

I started my morning with a cup of this, since I’m at Tony’s & it’s here.
It’s ok, but there are many other teas I’d rather be drinking. Still, I will drink it until it’s gone, then I’ll recycle the tin (which is the best part of this tea) into storing something better! :)

Tony placed his first tea order last week, & he included a tin of the English Breakfast for me, as he knows I love my breakfast tea. That was really sweet of him, he’s the most wonderful man I’ve ever known. (no, he’s not reading this, it’s actually true).

The tea is ok, but nothing to write home about. I’ll drink it when I’m at his house, but it’s not something I would buy.

But he’s still wonderful! I love my Man :D

I just used the last of this tea to make a big jug of ice tea to help cool me down in this hot English summer weather. I think this tastes much better as ice tea rather than hot because the apple is subtle behind the black tea and cooling the tea down brings out more of the apple flavour and makes it much more refreshing. Even my husband loves this tea and he is more of a coffee person.

A sipdown this morning. This has been a faithful, smooth, no-fuss breakfast standby. Recommended for Assam lovers who need a basic cupboard tea; too many packets and tins in the hopper for me to hunt this one down assiduously, but if a tin just happened to cross my path at TJ Maxx or a local grocery, it might have to come home with me again.

(I’m a little put out at our TJ Maxx…I realize it’s pot luck and overstocks there, but the tea selection that was giving me such great joy has dwindled down to nothing.)

Finished steeping this a couple of minutes before the power went off; nursed the Tervis mug slowly and finished the last sip a couple of minutes before the power went on. Providence.

A little sad to see hints of the bottom of the tin. This is a great pantry tea for black tea lovers—smooth, no bitterness requiring milk or sugar, easy steeper. Two minutes, ten; no matter.

The “just plain tea” binge continues. This is one that definitely fits the category. Not too much of an acidic bite, not bitter, takes a long steep without complaining. It just makes me smile.

Sticking to my comfy-is-best mentality this morning. Decent inexpensive “classic” Assam, little milk, no brains needed. Good choice for a pantry staple if you’re stocking up for a long weary winter.