I must admit, I tend to prefer my fruity tea flavours to have a green tea base instead of a black tea base, but I was willing to give this Ahmad Tea Apple Refresh blend a try. Black tea and apple are both flavours I enjoy, so the question was would I like them together.
This is not my first Ahmad Tea review (use the tags at the end of the article to navigate through all my Ahmad Tea reviews) so at this point I’m not paying any attention to the name of the tea. Yes, it’s going to be apple-y, but refreshing? Maybe, maybe not.
I brewed up a cuppa for tasting and here are the results.
Ahmad Apple Refresh at a Glance
- Blend: Black tea with apple pieces
- Flavour: Full-bodied, smooth black tea with pleasant, sweet green apple notes
An energy boosting tea with a naturally sweet tasting apple flavour and warm, full-bodied tea base. It’s not complex in the slightest but it is charming, flavourful, pleasant and easy to drink.
Full Review - Apple Refresh Tea Bags
- Type: Tagged filter paper tea bag
- Tea: Black tea from Malawi and Kenya
- Additives: Apple fruit pieces
- Flavour Notes: Smooth, warm black tea with natural sweet green apple notes
- Aroma: Artificial apple aroma, “green laces” sweets
- Milk or Lemon: Neither
- Where to Buy: Amazon
Thinking about it, I’ve never formally reviewed an apple flavoured tea before, so this is setting a benchmark. The only expectation I was measuring this tea against was the “refreshing” aspect that Ahmad named this tea after.
Opening the foil packet, I get a waft of bitter apple. It’s natural apple, like a Granny Smith apple. I’m pleasantly surprised that it’s so sour and bitter smelling. To me, that’s more appealing than a sickly sweet artificial flavour. The aroma reminds me a little of sour apple sherbet.
Brewed, the aroma changes with the heat. It becomes sweeter but maintains that sour note. Now it’s closer to those green apple laces you find in the sweet aisle next to the more popular strawberry laces. I’m torn as to whether I like this aroma in a tea.
Taking a sip, I’m met with a warm, full-bodied and smooth black tea base. It works well with the apple flavour as it balances out the slight sourness. With a lighter black tea or a grassy green tea, that sourness would have become overpowering. No, this is blended well and I’m pleased with how well the notes blend together.
The apple notes are somewhere between the natural Granny Smith apple, sour apple sherbet and sweet apple laces. Ahmad Tea Apple Refresh is well-balanced and very flavourful.
How to Brew Apple Black Tea
I brewed with freshly boiled water poured directly onto the tea bag, left to sit for 3 minutes. At this point the colour of Ahmad Tea Apple Refresh is a dark peaty, earthy brown shade. Dirty, murky and full, it’s not a transparent tea liquor. This is a heavy black tea base with rich, full-bodied tea leaves from Malawi and Kenya. Not quite as full as an Assam, but nowhere near as light as a Chinese black tea.
I wouldn’t have this tea with milk, sugar, honey or lemon. It feels balanced and complete albeit simple in flavour. I can’t imagine any of these additives bringing anything extra to the cup, only taking away from the flavour.
The aftertaste lingers for quite a while. Personally, I would drink this as an early afternoon tea to power me through the afternoon.
Why Ahmad Tea London?
Ahmad Tea are somewhere above Twinings but below more premium loose leaf brands. They care enough to tell us a little about the origins of their tea leaves and they tend to use real flavouring rather than artificial.
Opening the packet, I can see a few of the real apple fruit pieces. The broken leaf is unusually rounded, like tiny buds rather than flat pressed leaves. It’s not visually dusty but it did leave a little debris in the bottom of my tea cup.
For the price (check the Amazon link below for an up-to-date price) I am entirely satisfied with the quality of this tea.
Summary
This is a very simple and respectable black fruit tea. I will be finishing the last of my Ahmad Tea Apple Refresh tea bags, without a doubt. It was smooth, undeniably apple-y and neither too sweet nor too sour when it came to tasting it.
I’ve given this tea a mildly good rating because while it is very nice, I know it could be better. My only real complaint is that I didn’t find it refreshing at all. I would rename this tea “Apple Boost” instead as it left me feeling warm, comforted and settled enough to tackle the rest of my work diary.
About Me
I’m a passionate lover of all things tea. I’m nowhere near expert status and there are so many teas I’ve yet to try… so why not join me? I’ll be journaling my tea exploration with reviews posted here at Immortal Wordsmith. Browse our blog to find more…
If the sound of this apple tea made your stomach rumble, you’re going to love these other tea reviews!
Zest Blue Lady (another warm black tea base blended with light fruity and floral notes)
English Tea Shop Ginger Bread (sweet red apple with Christmas spices and warming ginger)
Sunflower Jasmine Tea (a surprisingly black-tea-like green tea perfect for the evenings)