English Tea No. 1

Ahmad is my favourite brand for black teas and this one is classic. I’ve got it in my drawer at work and is my fuel for thinking.

A solid go-to tea for a morning perk-up.

This is a lovely English Breakfast tea (or afternoon tea if you want a hearty black brew.)

It has all the redeeming characteristics of a good black tea, with some bite on the finish when steeped for 5+ minutes. There’s a little background note of bergamot, but never too much flavor to muddle the rest.

I’d put this in my morning rotation for sure.

It was overcast and rainy this morning, the pitter patter of water drops hummed along the rooftop. I brewed this cup with dancing bubbles dissipating from the pitcher mid-pour. Five minutes passed.
With my trusty enamel mug, I overburdened my arms and grabbed my parasol, backing out of the front door into the cold and sleet.

Steam rose from the mug as I took the hundreds of steps to my car. With full hands, I placed the mug gingerly on my spare tire carrier and unlocked the door to deposit my bags. Rain jumped along the surface of the tea. Enclosing myself in the cockpit of my vehicle, I took a first sip. A wave of calm and warmth overtook me, polarizing any shivers and soothing goosebumps from the stormy day. A kiss of citrus oil joined the medley of black tea. This was a good morning cup, on the right day for it.

Inexpensive and very tasty as an everyday tea.

Strong like a Londoner. This tea hits your taste buds like a brick. It has (too) intense aroma and very drying properties. Highly tannic and astringent. Not my favorite one. I am not into bergamot flavot so much and this tea is. Just overpowered with this scent. As strong as a cup of black coffee. Good substitute for your morning joe.

I had a bad experience with the English Afternoon Tea from Ahmad Tea before, because I found it to taste like a bergamot bomb, if there ever was one. I still remember that it was absolutely undrinkable plain, and therefore required tons of milk, but even that did not save the tea. Therefore, I was a bit hesitant when I was picking this up as it brought back those bad memories, but after finishing my first cup of this tea, I am so very glad that I bought it. At first, I didn’t even know that it was infused with bergamot, and all I was sensing was sweet notes of malt. After reading the description of this tea, the hint of bergamot is unmistakable, but it really serves to enhance the flavour of the tea and does not offend. I have 99 more tea bags to go, but I already can’t wait to buy another box of this. It’s that good.

This is a great option among inexpensive black teas. Great for everyday drinking.

Nice Earl Grey. Very easy to oversteep so it goes bitter. Recently bought it and experimented with all kinds of steep times and with doubling up on the bags. I wouldn’t go above 2 minutes steep time unless you plan to add sugar or milk to it.

Leaf version.
After the first steep the bergamot was on the front, followed by a subtle impression of orange zest and then long, earthy aftertaste.
In the second steep the bergamot and zest disappeared, and earthiness was much more subtle, replaced by fantastic malty and nutty notes.

It’s only fitting that for my first review here I start with English Tea No. 1 by Ahmad, one of my favorite black teas. I first bought it a few years ago, thinking it was an English Breakfast kind of blend. For all intents and purposes, it is. One can hardly taste the bergamot, especially if like me, you take your black teas with lemon and sugar. The blend is strong but not overwhelming, not bitter. I would agree with others who describe a dry finish, with a white wine note. A splendidly drinkable tea, good for all day.