The History of Ahmad Tea

Ahmad Tea of London draws upon three generations of experience in the tea trade, from plantations to blending and packaging. The company's little-known origins in Iran have been masked by the brand's successful association with England and Britain's illustrious history in tea production.

History

Founder Hussain Afshar began importing tea from India into Iran in 1950, purchasing a tea processing plant near the Caspian Sea. In 1979, with the revolution in Iran, the family emigrated to the United Kingdom and early attempts to establish a tea business were unsuccessful. Under the advisement of an experienced tea exporter, Afshar and his brothers incorporated images of old London on their packaging with the intention of infusing nostalgic attributes such as "old," "well-established" and "trustworthy" into the name of Ahmad Tea. They soon won their first contract to supply tea to El Corte Ingles, a major department store in Spain. Ahmad Tea of London remains one of Iran’s best-selling tea brands.

Geographic Reach

Britain's pre-eminence in tea production, central to British culture, is reflected in England's domination of the world tea market, owning the world’s largest tea factories. To overcome negative country of origin connotations, Ahmad Tea strategically linked its name with Britain's historic reputation in tea production to infer product quality. Today, quality is clearly the strongest association the Ahmad Tea company has established with their product. The tea company's website describes their name as "synonymous with the very finest tea," being "reflected in the image, branding and packaging of the entire Ahmad Tea product range." Ahmad Tea's successful marketing strategy has led to exports to over 70 countries worldwide.

Significance

The company's two year public relations investment led to the development of the right blends and packaging, successfully creating and conveying the Ahmad Tea message: exclusive, quality teas from London, the tea capital of the world. With British colonial influence reaching into the Middle East, the name "Ahmad" maintained the company's connection with exotic teas, but basing the company in Britain and incorporating "London" on the label achieved an authoritative association with quality and fine taste.

How to Add Ginger to Tea

Ginger is an herb that originated in Asia and is used as a flavor additive in cooking and as a natural cure for health issues such as digestive problems, nasal congestion and soreness. Ginger tea is an ancient remedy implemented in Ayurvedic medicine--a holistic approach to curing ailments through the medicinal properties of plants, such as ginger. Adding ginger to tea offers health benefits for individuals drinking it daily and to those using it on occasion to treat sickness. Traditional ginger tea includes lemon and honey in the recipe.

Instructions

1.Wash the ginger root in lukewarm water and set it aside to dry.

2.Peel off the bark of the ginger with your paring knife. Cut 12 thin slices of ginger.

3.Pour 4 cups of water into a saucepan or tea kettle. Bring the water to a boil on high. Add the 12 ginger slices to the boiling water.

4.Boil the ginger slices for 10 minutes. Remove ginger water from heat. Cool the ginger water for 1 minute. Place a saucepan under a strainer and pour the ginger water into the strainer, straining out the ginger slices.

5.Place a teabag into a mug. Pour 1 cup of strained ginger water per teabag used. Allow the teabag to steep in the ginger water for 3 minutes.

6.Add 1 tbsp. of honey and 1 tbsp. of lemon juice, if desired. Stir the mixture.

What Are the Benefits of Earl Grey Tea?

Earl Grey is a popular flavor of tea. Named after Lord Charles Grey, second Earl and Prime Minister to King William IV, the tea may have developed when oranges and tea were shipped to Lord Grey and the aromatic oranges flavored the tea. Earl Grey tea has many benefits.

Types

Earl Grey can be made of green, white, black, oolong or herbal (tisane) teas as it is more of a flavor than a specific type of tea. The benefits of drinking Earl Grey tea depends largely on the type of tea or tisane it is based on.

Features

Earl Grey tea is a mix of tea with oil of bergamot. Bergamot is a small, aromatic orange that is high in antioxidants. It has been used in the past to treat depression, anxiety, fevers and internal parasites, and has disinfectant properties.

Tea

The tea, if black, green or oolong, has antioxidants; thus, it's good for heart health. Earl Grey has natural fluoride and is good for your teeth. It's soothing, but also has some caffeine, though much less than coffee.

How to Use a Ceramic Teapot

Teapots are available in materials ranging from nearly indestructible cast iron to delicate and fragile glass or porcelain, but simple ceramic pots are the most common for day-to-day use. They're typically inexpensive and relatively durable, and the pottery walls of the pot retain heat well enough to keep your tea at a drinking temperature. They're relatively simple to use, though you need to keep a few points in mind.

Brewing Up

While your kettle is coming to a boil, swish your pot thoroughly with hot water and then pour it out. Black tea steeps best at a temperature near the boiling point, and a cold pot would quickly sap much of the heat from your water. Pre-warming the pot also limits the risk of it cracking from the boiling water. Once the pot is warmed and empty, add loose tea at 1 teaspoon of leaves per cup of tea, plus 1 more "for the pot." Alternatively, use the equivalent quantity of standard 2-cup teabags. Pour freshly boiled water over the leaves, and steep for five minutes or until the tea reaches the strength you prefer.

