Ahmad Tea
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It appears to have been 4 months since I last sipped this one. I think it is the oldest non-puerh in my stash. I used more leaf just in case it is loosing strength. it still tastes awesome. My favorite inexpensive Earl Grey. It’s $1.50 an ounce purchased locally. It may be cheaper online. This starts with the hearty bite of Ceylon. Next the bergamot takes over growing in intensity, going right to the brink of making me flinch. Then as it fades the Ceylon aftertaste lingers. Me and this tea go way back and I still love it.
Went to vote this morning. I think this was the longest I have ever had to stand in line to vote. At one point my wife says, “I think you are going to be late for work.” To which, I sarcastically replied, “What are they going to do fire me?…. O wait they already did.” She sighed and quietly replied, “Really.” A few moments later I noticed the lady in front of us started acting antsy. She turned, looked at me, and said, “I can’t afford to lose my job.” Then she stepped out of line and quickly left the building. I stepped forward, thinking to myself, “Me too.” Sigh.
Different subject. Like gmathis I am also struggling with daylight savings time. I am waking up at 3:30. I don’t have to be up until 6:00, but I can’t go back to sleep. I am decaffing it in the evenings and it doesn’t seem to be helping. So I grabbed old reliable in an attempt to stay awake this morning.
I drink a lot of cheap teas. Some are better than others. I also get to drink a lot of above average stuff, thanks to Steepster. Some of it is a bit pricey. This one falls into the cheapster Steepster end at about a buck and half and ounce. This is where I go when I just need a good comfort sip. Not overly complex, just tasty. I highly recommend Ahmad to any one looking for a better than average cheap tea.
I am KS and I approve this tasting note.
Enjoyable read! You might try some puerh for soothing. I like my little orange toucha’s which are smooth, sweet and very mild. I think they’re inexpensive. I have to ask mrmopar where to get them though.
Hug your wife for me. It’ll be good for the both of you. (We were out in 10 minutes, but there were seven—count ’em—seven active voters in our little municipal building. Major traffic for the burg!)
I just don’t understand why States don’t all have mail in ballots like I did. Easy, done 2 weeks ago. They even call and remind you to send it in and send an email too. If you want to go to a polling place, you can if you want to but why would you unless you need help.
Bonnie – I save my puerh for when I have time and ambition for a marathon. Same with oolong. I hate stopping until they turn to mushroom water.
I don’t mind standing in line to vote. It kind of makes me take it more seriously. One advantage to mail in though would be getting the chance to look up some of the candidates for offices that were flying under the radar – like judges.
I love Ahmad. Inexpensive loose leaf in a tin. The base can get harsh if you over steep. This is my favorite everyday EG so this is what my brain thinks bergamot is supposed to taste like. Not for sissies. (Strikes manly pose)
Haha! Love it!
I do not like EG’s that are shy, will have to check this one out.
Its similar to Twinings in bergamot intensity. It is the base that bites back that does it for me.
Sounds like right up my alley.
Majority of the Earl Grey I have drank is Twinings.
For some reason, I like my EG’s a little rough or “Manly” ;)
In other words, “the Earl” in my mind is not one who is sitting in the parlor reading.
My “Earl” is just coming in from a hunt with mud on his boots looking for a robust tea to revive him.
Oooh, HJ, if I weren’t blissfully married, I wouldn’t mind meeting Earl ;)
Hehe! I know…me too;)
I’d give you two a hard time but I find myself strangely attracted to Earl myself ;)
That’s Okay, he has that effect:)
I have been drinking a lot of ‘serious tea’ lately. I am overdue for a cup of mindless enjoyment. Grab some leaf without really measuring. Get some water hot but just shy of boiling. Go about 3 minutes. Add Splenda and relax. No analyzing the base. No deciding is this citrus, floral, or perfume. No caring about depth or complexity. Its comfort tea. Sweet!
As the temperature rises, the availability of brain cells for upper level reasoning—taste analysis included—decreases proportionately. I am currently the intellectual equivalent of a slug.
They were reporting us as 107 today. I only had a mere 103 at home. Pretty sure that is hard on slugs. Stay out of the sun and drink tea that does not require big words.
Does that mean I’ll be super smart in Antartica? ;)
I also love the «no-brainers» in my cupboard!
