I fell in love with Ahmad's Earl Grey some years ago. It was teabags
then, but a few days ago I found a shop in my home town selling Ahmad
products. I then bought a 250 gram packet of their loose leaf Earl Grey.
At home I tasted the liquid. Horrible soapy aftertaste, totally
different from previous experiences. I may have over-steeped it a minute
or two but this is the first time ever I have encountered tea that has
this kind of soap-like flavour. Usually oversteeped tea tastes bitter,
but not soapy...

I also tasted Ahmad's English Tea No1. They say it contains a hint of
bergamot too, but I never found that in the taste, in my opinion it's
quite a dull blend. Not soapy, but dull.

Laitinen Saku kirjoitti:
> I fell in love with Ahmad's Earl Grey some years ago. It was teabags
> then, but a few days ago I found a shop in my home town selling Ahmad
> products. I then bought a 250 gram packet of their loose leaf Earl Grey.
> At home I tasted the liquid. Horrible soapy aftertaste, totally
> different from previous experiences. I may have over-steeped it a minute
> or two but this is the first time ever I have encountered tea that has
> this kind of soap-like flavour. Usually oversteeped tea tastes bitter,
> but not soapy...
>
> I also tasted Ahmad's English Tea No1. They say it contains a hint of
> bergamot too, but I never found that in the taste, in my opinion it's
> quite a dull blend. Not soapy, but dull.

A reason may be that the tea was packed in 2003 so it was pretty old
stuff...

> I fell in love with Ahmad's Earl Grey some years ago. It was teabags
> then, but a few days ago I found a shop in my home town selling Ahmad
> products. I then bought a 250 gram packet of their loose leaf Earl Grey.
> At home I tasted the liquid. Horrible soapy aftertaste, totally
> different from previous experiences. I may have over-steeped it a minute
> or two but this is the first time ever I have encountered tea that has
> this kind of soap-like flavour. Usually oversteeped tea tastes bitter,
> but not soapy...

Do you taste cilantro as being soapy?
--scott


--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

I think Ahmad Earl Grey is one of the best formulations on the market.
In the past others have given positive reviews. The leaves have a
strong perfumed soap smell. The pungency disappears in the brew with
mint aftertaste. The blend of strong oriental black teas takes over
which I brew for short time. My current 500g box is years old and an
occasional cup is about it. If the aftertaste is that strong then I
suspect a misblend. It is possible they changed formulations. I'm
no big fan of the flavoring but I think in any case one could argue
there is a soapy aftertaste with any bergamot. I have some ETN1 which
I haven't opened and I'm not that curious. If you don't like one EG
there are others.

Jim

Laitinen Saku wrote:
> I fell in love with Ahmad's Earl Grey some years ago. It was teabags
> then, but a few days ago I found a shop in my home town selling Ahmad
> products. I then bought a 250 gram packet of their loose leaf Earl Grey.
> At home I tasted the liquid. Horrible soapy aftertaste, totally
> different from previous experiences. I may have over-steeped it a minute
> or two but this is the first time ever I have encountered tea that has
> this kind of soap-like flavour. Usually oversteeped tea tastes bitter,
> but not soapy...
>
> I also tasted Ahmad's English Tea No1. They say it contains a hint of
> bergamot too, but I never found that in the taste, in my opinion it's
> quite a dull blend. Not soapy, but dull.

"Space Cowboy" > wrote in message

> I think Ahmad Earl Grey is one of the best formulations on the market.

That's not the best Earl Grey I have ever drunk, but I also appreciate it a
lot.

>My current 500g box is years old

A 250 g box never lasted more than a month at my place, and it survives a
maximum of 2 days if I forget it at work. That's really the best quality
among brands they sell in supermarkets. And they seem quite constant. I
always get it in sealed metal cans.

>>I then bought a 250 gram packet of their loose leaf Earl Grey.

What is exactly a *packet* ? Loose leaves packaged at the shop ? They may
have been exposed to light or air.

Kuri

Ahmad at the local Arabic stores comes in shrinkwrap,cardboard,foil
around penny/gram. I didn't know they used tins. Just about every
other Arabic brand comes in tins. If you ever visit Kuri I'll be glad
to give you all my once opened, once used various commercial brands of
EG. It's like Jasmine, you have to keep some around because someone
will show off their tea prowness because that's all they've seen on the
shelves.

