Ahmad Tea

I got this one from a local Middle Eastern market and was intrigued by the description of “bergamot and other flavors” listed on the tin. When I opened it, I was slightly disappointed to find that it smelled like Earl Grey only. After brewing, the fragrance pretty much disappears and leaves behind a mild Ceylon with a slight Earl Grey flavor. I’m not put off by this, however, as some days I only want a hint of flavoring. The base is a good Ceylon and it can be bitter, but as I like to add milk to my black teas, it doesn’t bother me at all. Decent tea- I much prefer the cardamom by Ahmad better.

I actually really enjoy this tea and I’m pretty picky when it comes to “grocery store” brands. I was able to get this one in loose leaf at a local Middle Eastern market and at first, I was a bit scared because the smell was so strong I was afraid that it would be overwhelming. However, after steeping, the smell lessened and it was pleasant. I like my black teas with half and half so I added that and took a taste. I was pleasantly surprised! I love the smooth Ceylon base and a gentle touch of spice. It has quickly become a tea in my frequent rotation.

Sometimes you just need a solid earl grey! This was one of those mornings.

Hmph. I could’ve sworn I’ve reviewed this one … because I know y’all are impatiently waiting for my official pronouncement before you decide whether to imbibe or not.

Do. It’s quite pleasant. Subtle Granny Smith apple peel, but neither unpleasantly bitter nor painfully tart. Perfect on a scratchy throat induced by heat wave + inconsistent AC at work. I’ve been either sweltering or shivering for two solid weeks.

As “A Gift from London Earl Grey”, but on backside it is written that’s from Ahmad.

And it is just same, soapy, artificial aroma and taste, luckily the base was quite okay.

Ahh, why I thought it will be good idea to start the day with this?

Doh. Morning tea at my friend’s. No idea about age, where it come from, how it was stored…

I woke up at 6 am, which is early. So, I decided to go around, to the doctor I have to visit (entry medical check-up for summerjob) to find out she is for two weeks on holiday, buying something to eat in a job. Nice walk in little rain. I have enjoyed it more than expected.

Anyway, to the tea. I used boiling water, steeped for short time (3-4) minutes. Result is cloudy, brown liquor, which doesn’t look very appealing. Bit oily too.

Back then, I thought this is how bergamot should smell like. But now I see it is artificial, bit lemony, but as well unfortunately soapy aroma. It doesn’t smell promising.

Oh my. First sip – it’s not actually really bad (I expected much worse). But it’s watery, bit biting, bit malty, bit of everything but full-bodied tea.

Sorry Ahmad Tea, this is letdown.

You’d think I’d get bored of trying earl grey after earl grey, but they’re all surprisingly different in notable ways. This one is the darkest I’ve tried so far. The black tea base is stronger, heavier and richer than the usual Darjeeling or single Ceylon bases. It’s rich and filling with a good amount of bergamot – not too strong or bitter, but enough to live up to the black tea base.

You could substitute this one for your usual heavy breakfast tea. In fact, I might do just that!

I reviewed it without milk but I like it with milk too. https://www.immortalwordsmith.co.uk/ahmad-tea-earl-grey-review/

It’s always a wonderful day in the neighborhood when I have a new tea to take for a spin. We have a few European market stores in the area that offer Ahmad teas. The prices for these teas are usually very affordable. This one is currently listed on Amazon at under $12 for a nice one-pound tin container.

The marketing for this tea says it contains the finest high-grown (black) teas from the hillsides of Sri Lanka, subtly blended, with the elegant fragrance of bergamot.

The dark short tea leaves are well-protected within the square tin box in a gold foil bag. When I opened the bag, the aroma was rich and full of bergamot and other fruity attributes.

I steeped the leaves for five minutes at 212 degrees. The brewed color was a dark reddish amber. The odor was very quiet, almost non-existent. What I could smell seemed to only have a nondescript sweet characteristic.

The taste of this tea did not match the complexity of its unbrewed aroma. In fact, the flavor was surprisingly bland. About all I could syphon from the taste was an unidentifiable tea attribute. Pulling that from the brew was made even more difficult by a sharp astringency that defined the flavor. The aftertaste was also dominated by astringency.

I was disappointed by this blend. I had high hopes that it would be a cornucopia of great flavors. I’m not ready to write off Ahmad altogether but this will most likely be my one and only experience with the Special Blend product.

This was a nice tea. Very simple, but still nice.

The apple aroma changed a lot from dry to wet, going through stages of bitter granny smith apple to sour sherbet to sweet apple laces. The taste was a bit of a mix of them all.

I appreciated how full the black tea base is. I thought a rich tea base might clash with the vibrant, sweet and sour apple, but actually it works really well. A lighter black tea or green tea would have let the sourness take control of the blend. It’s balanced well.

Not much else to say about this tea, other than it’s not refreshing in the slightest. I’d rename it “Apple Boost”.

Review with pictures https://www.immortalwordsmith.co.uk/ahmad-tea-apple-refresh-review/

I’ll finish the little box I’ve got of this tea in the early afternoons. I’ve been carefully cutting the wrappers to save them for Martin, storing them in an envelope that probably won’t be big enough by the time I’m finished! It’s highly satisfying seeing my tea bag wrappers cut perfectly and left whole – not sure why. I’ve always been a bit like that. I like order and symmetry and organisation and keeping careful records. I’ve been known to create a spreadsheet organiser just for fun.

