Ahmad Tea

My favourite daily Darjeeling. Cheap but delicious with a nice fruity flavour with hints of floral when you get a good batch. I’m naughty and buy the teabags. Best with a tiny dash of milk.

A review of English Tea No. 1 by Ahmad Tea

Company: Ahmad Tea
Tea Name: English Tea No. 1
Tea Type/Varietal: black
Region:
Steeping Vessel/Amt. Leaf: tea bag
Liquor Color: reddish brown
Leaf Characteristics:

1st Steeping:
Water temperature: 200 Fahrenheit
Time: 3 minutes

I purchased a cup of this tea from a small sandwich and snack shop one morning while waiting for the library to open. It seems I am always waiting for the library to open, since I am not employed and can’t drive myself about; I am dropped off too early prior to businesses being open. I am a vagrant of sort.

Anyhow, I bought a cup of this tea since the associate of this shop said this was the only tea that they had or carried. It was a good cup of tea. It was nicely hot, that aside; the tea was smooth with a good heft in the body; tea’s aroma was that of a roasted brew. I mean it smelled strong and when sipping this tea it was malty with a smooth finish. I did not add any sugar or cream. I simply had it as was given to me, plain and it was quite enjoyable.

Overall, the tea was a nice blend of Ceylon tea with a smooth texture and not robust enough as Assam teas tend to be.

I know that I enjoyed the tea from beginning sip to ending sip.

A review of English Tea No. 1 by Ahmad Tea
I left tea to infuse for a good five minutes and enjoyed smelling the simple malt scent of this tea that is lightly flavored with bergamot.

The color is a darken amber and it as rich as it is full-bodied. There is no astringency, nothing to not like about this blend. It truly is well balanced in aroma, the color stays the same for several infusions and the strength in tea’s character remains as when first tasted.

It is an excellent cup of tea with last infusion it reminds me of the London Cuppa. It still leaves the palette dry when first tasted, a back of throat kind of dryness. Not syrup or licorice like. It is like dry white wine or vodka, but more wine dryness than anything else.

A review of English Tea No. 1 by Ahmad Tea

I want to compare this tea with my other English teas to see if indeed I can note differences in the cup. As yet I have not been able.

I placed one tea bag into my cup and added boiling water and left to steep for a few minutes. I am having it plain since I want to enjoy more of the bergamot flavor that is to be found in the cup.

Aroma is most dry, scenting fruity; citrus to be exact and having a dry palette when first tasted. As this tea is lightly flavored with the bergamot makes it smoother in taste; the malt is lessened somehow, yet having still a dry effect on the palette.

A review: English Tea No. 1 by Ahmad Tea

I like returning to this tea; after having had The London Cuppa. As this tea is lightly flavored with that famous bergamot making it for a delightful cup for all occasions. I mean it is balanced in aroma, color and strength.

Tea was infused for five minutes and I removed the tea bag and I don’t feel the need to add anything to it. Tea brews a lovely amber color and smells nicely full-bodied. It is clean on the palette with a good heft possessing of color, strength, substance and roundness. This all mean that the tea holds its own.

I continue to enjoy another cup of this fine tea that is highly flavored with bergamot. Noticing more and more the citrus flavoring, as I am, happily reminded of when one has had an orange and the texture lingers in your hands and nostrils as the smell is carried in the air. It is a lemon-like (citrus) scent but only in the oil; strong and bitter but not in taste as the bergamot does make this tea smoother and milder in taste.

The aroma, the color and teas’ strength all are evenly distributed in the cup.

Infuse: for 3-5 minutes

Tea’s brew is dark amber in color when steeped for the full 5 minutes.

I continue to play and enjoy these new teas that I have obtained this year. I say this because I find that they are similar and I try to discern what stands out in one cup as opposed to another tea of similar nature/derivatives.

The bergamot oil makes this tea more wholesome throughout since it is evenly distributed in aroma, flavor and the strength of the tea. Steeping it longer or less is pretty much the same cup of tea. I note the smoothness in the roasted flavor of the tea with no after taste. It is not as full bodied as The Kopili Assam tea and not as bold either.