Jim

kuri wrote:
> "Space Cowboy" > wrote in message
>
> > I think Ahmad Earl Grey is one of the best formulations on the market.
>
> That's not the best Earl Grey I have ever drunk, but I also appreciate it a
> lot.
>
> >My current 500g box is years old
>
> A 250 g box never lasted more than a month at my place, and it survives a
> maximum of 2 days if I forget it at work. That's really the best quality
> among brands they sell in supermarkets. And they seem quite constant. I
> always get it in sealed metal cans.
>
> >>I then bought a 250 gram packet of their loose leaf Earl Grey.
>
> What is exactly a *packet* ? Loose leaves packaged at the shop ? They may
> have been exposed to light or air.
>
> Kuri

kuri kirjoitti:
> "Space Cowboy" > wrote in message
>
>
>>I think Ahmad Earl Grey is one of the best formulations on the market.
>
>
> That's not the best Earl Grey I have ever drunk, but I also appreciate it a
> lot.
>
>
>>My current 500g box is years old
>
>
> A 250 g box never lasted more than a month at my place, and it survives a
> maximum of 2 days if I forget it at work. That's really the best quality
> among brands they sell in supermarkets. And they seem quite constant. I
> always get it in sealed metal cans.
>
>
>>>I then bought a 250 gram packet of their loose leaf Earl Grey.
>
>
> What is exactly a *packet* ? Loose leaves packaged at the shop ? They may
> have been exposed to light or air.
>
> Kuri
>

It is a normal factory-made package packed in Sri Lanka. The
best-before-date is January 1st, 2006. Quite soon. I should have checked
the date before buying, three year-old tea is rather dated. I think
that it must be the bergamot oil that tastes soapy in my mouth when
combined in old tea leaves nearing their best-before date. Most other
brands seem to have shorter shelf life here, Twinings tea bags seem to
be the norm in Finnish tea "culture". I found and bought a fresher metal
can and am now enjoying much fresher taste.

SL

Space Cowboy kirjoitti:
> Ahmad at the local Arabic stores comes in shrinkwrap,cardboard,foil
> around penny/gram. I didn't know they used tins. Just about every
> other Arabic brand comes in tins. If you ever visit Kuri I'll be glad
> to give you all my once opened, once used various commercial brands of
> EG. It's like Jasmine, you have to keep some around because someone
> will show off their tea prowness because that's all they've seen on the
> shelves.
>
> Jim

Yes, Ahmad is available in tins (metal cans) at least here in Finland.
Earl Greys are nice to drink sometimes, but I agree with you in that
advanced tea enthusiasts tend to prefer unflavoured teas. My favourite
afternoon/evening teas are all light Chinese black and oolong teas, but
for breakfast I like the stronger British style blends. Twinings Irish
Breakfast was one of the strongest blends that I have ever tasted. It
was a great "kickstart" for a cold winter day.

SL

My current favorite Irish tea is Bewley's Cliiper Gold tea. It is a
blend of Kenyan. It's amazing how stout it taste considering the
origin. It is as red in color as any Yunnan Red which makes it doubly
amazing. I like scented teas but I do it myself with tisanes like
dried flowers and fruits. So does Finland have problems with
elves,ghosts,invisible people,aliens like Iceland? What is a 'cold
winter day' that close to the Artic circle?

Jim

Laitinen Saku wrote:
> Space Cowboy kirjoitti:
> > Ahmad at the local Arabic stores comes in shrinkwrap,cardboard,foil
> > around penny/gram. I didn't know they used tins. Just about every
> > other Arabic brand comes in tins. If you ever visit Kuri I'll be glad
> > to give you all my once opened, once used various commercial brands of
> > EG. It's like Jasmine, you have to keep some around because someone
> > will show off their tea prowness because that's all they've seen on the
> > shelves.
> >
> > Jim
>
> Yes, Ahmad is available in tins (metal cans) at least here in Finland.
> Earl Greys are nice to drink sometimes, but I agree with you in that
> advanced tea enthusiasts tend to prefer unflavoured teas. My favourite
> afternoon/evening teas are all light Chinese black and oolong teas, but
> for breakfast I like the stronger British style blends. Twinings Irish
> Breakfast was one of the strongest blends that I have ever tasted. It
> was a great "kickstart" for a cold winter day.
>
> SL

Space Cowboy kirjoitti:
> My current favorite Irish tea is Bewley's Cliiper Gold tea. It is a
> blend of Kenyan. It's amazing how stout it taste considering the
> origin. It is as red in color as any Yunnan Red which makes it doubly
> amazing. I like scented teas but I do it myself with tisanes like
> dried flowers and fruits. So does Finland have problems with
> elves,ghosts,invisible people,aliens like Iceland? What is a 'cold
> winter day' that close to the Artic circle?
>
> Jim
-15 degrees Celsius, mostly in January or February. Now it's still warm
by our standards, +6 C. No, i'm afraid we do not have such
supernatural phenomena here, but game hunting is popular. We have
wolves, moose and bears that are sometimes attacking trekkers in the
forests.