I get to work this morning all blurry headed and pull open my tea drawer. There are over 50 different choices. Only about four of which are not sample sized. Too many options. I can’t decide. I don’t want to open something new. I don’t want to think that hard to prepare it or taste it. I am not awake enough anyway. I don’t have time for that one. Not in the mood for that one. Arrgh! If I don’t get caffeine soon I will shrivel up and d… ooh, Earl Grey. Nice. A blast of bergamot. The bite of a Ceylon. The first cup is nice and harsh just like I need it. The second, sweet and mellow, like everyone around me needs it. I may make it through this day yet without pulling someone’s arm off.
Cue loud blues guitar. Woke up this morning… Stop the music, we all know a blues song that starts like that doesn’t end well. Though it usually does have a pretty awesome riff. Anyway, I woke up with a throbbing headache. Driving to work the sun was bright, on the horizon, and in my eyes the whole way. Some days you just miss the rain. I walk in the door and a buddy is standing there with a box of peanut butter cookies. Oh yow, the blues just turned into the hallelujah chorus. Immediately start thinking what goes with PB cookies. Grabbed old reliable.
I used a healthy spoon of leaf, a 2 minute steep, and 12oz of just under boiling water in my press. Made three(!) delicious steeps of delicious, slightly astringent (which I like) mugs. The secret to this tea is not to steep too hot or too long or it can get too much attitude.
For the uninitiated, Ahmad does a great job of value for dollar with their low cost loose leaf teas – and even their bagged teas. Similar to Twinings in cost, leaf quality, and bergamot level. The biggest difference to me is the base has more guts in this one.
I have not tried many higher quality EG’s. If I did, I might find one I really liked the taste of that had great depth and complexity, but I don’t know that would prompt me to switch. This one is like an old pair of jeans with the butt and the knees wearing through that you wear anyway because they are comfortable. Nothing like a good comfort tea.
Nothing beats value comfort tea when you have brain overload.
The Ceylon base is strong and a bit astringent, which I like. The bergamot is strong and has some pucker power to it, which I like. Add a packet of Splenda, that I am addicted to and the job I don’t want to be at today is a little more tolerable.
I forgot the ‘e’ in Ceylon when I first typed it. I chuckled to myself and fought back the urge to talk slowly through a running fan – “By your command!”
Fed the addiction again this morning along with a cup of rice.
I really like the Ahmad teas I have tried…
@teawing, I just looked through your tasting notes to see what Ahmad teas you might have reviewed and you had not logged any – BUT a couple things caught my attention. Like me, you seem to really enjoy tea in all its forms. Very few get a negative review from either of us. Except your review of the 1999 Vietnamese Puerh – that had me rolling on the floor! Thanks for the laugh.
I have tried Ahmad’s Darjeeling and English Breakfast.
Yes, there are times I wonder is there a tea I just plain don’t like, then that evil Puerh comes to mind. I guess my palate is diverse enough or not enough depending on how you look at it to be finicky. I always enjoy a new tea, but I tend to adore unflavored blacks, oolongs in any shape or form, and green.
Oh and one more thing, you can keep the rooibos and mate’ to yourself, it just isn’t tea to me.
Glad you got a laugh at my expense!
and, I always thought Hoth Storm troopers had the coolest uniforms in the empire, except maybe TIE fighter pilots. :)
I’m pretty sure I saw some Ahmad varieties at our T.J. Maxx—further investigation necessary. Sorry…y’all dress like storm troopers. I want to look like Queen Amidala.
Well, minus the pancake makeup…
LOL! Yep, that make-up looked…painful.
Our Asian Market had Ahmad also, you just never know.
I don’t remember how I stumbled on the stormtrooper avatar. I thought it was cool because it is scifi, tea, and Lego. My wife is addicted to the Lego games. I can’t figure out the controls. Give me an Atari controller with one fire button and a joystick – the equivalent of a good Han Solo blaster. Our children’s museum had an exhibit a couple years ago of Star Wars stuff. One of them was an outfit worm by Padima. The young lady who played her was the tiniest person. I have got to hit our Asian market one of these days. Yes I am rambling.
Don’t care if others think this is pedestrian. Until I try something I like better this is my EG of choice.
Here’s to quality pedestrian bagged teas.