This English tea is smooth and rich; silk-like in quality and taste, making for a well-balanced cup of tea.

I fixed myself a cup of this tea with honey today and it was very warm and welcoming. The sweetness made the tasting of it more like liquor, licorise without the anise. As well as brought out the malt flavoring in the cup of tea.

I am happy that I tried it, as such; since I do not usually put anything in my teas. In all the honey enhanced the flavoring; made it richer and bolder for a fuller bodied tea, whole-roundly.

Tea’s brew is dark amber in color and steeped for 5 minutes.

I wanted to continue with sampling teas flavored with bergamot and I am happy to say this is a very nice cup of tea, brewed freshness is soothing to the throat, and very smooth. There is no sharpness or after taste. With each sip, tea maintains over all quality making for a fine cup of tea.

Backlog of a few cups……

I have been road tripping and visiting my Dad in the hospital in another state. Home for a few days for now, and then we will see if I go back. Unfortunately, the second car has some serious issues, so that might postpone me a bit.

Anyway, I purchased this tea before I left for ease of use away from home. I was fortunate that hot water for tea was very easily accessible at Memorial Medical Center in Springfield, IL. I had several cups of this. It is light, there is a refreshing amount of bergamot, and it resteeps for at least one cup. All in all, I am very pleased with this and will purchase again.

PS….the coffee shop at the hospital serves Harney tea!

I probably shouldn’t be having tea so late in the evening. However, I just couldn’t resist. This is a very good blend of Assam teas. Nice, and strong. I’ll be enjoying this tomorrow morning.

I have never had blackcurrant anything before, so having this tea is a real step out of my comfort zone. If this tastes like blackcurrants, then I really need to have more blackcurrants in my life.

It tastes a little bitter with a faint splash of juice on the back of my tongue. It mixes really nicely with the black tea. The flavor is strong but not overwhelming. I had a carmello candy bar before this and it really helps get the sweet out of my mouth without being overwhelmingly bitter.

We buy Ahmad’s Aromatic Earl Grey in a 500 gm tin as it’s reasonably priced ($9.00) and is quite OK on its own. We also find this blend useful for brightening up other black teas with a dash of bergamot.

I got a deal on Amazon for 3 huge tins (500g ea) of loose tea, and it’s a good thing I like it! LOL This has become the tea I look forward to, and the pot is gone before I know it. I take it straight, haven’t tried milk or sugar. Had no idea what cardamon tasted like, but I like chai so I figured ‘what the heck’? and just bought it. I figured that I could easily turn it into chai if I had to—but the cardamon is not overpowering, it enhances the tea, and I can certainly see why it’s an ancient favorite. It’s my new favorite— I’m completely hooked! …..and who knows, maybe I’ll even figure out how to spell it one of these days… can anyone explain why it’s sometimes “cardamoM” and sometimes “cardamoN” ? maybe I"ll google that while the water boils……

Smells fruity and nice… must be mostly the passionfruit (to me). For a black tea I was expecting something a bit stronger, but it doesn’t come off as very strong, even when steeped for some time. Not bad.

Looks like I’ve written over 50 tasting notes for this one… sorry, here’s another ;)

It’s beautiful outside here today. Low 80’s F, gentle breeze, and mostly sunny. So I decide to fix a cup and chill on the porch. As I open the tin, the stout bergamot fragrance hits me and makes me smile. Then out of nowhere Sil and her dislike of all things blergamot pops into my head… At the same time I start hearing Santana’s cool rhythm playing along with the line from the song, “You’ve got to change your evil ways” (hehe sorry Sil). I didn’t dwell because the volume in my head hit 11 as Carlos broke into a lengthy solo.

Made it to the porch. Raised my clear mug. The ruby red brew against the spring green background and blue sky was not lost on me. The pungent blergamot dominates but the Ceylon base is brisk enough to stand up and be noticed. Much happiness followed.