Space Cowboy wrote:
> My current favorite Irish tea is Bewley's Cliiper Gold tea. It is a
> blend of Kenyan. It's amazing how stout it taste considering the
> origin. It is as red in color as any Yunnan Red which makes it doubly
> amazing. I like scented teas but I do it myself with tisanes like
> dried flowers and fruits. So does Finland have problems with
> elves,ghosts,invisible people,aliens like Iceland? What is a 'cold
> winter day' that close to the Artic circle?

Well, actually Iceland does not have any problems with any of these.
The elves are quite popular with foreign tourists, they actually belive
that Icelanders belive in these stories, poor fellows.
If it gets below 0°C it is a cold winter day here in Iceland but I
guess below -40°C is considered cold in Finland as they get much
colder winters than Iceland (Finland also extends much farther north)

I recently saw INVESTIGATION INTO THE INVISIBLE WORLD on the Sundance
channel:

http://www.sundancechannel.com/film/...l%20Sc hedule

Okay every country has their wackos including government officials
whose public works have to be sensitive to the local beliefs and the
Catholic church still tolerates idolatry. Nothing better for tourism
than a cottage industry promoting old beliefs with new age twists and
turns for lost soulless people with too much money to spend.

Jim

wrote:
> Space Cowboy wrote:
> > So does Finland have problems with
> > elves,ghosts,invisible people,aliens like Iceland?
snipped-by-goblins
> Well, actually Iceland does not have any problems with any of these.
> The elves are quite popular with foreign tourists, they actually belive
> that Icelanders belive in these stories, poor fellows.

"Space Cowboy" > wrote in message
>
> Okay every country has their wackos including government officials
> whose public works have to be sensitive to the local beliefs and the
> Catholic church still tolerates idolatry. Nothing better for tourism
> than a cottage industry promoting old beliefs with new age twists and
> turns for lost soulless people with too much money to spend.
>
> Jim
>
> wrote:
>> Space Cowboy wrote:
>> > So does Finland have problems with
>> > elves,ghosts,invisible people,aliens like Iceland?
> snipped-by-goblins
>> Well, actually Iceland does not have any problems with any of these.
>> The elves are quite popular with foreign tourists, they actually belive
>> that Icelanders belive in these stories, poor fellows.
>

Not speaking to that particular tv show, but I know for a fact there are
people in Iceland still following the old ways. There are more following the
religion of consumerism it is true. I for one appreciate the old stories and
I like to see where the trolls turned to stone. Iceland has been an
attraction for New Agers though for many years...I remember solstice
celebrations in the 80s that were mostly outlanders. It doesn't seem to me
that most Icelanders are incredibly pious about any religion though, except
the religion of living well (as in hedonism...er...in a good way).

Melinda

I also recently saw the 73 cult classic The Wicker Man:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070917/
about Pagan hedonism and Christian piety in modern Scotland.

Jim

Melinda wrote:
> "Space Cowboy" > wrote in message
....I snip me and you...
> except the religion of living well (as in hedonism...er...in a good way).
>
> Melinda

Perhaps it's the power of suggestion working here, but I just noticed a
soapy hint to some yunnan gold I just brewed up.
Marlene

Laitinen Saku wrote:
> I fell in love with Ahmad's Earl Grey some years ago. It was teabags
> then, but a few days ago I found a shop in my home town selling Ahmad
> products. I then bought a 250 gram packet of their loose leaf Earl Grey.
> At home I tasted the liquid. Horrible soapy aftertaste, totally
> different from previous experiences. I may have over-steeped it a minute
> or two but this is the first time ever I have encountered tea that has
> this kind of soap-like flavour. Usually oversteeped tea tastes bitter,
> but not soapy...

I have a tin of Ahmad Earl Grey that I bought at T.J. Maxx (a discount
store in the USA) last week. I've made three or four pots and not
noticed any problem with the flavor; in fact it's pretty damn good. My
guess is you got a bad batch.

> I also tasted Ahmad's English Tea No1. They say it contains a hint of
> bergamot too, but I never found that in the taste, in my opinion it's
> quite a dull blend. Not soapy, but dull.

I've also a tin of Ahmad "English Afternoon" also purchased at T.J.
Maxx a few months ago; its ingredient list is identical to that of the
Earl Grey but the bergamot scent is less strong. Haven't seen "English
Tea No1" though.

stePH
--
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