There was a weird freshness to this tea that was verging on menthol. I could feel a slight coolness in my nose and throat, no idea why. Ingredients are just jasmine and green tea.

It’s a pretty bland jasmine green tea, very subtle on the jasmine and a green tea that doesn’t leave a lasting impression. I really love my jasmine teas so this was a bit of a let down. Ahmad’s lemon vitality was good for a standard supermarket tea bag so my expectations were a little bit higher than usual for this Jasmine Romance.

I guess if you aren’t so keen on jasmine it would be nice.

It’s slightly bitter but not grassy, it has that warm honey gold colour and aroma from fired Chinese green teas.

I’ll finish the box but… yeah. The score is accurate, it’s neither good or bad, just hovering in the middle. I did take some nice picture of it for my blog, using spring blossoms from the hedgerow across the road from my home. Spring is probably my favourite season and jasmine tea usually embodies the freshness and floralness of it.

https://www.immortalwordsmith.co.uk/ahmad-tea-jasmine-romance-review/

From Derk, probably last one. Okay, a little of yellow tea I keeped for better time.
But last “first taste”
I put it into mug, took hot water, spilled it in. Keep it easy Martin, it is 7 pm, horribly tired.

Let´s see, they say “Especially suitable for relaxing in the evening” – which is what I need. Interesting, I never heard it should fight anxiety. It is known for mucus removal, which is in Czech (European) phytotherapy. Well, that is what Kawaii433 actually said :) Wonder how it changes my anxiety. I had maybe two small panic attacks today.

Anyway to the tea.
Light golden colour is there, with strong spring aroma. As a spring I mean the season and I mean flowers. Yeah, lots of flower aroma is there. Maybe honey with nectar. It makes sense actually as it is a flower pieces. I forgot about light dust on bottom, and it is clear.

Taste is quite smooth (even I have oversteeped it) very sweet with small tart aftertaste. It reminds me bit jasmine. But I like it and understand Derk that she wants to keep it in cupboard.

PS: Interesting, it is so famous using here – even my (grand)parents were picking it (not anymore). And I never had it. I can imagine it as everyday tea.

The spearmint in this is quite good. You can taste the green tea when you brew it stronger. I enjoyed my coldbrewed. The spearmint provides enough sweetness that you don’t need any sugar.

Brewed this tea with low expectations so was pleasantly surprised at the result. Sure, the green tea is nothing special, but the lemon is good. It’s very drinkable, you don’t have to think too hard about the flavour or take time to savour it to pull out the flavour notes. A good, light tea when you want something quick. For a tea bag, it pretty good quality. Better than most green teas I’ve had from similar tea bag brands like Twinings.

It has a lemony bitterness, warm grassy green tea body, and slightly sweet aftertaste. There’s no sharpness or tartness that I can detect, which makes me think it’s at least partially artificial lemon flavouring.

I’ll happily finish the box of tea bags, but won’t be buying again. There are better lemon green teas out there, but this tea certainly isn’t bad. In one word, it’s a “nice” tea.

Full review with pictures: https://www.immortalwordsmith.co.uk/ahmad-tea-lemon-vitality-review/

Another thermos tea.
Honestly I do not find anything distinctive – cheap green tea with lemon notes. Simple as that. The dry tea bag had quite strong lemon flavour which kind of dissapeared while brewed.

The tea tasted good though, easy going, simple tea. No funky notes. Nothing extra.
Everyday tea.

Y’all would be so proud of me…my bagged tea stash is almost manageable, in tea chests on shelves and not in lumps and heaps all over the kitchen. (Loose tea is a different story, but hey, progress is progress.)

And as I was organizing, I was reminded that I needed to freshen up my work selections, so a stray bag of Lemon and Lime went into my bag o’bags. It is light and pleasant for a no-fuss afternooner. I taste the lime first, which is a nifty little flavor surprise as well.

Of the teas I’ve samplled out of my Ahmad sampller, this is my favorite so far. Llovely llemony and llimey llilt to it. Not tart, just bright and citrusy. A llitle bit of spring to llift my sagging …(actualllly, allll of me is sagging)…on a chilllly, dreary day.

No, I don’t know why I doublle-LL’d everything. An attempt to llighten up my outllook?

Great tea, very tasteful. I just started drinking tea and I don’t put anything in it. Has a good after taste.

I don’t usually start a tasting note with “I’m disappointed,” but I am. I had high expectations for this. First cup I had at work and it tasted like Dawn dish soap, but I blamed that on poor break room dishwashing. Tried it again from home, and the first few sips were OK. Black tea first, then the strawberry. But as it cools, it’s bitter and there’s the dish soap again. Ah, well. Just part of a sampler, so I don’t have to feel guilty about disliking an entire box.

Can’t drink an Ahmad tea without thinking about our good friend K S … wish I could say things as kind about this tea as I would about him!

This tea is okay but not spectacular. It needed a fair amount of sugar to make the flavour pop for me, which isn’t ideal since I’m on a diet. It was tasty enough, fruity and such, but not fantastic.

It probably didn’t help with the concurrent anxiety attack I experienced this morning but it’s a tasty snack afterward.