Ahmad Tea

A bit astringent; very RED color when steeped; is OK.

I’ve sipped this a few more times since my last note here and it is becoming a favorite now. When sugared, the blackcurrant flavor is pronounced and mouthwatering to me, but even when unsweetened I’ve been enjoying it. For a teabag, it’s pretty darn good! Today I noticed more of the black Indian tea base, which was generously portioned in the bag so as to give a very strong cuppa, exactly the boost I want in the morning! Still not bitter, and with a long-lasting finish where both the blackcurrant and the tea base play well on the tongue and in the nose. I’m raising my rating to 80 now, because I like it so much and I’ll drive out of my way to revisit the international market in Champaign-IL where I bought it, to restock my cabinet!

Blackcurrant Burst. By Ahmad Teas.
I noticed the Ahmad Teas line of products while shopping at a local international market, and their blackcurrant black tea caught my eye. Since I generally adore blackcurrant, I had to try it. So very glad I did, too! Made with a generic “South Indian” black tea base, these tea bags are flavored with both blackcurrant flavoring and 2% blackcurrant pieces. The combination gives a potent, genuine blackcurrant flavor and aroma, and a good caffeine kick from the black tea base. Each paper teabag (standard string and tab) was individually sealed in a thick foil-lined, sealed envelope. I steeped in 8 oz boiling spring water for 4–5 min, as directed, and also found that over-steeping did not deter from my enjoyment. I did not really notice much from the base, other than the impression of yes, it is a black tea. Not noticeably astringent or brisk, but quite nicely rounded in currant flavor and aroma, especially when sweetened with a couple spoonfuls of sugar. I’m sure it would be wonderful if iced as well, and I’ll post a followup comment on that when I get a chance to try it. This tea is a good value at under 20¢ per bag. For now, I’ll score this as a 75 (because of the mediocre base tea), and recommend.
Lot No. LFG32731. Best before: 12/05/2028.

I didn’t realize until I started to add “loose leaf” to the actual tea notes here that the name of this was spelled “CardamoN” rather than “CardamoM”. Which spelling is fine with me, since that is my preferred pronunciation. (It rhymes both visually and aurally with ‘cinnamon’!) Still, the box of Ahmad Tea itself uses the usual spelling ending Cardamom. I didn’t correct the spelling of the tea as shown here, since there are already other duplicate entries and I felt whoever entered reviews here expect to see that final “N”. So be it.
I’d never even tasted cardamon till I was twelve—and it was revelatory! What a wonderful, magical flavor! I already love it when blended into coffee. So it’s remarkable that I’d never tried this tea before.
Ahmad has on the box of teabags: “Tea leaves selected from some of the world’s most renowned tea gardens, flavoured with cardamom. An excellent tea, in colour, taste and aroma. Brew for 3-5 minutes.” Their blurb on the foil teabag cover reads “Quality teas chosen from the best teas of Sri Lanka and other countries.”
Other reviewers here have described this tea as Ceylon, which I’d be inclined to agree with. It’s got a lighter flavor that blends very well with the cardamon flavor. Do follow the “brew for 3-5 minutes” direction, so that it doesn’t turn bitter (a problem some previous reviewers encountered when they let it steep too long).
I tried this plain, I tried it with sugar. I found this tea was nicely balanced between the tea and the spice. Some other reviewers found it either too spicy or not spicy enough. I don’t know if that was due to processing, or the taste of the individual taster.
I enjoyed this tea and recommend it both plain and sweetened. I had it hot (it’s still winter), but I can see it would be quite refreshing iced in hot weather. It also blends well with other teas when mixing an informal batch of chai, or other spicy blends. Excellent all around!

Pretty good low budget tea. Great for the price in fact. In absolutes this is just good and passing, my choice for daily drinking if I liked ceylon teas more than other options. Everso slightly sweet and astringent. Mild flavor.

Surprisingly good once you dial in steeping. I don’t think black currant flavors keep well in general for loose leaf so I only get individually sealed teabags so far. Not astringent and sips well. Definitely a more natural black currant flavor.

