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Ian

Organic Fresh Green Yerba Mate Loose from Mate Factor

Ian drank Organic Fresh Green Yerba Mate Loose by Mate Factor

This is a pick me up tea as I lost an hour of sleep last night due to that stupid thing called “Daylight Savings Time.” I was horribly frustrated as I forgot to set my clock in my room an hour ahead and so I woke up thinking it was 9:30 and I would have the house to myself when it was actually 10:30 and my parents would be coming home soon from church.

Regardless, I am quite tired and I had a mate latte at a coffee shop in Burlington the other day and it was quite lovely, so I recreated it. I brewed up the mate at 195 for 5 minuets, added some maple syrup for sweetness, and topped it with some frothed soy milk. The result is an easy to make and delicious (and healthy AND a great pick me up, the perfect package :D) latte. It’s really good and I think this will be my pick me up drink of choice from now on!

I’ve come to the unfortunate realization that all of the teas on my list from yesterday won’t be able to be reviewed because I had to go to a dinner thingy last night and I stayed for much longer than expected, and I have homework to do today :( AND I have orchestra rehearsal. Meh. Regardless, I’ll try to get some of them done.

2012-03-11 11:22:00 -0400

195 °F / 90 °C

5 min 0 sec

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Scatterbrain 2012-03-13 18:33:28 -0400

I’m really curious about mate as a replacement for coffee in the morning. How would you say the stimulation compares?

Ian 2012-03-13 18:41:05 -0400

I think it actually compares really well! It does give me the same sort of effect as coffee does, though slightly less. Also, I don’t know if it’s just me or not, but when I have coffee I usually feel the effects much sooner than when I drink mate. I don’t know if that has anything to do with the other antioxidants and things in mate, or if it’s just how I react, but it does work pretty well. Yet again, it’s hard for me to say because everyone’s body reacts differently to caffeine, and so I might get it a lot more than you do.

I think it also depends on the mate, too. I find that lower quality ones (like the ones you get at the grocery store) don’t work as well on me as higher quality ones do. Also, I know that some mates are roasted, and that definitely affects ME. This gives me much more of a stimulation than those bottled ones by Guyaki, or whatever they’re called, do. I do like the Guyaki ones, but I find that the higher quality the mate is, the better the stimulation is.

Scatterbrain 2012-03-13 18:42:57 -0400

Thanks. I’ll give it a try and hope for the best. I have a high caffeine tolerance unfortunately, I need 2-3 cups every morning just to get out up and moving.

LiberTEAS 2012-03-13 21:48:02 -0400

Mate Factor has a dark roasted blend: http://www.matefactor.com/loose-yerba-mate-12-oz-bags/organic-dark-roast-yerba-mate-12-oz-loose.html That I highly recommend as an alternative to coffee. It is not only roasted yerba mate but also chicory and carob that really gives it a fuller, well-rounded flavor that is very satisfying.

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Bio

Hello!

I’m Ian and I’m a 15 year old student who lives in Vermont. I started (heavily) drinking tea in Late 2010 and have been obsessed ever since!

I tend to drink more black and herbal teas, though I do enjoy oolong, green, and white, and I’m exploring other facets of the tea world (I’m still trying with pu-erh!)

I tend to lean towards sweeter and fruity flavors in my teas, and I’m not a big fan of smoky flavored teas, or anything that’s VERY bold.

I also enjoy a cup of coffee every once and a while, though it does mess with my stomach sometimes so I don’t drink it as often as I drink tea.

In addition to tea drinking, I’m also really interested in:
Classical music (I’ve been playing clarinet for 5 years now and it’s my favorite thing to do), independent arts/music, education on environmental sustainability, reading, Fair Trade and safe-trade practices, Cognitive science, art history, and a lot more.

I’m open to swaps, but I don’t have a very wide collection. Regardless, if I review a tea and you would like a sample, feel free to message me and we can work something out! If you would like to just try something without a swap, feel free to ask too! I know that I personally don’t have a lot of teas to swap and if you’re in the same position as me just feel free to ask for a sample and I’ll send you some, no strings attached!

I run a blog on TeaTrade which you can find here: http://serendipitea.teatra.de/. The goal of my blog is to better connect tea with the arts and go beyond just the taste aspect of tea. Enjoy!