strongest black tea on the market

[trent]

I take it that your looking for bold & strong flavors, so I actually wouldn't recommend a black tea.

My two recommendations are roasted oolongs, and fukamushi sencha.

Roasted oolongs share some similar notes with strong roasted coffee. One of my personal favorites is:
http://www.just4tea.com/Tie_Guan_Yin.php
You might be thinking that $17.5 for 4 oz sounds expensive, but with the number of times you can reinfuse the leaves, it really isn't.

Fukamushi sencha will taste alot different than coffee, but it provides a really strong flavor. My recommendation would be:
http://www.o-cha.com/green-tea/fukamushicha.html

If you're only getting one of the above, I would go with the roasted oolong.

Feel free to ask if you have any more questions.

[Thirsty Daruma]

Russian Caravan blends or straight up Lapsang Souchong should be up to the task. I think they're delicious teas, but I've heard friends say the tea smelled like ash trays. Different tastes. But give them a try.

[silverneedles]

...doublepost

[silverneedles]

to get lots of caffeine you need to infuse your tea at least 3 min, then drink lots of it
(for me about 3 cups totaling ~ 1L i'd get something... but its a different feeling compared to coffee)

tea bags might have more caffeine, recommended ones are Yorkshire Gold by Taylors of Harrogate, PG Tips by Brooke Bond (both UK brands, might find them in some supermarkets, or British import stores, or online.)

not sure how it will differ in your health issue since the main 'active' ingredient is still caffeine... tea can also interfere with medications...

if you want a strong taste+astringency, indian teas give you that and lots of it especially if you use lots of tea or infuse for a long time, Assam in teabag or looseleaf or CTC (CTC = little pieces, can be found at some Indian markets very cheap)

[chrl42]

I once drank Assam at local tea shop. And that was the strongest tea I've ever had.
Among Chinese teas, I think Keemun tops the rest..

[scotty X]

CTC all the way!

to add a bit to what silverneedles has already said: CTC stands for "crushed, torn, and curled," which is how the leaves are treated during processing. this increases the leaf's surface area, which increases the caffeine and tannin extraction during the brewing process, so you get quite the brisk jolt, both in the mouth and in the head.

the tricky thing with CTCs is that if they're over-steeped, they are pretty much undrinkable. that being said, i have not found it hard to brew them so that i get not only the jolt, but also the sweet, malty tastes and heady aromas that i love so much about black teas. in addition to indian grocery stores already mentioned, i know that Upton (uptontea.com) has a few that come from estates that also produce more dynamic, higher quality teas (i have the Halmari estate which i like very well).

[Space Samurai]

As a coffee drinker, I recommend Yunnan black. It has a depth and mouth feel you wont get in Indian tea, and it has more flavor.

[Tea Guy]

Rather than steeping long and ending up with bitter tea, perhaps you could use more leaf per cup of tea.

[Salsero]

I think Adagio's Mambo is billed as the sort of thing you seem to be seeking, though I would certainly second Space Samurai's suggestion of Yunnan Gold and maybe suggest Keemun as well.

[kongni]

If you can add milk and sugar/honey to your brew I think there are lots of Chinese teas that you can try out. Brew up triple the amount of leaf and then add milk and honey....SHAZAM!!!! You're wired and it goes down like candy.
I got some tea like this at a bun/pastery shop in Chinatown in Toronto. It was SUPER strong but they doused it with sweetened condensed milk so there was no bitterness. I walked out of the shop completely jangled by the stuff

[keelyn]

Keemun. There's a mellowness to Yunnan Gold while Keemun is strictly bold.

[jashnew]

Teabag- Try a Yunnan tea from China called, Dao Ming. It's the 9th review on my site under tea reviews. Very hearty.