Grew up with Indian cooking and the horrors of biting into a cardamom pod never truly leave you but this tea went a long way in curing my cardamom phobia. A complete flavor experience that warms you up like a nice cup of chai! Don’t oversteep, it will get bitter!

all the ahmad black teas kind of taste the same to me. not bad tho!

same as all the other ahmad black teas

drank it with a bit of oat milk so i can’t say too much about the taste profile. but its a good black tea :) hearty and earthy. the taste at the end is right at the border of bitterness but doesn’t cross as long as you steep very briefly. had this in my green & brown mug kelly got me with a bit of apple pie and a mini chocolate muffin

Great EB tea, delightfully dark blend with a moderate amount of Assam strength bitterness & tannins. Good daily driver & versatility

This is a great tea for summer into fall. Iced or chilled, it makes a refreshing fruity tea, especially with a little sweetener. The tea flavor itself is more pronounced when drunk as a hot tea. Either way, it’s perfect for late July or early August heading into late September or early October. The feeling one gets looking at late summer gardens, with ripening fruits and vegetables, the dark foliage from months’ worth of sun…this tea feels all of a piece with that. Enjoy it while that season’s still here!

One of my regular “while working at the computer” teas. Pretty solid, malty, relatively rich, drinkable, bland in such a way that it doesn’t deconcentrate me. There’s not much more to say about it, honestly.

Nice Herbal that is very peppermint-forward; I can’t say I taste the lemon hardly at all.
But smooth, a nice Peppermint tea.

I recently bought some coffee online from an Italian coffee co that only provides arabica coffee, and I saw that they were also selling a small selection of teas. Most of these teas were herbal but I also saw the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew line of 3 different loose teas in nice tins…and of course, I wanted to try out one of those!
Looking around on Ahmad Teas´web page, I read that with every purchase of a product of the line some money goes to the research facilities of Kew Gardens, which is a positive thing. I just love the Kew Gardens, I remember taking my parents there once when they visited me 30 years ago during my years in Yorkshire.
Back to the tea now…“Tea from high elevations give the tea its bright colour and greater flavour whilst the medium grown teas add a citrussy freshness.”, it says on https://www.ahmadtea.com/kew-beyond-the-leaf/
but I´m actually not that impressed : the colour is truly nice but I cannot find the citrussy touch to this OP (I would assume it is), and the loose tea is quite cut up as well. There are no steeping instructions indicated on the tin but the Italian coffee co added a label recommending a steeping time of 5 up to 8 minutes!!! I have limited the steeping time to 4´as this black tea do turns bitter when steeped longer. I guess I´ll take this tea as my breakfast tea for now (as it´s overall quite bold) and reuse the tin for teas which are finer.

A Little tart, and I taste the hibiscus, strawberry, apple; a hint of tartness, smooth.

To me, a nice blend of black tea and apple favoring.
Nice apple scent, pretty plain apple and tea, no cinnamon or other flavors that I notice.
It did steep dark pretty quick, so for my no milk no sugar drinking, I only needed 30 sec to get a nice strong brew. And multiple cups of tea per teabag.

A good representative of the English tea type; A Bit tannic, strong if you steep it long, medium dark carmel color, good black tea “nose”.
As I don’t use milk or sugar, 30 sec is plenty of time to get a strong tea steep.

Came as part of a sampler kit, I don’t usually do herbal / detox teas.
Mostly I taste the peppermint, and some more subtle other herbs, definitely no “real” tea in this.
It’s pleasant, light yellowish-brown color, maybe it’s doing me some herbal goodness, hard to know.
It is decaf, so good for late in the day drinking.

Im not a big green tea fan, but this is pretty good.
If you steep it long it can have a bitter edge (3 min).
Just steeping for my more normal 1 min, it’s pretty smooth and green.

I really like the Harney & Sons cinnamon; this was a big letdown.
Not very cinnamony, vert plain, just a hint of cinnamon.

A nice blend where you can taste all of the black tea + lemon + lime hints.
Not sour or astringent; if you like lemon tea, this is a subtle shift in the citrus flavor.
This is a strong base black tea, somewhat like a xxxx-breakfast tea, with longer steeping time would come thru milk and / or sugar OK if you like that.