Ceylon Black

One of my favorite loose teas in my tea cupboard is my lovely bulk of Ahmad Tea of London's Ceylon black tea.  I found this a couple of years ago at a local Jordan market that makes delicious falafel's and hummus. It was a decent sized box for just $7, so I couldn't pass it up.  This thing must have been shrink wrapped in some sort of government testing facility, because when I broke the seal it expanded about 10 fold.  I had to keep it in two tupperwares and it was only just recently that I got it down to one manageable tupperware.  Where Ceylon was concerned, I was suddenly a well prepared squirrel with a surplus of acorns when the first snow appeared.  I was bringing it to work and offering it to people, just trying to make a dent in it.  Too bad only a handful of people actually enjoyed this specific tea and those that did were always trying to take it easy on the caffeine.  I was really concerned, still am, that I'm not going to finish it by the time the expiration date rolls around in 2015.

As with all loose teas, the strength really depends on how much you use.  I use a pretty generous amount and it ends up looking like a cup of coffee once steeped fully.  That little monkey relaxing in my tea is filled completely with this delectable tea (I think that's why he seems so happy). It is a very rich tea and is perfect for mornings since the caffeine content packs quite a punch.  It has a very woodsy taste for a black tea.  And just to make it confusing, there is also a green and white Ceylon.  So far I've only ever had the black one.  You can find a Twinings version of this tea in most supermarkets that I've yet to try because I have enough of this one to last me years in an apocolypse bunker.  Health foods contain other more pricey brands of this beauty, too.

If you like strong teas and black teas, then this is definitely worth a try.  Cheers!