Care and Cleaning

Ceramic pots are usually glazed on the inside as well as the outside, and they can be hand-washed in soapy water. Rinse the pot thoroughly to remove any soap reside that might lend your tea an off-flavor. If the pot is too small for your hand, you may need to use a brush to clean the interior. A narrow bottle brush can be handy for removing stuck-on leaves from the spout. If your pot is unglazed on the inside, it's intended to absorb the flavors of your tea. Never wash those pots with soap, because the soap flavor will become permanent. Instead, just rinse them with hot water.

Lipton Cold Brew Directions

For many decades, if you wanted to have a glass of iced tea, you needed to make traditional hot tea, followed by cooling it in the refrigerator and then pouring it over ice. In the 1960s and 70s, sun tea became popular. This method used solar power instead of boiled water, but took hours to produce the finished product. Lipton has now invented Cold Brew tea bags that can be used to create fresh iced tea in just minutes.

Instructions

Place two family-sized Lipton Cold Brew tea bags into a pitcher or one regular sized bag into a glass.

Pour 8 cups of cold water into the pitcher or 8 oz. of cold water into the glass.

Allow the tea bag and water to sit together for 3 minutes. Stir the bags and water once during the brewing process.


Stir the bags and water together once more when the tea is done brewing, then remove the tea bags and discard them. The tea can be sweetened to taste.

What Spices Are in Chai Tea?

Chai is an Indian spiced milk and tea drink that can be served either hot or cold. Other names for chai tea are chai latte and masala chai. It is traditionally made with a variety of spices that include cardamom, cinnamon and cloves. These spices are stewed and then steeped with black tea. Depending on your taste, there are several different spices that you can put in your chai.

Traditional Spices

Traditionally, cardamom is a dominant spice in chai tea. Cardamom comes from a ginger-like plant. The seeds and pods can be used whole or ground. It is also frequently used in curries. The second most common spice in chai is fennel, which is a sweet herb. The third most common spice in chai is cloves, which are small, brown, nail-shaped flower buds. Cloves are dried and used either ground or whole to enhance presentation and flavor when cooking. Cinnamon is also commonly used, and this sweet spice is usually obtained from the inner bark of a tree and sold in stick form.

Other Popular Chai Tea Spices

Darjeeling tea is commonly used to brew chai tea. It is a black tea with a floral aroma. Oranges or other types of fruit like figs or lemons can also add more flavor to chai tea.

Making Chai Tea

To make traditional chai tea, you will need six green cardamom pods. Put them in a pot. Then add 1 tbsp. of fennel or anise seed. Add 12 cloves and one cinnamon stick. Take a fresh ginger root and cut 1/4 of it off. Then slice that 1/4 piece very thinly. Add the slices to the pot. Next add two bay leaves and 1/4 tsp. of black peppercorns. Then add 7 cups of water to your spices in the pot. Turn your stove on high and let the water and spice boil for five minutes. Turn the heat off and let the spices steep in the hot water for 10 minutes. It is important to let the spices steep for 10 minutes so the water will acquire their flavor. Then add 2 tbsp. of loose-leaf Darjeeling tea. Let it steep for 10 minutes. Use a strainer to strain spices from the liquid into another pot. Add 1 cup of milk and 6 tbsp. of honey or brown sugar as sweetener. Heat it up on the stove, but do not let it boil because the milk will start to curdle.

Orange Chai

If you like more of a fruity flavor for your chai tea, you can add fruit to the spices before you boil. The Food Network suggests using orange peel in the chai recipe. First add six cloves, four cinnamon sticks and 1 tsp. of cardamom to a pot. Then add 4 cups of water and boil. Allow the mixture to steep for 10 minutes. Next, strain the liquid, return it to the pan and reheat. Add four black tea bags, 1 cup of milk, 3 tbsp. of honey and a half an orange peel and let it steep for five minutes. Heat the milk up until warm. Do not boil. Pour the tea into mugs and serve.

How to Make Tea Using Tea Bags

The invention of the tea bag was an accident. Merchant Thomas Sullivan, for the sake of convenience, shipped tea leaves to his customers in small bags of silk. The customers, unclear as to his intent, put the entire bag into the pot for steeping. Today's tea bags are typically made of water-permeable gauze-like paper. Debate rages over whether tea made from bags is high quality. However, for convenience, especially on the go, nothing beats making tea from bags.

Instructions

1.Pour cold water into your teapot or saucepan.

2.Bring the water to a boil. Most teapots will "sing" when water has reached the boiling point.

3.Place the tea bag in your mug or cup.

Pour the steaming water over the tea bag.

4.Let the tea steep for five to 10 minutes. For a weaker brew, leave the bag in the cup for just three minutes.


5.Remove the bag, and enjoy!