I love my high dollar teas, but a $7 tin of this will always be in my collection – well unless they do something stupid (hello Twinings) and mess with it.

Whenever we go to a pitch in dinner (at church – wherever) my wife makes macaroni. The kids devour it. Why? It’s plain Kraft macaroni shells with Velveeta cheese. You know, real macaroni, not some fru fru pasta with a blend of gourmet cheeses and added stuff. Not that there is anything wrong with the fancy stuff, just don’t call it Macaroni around a kid.

That’s the way I am with my Earl Grey. I don’t mind fancier once in a while but it isn’t my idea of EG. This here, 4 year old tin (at least) and all, is plain and simple Earl Grey. I noticed today a bag of Splenda stuck between the tea pouch and the tin. I remember putting it there 1 1/2 years ago on our anniversary. We rented a cabin on the lake and sat on the porch swing watching it rain, while sipping tea. Priceless.

At the time I was so ill with respiratory issues, I thought it might be our last anniversary together. There, I said it. Had it not been for God’s grace and my family nurse practitioner it might well have been. She helped straighten me out. I fired my pulmonologist. A year later I started taking physical therapy to help build up my body muscle to help with breathing. For some unexplainable reason it had the opposite effect. I have spent the last 6 months in a battle. Simply preparing tea became too difficult.

I spent the holidays in the hospital on 15 liters of oxygen. They managed to wean me down to a manageable level to come home. I have since managed to further reduce my levels way down. Today I feel better than I have felt in a very long time.

When I decided I was ready to make tea tonight – first time in a couple months – I grabbed this one. After pouring it into my mug, I noticed the beautiful ruby color. I seriously was overcome with emotion.

Thank You is all I could think to say. I wrote all this to say, notice the little things in your daily life, like making tea, and be thankful.

Who knows how old this tea is? I have no clue. I think I once shared some with Moses. Anyway, sealed nicely in a bag inside the tin. I used a little extra leaf, just in case. Added some sweetener and had a delightful cup of comfort.

Morning tea with a little sweetener accompanied by a sausage and cheese sandwich. My tea, that has been family so long I don’t care if others like it or not. This is Earl Grey to me. The Ceylon has a pleasant amount of bitter bite and the bergamot has a perfectly pungent aroma. Thank you very much.

Thanks to all who have offered well wishes and especially prayers for my dad. The nurse finally made the doctor order tests. It will take a few days to get results. In the meantime, I am trying to be properly angered without improper behavior. It may be just another day at work for the doctor but that is MY Dad in that bed. Mom said last night she tried to talk dad out of surgery during the holidays. He just wanted it over and done. Mom has a bad heart and I’m worried about the stress on her. I’m on a walker with an oxygen tank so there isn’t a lot I can do to help. Just trying to be there. Thanks again for the prayers.

I’ve been wearing my jacket but seem to have a lung infection. I cannot let one get ahead of me, so I got some medicine and now I am having a cup of comfort. Earl Grey – hot, of course. Make it so Number 1.

Celebrating national coffee day with my Earl Grey of choice. I’m sure you understand. Don’t even care that none go with me, this still speaks to me after all these years. My yardstick earl.

On a side note, I am so stiff today I can barely maneuver. Went out on the porch Sunday night around 11 pm to get a look at the super blood moon. Of course didn’t turn on a light and didn’t have my cane. Tripped on the mat at the steps. Fell on my face (on the porch). I might add, I was in my underwear as I live out in the boonies. So here is this fat boy sprawled out on the porch and after realizing I wasn’t broken, found myself thinking next time I wear pants! Saddest part is I couldn’t really see the moon through the trees.

Apparently it has been 5 days or so since I posted – or drank tea besides bottled or Lipton. Well, I do have my morning latte but that is more flavored sweetened milk. So, my wife brought me this one from the kitchen. It was in her way (no respect for the bergomot). Of course since it was already out… so 3 minutes, a packet of Splenda, and 10 oz of 200 F water, were transformed into bliss. Went magically with a bagel and a couple honey drizzled sausage links. For a moment I forgot how humid it is even indoors.