Ahmad Tea Mint Mystique Review
The mint is all in bloom in our garden at the moment, encouraging me to delve into my tea stash and review a minty tea to celebrate. I’ve settled on Ahmad Tea London’s Mint Mystique tea blend of green tea and mint. It’s part of the selection box I have and is great for both hot and cold weather.
At the time of writing, the British summer is in full swing with heavy rain and flood warnings in place. So, naturally, I’m taking this tea hot. I’ve been told it brews wonderfully into iced tea too, so that’s always an option if the weather ever gets back on track for August.
Here’s my unbiased review of Ahmad Tea Mint Mystique.
Ahmad Mint Green Tea at a Glance
Izzy's Rating
2/5
- Blend: Chinese green tea with mint
- Flavour: Very sweet, warm and minty. Toothpaste warmed up!
I had issues with this mint tea. It tastes and smells artificially sweetened, although I believe it’s made with all-natural ingredients, leaving it with a very strong toothpaste mint aroma and flavour. It’s pleasant but a little strange.
Full Review – Mint Mystique Green Tea
Izzy's Rating
2/5
- Type: Tagged paper filter tea bags
- Tea: Green tea from China’s Golden Triangle (Jiangxi, Anhui and Zhejiang provinces)
- Additives: Mint
- Flavour Notes: Refreshing, warm, sweet, menthol, toothpaste
- Aroma: Very sweet toothpaste mint
- Milk or Lemon: Lemon could revive it
- Where to Buy: Amazon
The individual packets are foil, so I usually find all of Ahmad’s tea to be fresh and fragrant. Well, this one was certainly fragrant. The mint hit me as soon as I opened it. The menthol isn’t too strong, it’s very subtle. It’s sweet though, very sweet. I’ve reviewed several mint teas, Pukka Three Mint being the most recent. I know very clearly what spearmint smells like, as well as wild mint and peppermint. Ahmad Tea’s mint was none of these.
I can only describe the aroma as toothpaste mint. Superficially sweet and strong, not too high on menthol and reminiscent of a trip to the dentist.
The wet aroma only enhances it.
Fortunately, the flavour of Ahmad Tea Mint Mystique is the saving grace. There is a subtle green tea body that’s light, grassy and sweet. It makes the toothpaste flavour a tiny bit more palatable. First the mint sticks to the roof of your mouth before sweetening in the aftertaste and developing into a throat-cooling menthol sensation after a few sips.
It was pleasant, but it didn’t give me that soothed, happy, content feeling I usually get from a mint tea. It refreshed my mouth much like brushing your teeth, but it felt weird in my stomach. I suppose decades of brushing your teeth and chewing gum ingrains this instinct to not swallow. It’s hard work going against that.
How to Brew Ahmad Tea Mint Green Tea
Recommended temperature and brew time on the Mint Mystique tea wrapper are 90°C and 3 to 5 minutes. I started off at around 90°C but drifted down to 80°C fairly quickly thanks to the temperature today. I brewed for a total of 4 minutes to create a light honey liquor with a green tint.
I’d be tempted to brew it with boiling water next time so that maybe the green tea will be bitter. Usually you want to avoid this at all costs, but I think a little bitterness would do well to combat the sweetness of the mint.
Lemon could help a little, but combined with the uncomfortable feeling this tea left in my stomach I didn’t want to risk adding something acidic.
Don’t drink this tea before a meal. Mint always messes with your taste buds.
Why Ahmad Tea Mint?
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. I like Ahmad Tea London. Their page for Mint Green Tea has origins for the tea (albeit they’re a bit vague), tasting notes and an ingredient list. It sounds simple, but that’s not overly usual for a tea bag brand. Compared to Tetley, Pukka and other cheap supermarket brand teas, that’s more info than usual.
It’s on level with Twinings, which suspiciously lists an almost identical description and ingredients list, plus identical sourcing info with just a bit more of a flourish. The price is very similar too. Perhaps they use the same supplier.
The tea quality is as expected. Small fannings for tea bags. At least the tea pieces are all consistent in size and offer a smooth brew. I’m just glad there are no flavourings here… glad but confused. It tastes so artificial!
My guess would be that the combination of naturally sweet green tea plus the mint just takes it over the top. A darker, more bitter green tea (maybe a Gunpowder tea, which in my experience has a bolder flavour compared to light Sencha-like teas) could have tamed it better.
Summary
I’m hesitant about recommending this tea. On one hand, there’s nothing really wrong with it. It’s all down to personal taste. On the other hand, I struggle to think of any person who would truly enjoy drinking a toothpaste flavoured tea. With an open mind and enough tea bags to try various steeping methods and adding other flavours, you could probably find a way to make it more palatable.
I’ll also note that there are favourable reviews out there for Ahmad Tea Mint Mystique. Despite it not hitting the right note with me, the tea quality is good for a tea bag and very affordable for what you get. Check it out on Amazon to find out what other people thought about it.
Izzy’s Corner
Mint or chamomile. Those are my usual choices before I head to bed. If you’re looking for more herbal or green tea blends to calm down at the end of the day (or just refresh your palate after a meal) use the tags below to navigate or take a look at my Tea Review Index.