This one happens to be loose although I like the bag version too. I can get 2 steeps out of a spoon of leaf and it is under $6 for 100g. It is definitely Cheapster Steepster material.
as long as you like it, who cares what other ppl think. :)
This is also the EG of choice of a friend of mine who loves EG, and tries every single one:) There must be something special on it.
About 10 times the bergamot of Harney, with a solid bite in the black tea.
That sounds like quite a kick! Not that I have ever had Harney tea (made a very small order, but it has not yet arrived). Ahmad´s is pretty easy to find around here, and yeah, all the tea of their I had had is stuff with a bite.
Harney EG is a very popular tea around here but it is quite lite on the bergometer. This one is about the mid point.
I have just tried Ahmad’s English No. 1 Tea and it is nice, and similar to the London Cuppa tea that I have been enjoying this past year.
If you like something then keep in stock.
I wish I had read this last night before I placed an order with a vendor who had this pretty cheap! I had it in my cart and had to cut back on some items and this was one to go. I had read this I would have left it in my cart!
Haven’t logged anything in a couple days. This cold is kicking my butt and all my reviews have been whiney, so I didn’t add them. I needed my comfort tea today. I poured the water into the press and got detained for about six minutes. At three minutes this is perfect. At six, the tea turns bitter and the bergamot becomes perfumey with a high pucker factor. Yeah, I’m still whining.
Whiny must be in the air this week…struggling with that a bit myself. (A bit? Who am I kidding? I’ve been wrestling a bad attitude with the temperament of a pit bull.)
I have done pretty well not taking it out on anyone… so far… actually feeling a lot better today. yeah! So maybe the air is clearing?
I love the smell of the dry leaf and am always amazed that it doesn’t overpower the cup. A co-worker also brewed a cup this morning. He said he wouldn’t throw it out but preferred his Twinings. From his description, the best I can tell is he does not like Ceylon tea and does not want to taste the tea base. Interesting how different individual perceptions can be.
Breakfast tea of the day. I have a drawer full of tea samples and a couple bigger tins but not a single leaf, not even a tea bag, of a black Earl Grey. So to remedy the sad situation I grabbed a tin of this yesterday. I have always liked Ahmad’s take on this classic. The bergamot is citrus/orange not flowery. It is the main flavor but does not overpower the smooth Ceylon base. No bitterness. A good solid basic comfort cup. Similar in taste and quality to Twinings but the bergamot is a little less intense and the base a bit tastier.
Preparation
I know a big earl grey fan who loves this best of practically everything. (I am not really a big earl grey fan to properly judge). It is interesting to see your take on why this works.
I love the flavor and it is only $6 for 100g so this is a good value tea. I haven’t tried H&S Supreme or Lupicia which I think are the two that get raves around here. Of what I have tried this is the best. My high score is also a tip of the hat toward this being another of my milestone teas. Bigelow got me started, then Twinings, before Ahmad. I am guessing if Teavivre sold an Earl Grey it would probably be my favorite. hint hint
Sending you a sachet of H&S Supreme so you can see if you agree with all the hullabaloo!
Cool! I would still like to see what Teavivre would do with this English classic.
Do you order all your H&S online or is it available “at a store near you”? I have only found a very limited variety at B&N.
I order it. My husband says they have a red phone with a flashing light that goes off when I call. LOL! But actually I usually order online, not by phone. Since I have a couple of friends who also drink Harney tea we combine our order for free shipping. They don’t like to mess with Internet so I order, they reimburse me, and I get all the reward points!
On that note, Teavivre gave 200 points for making an account, 100 for writing a review on their site, and 340 for the order I placed. !!! That means a little extra discount next time I order! I used the first 200 already for the first order. It gave me two dollars off, plus I had a ten percent off code! :)
OK, I’m going to try this one next. It seems I’ve been going on an Earl Grey kick lately and this tea looks like it will give me a nice fix. ;)
It has a slight hint of bergamont. Very smooth and soothing.
This is also my favourite tea blend. You should also try Ahmad Tea English Tea No 1. Different blend of teas, again with a hint of bergamot, very refreshing
Yes. I also enjoy Ahmad English Tea No 1. I find it very refreshing as well.
Prince of Wales Afternoon Tea. “Full bodied and robust teas of multiple blends from South India’s Nirgiri Mountains. It gets it’s bright copper colour and malty flavour from Kenya and China which gives it hints of oak and burgundy depth.” Extremely smooth and relaxing. Enjoy!
