Shade Tree Mate

A warm, subtle, and tasty blend. This is very tasty straight up. Very smooth and not overwhelmed by Cinnamon. My favorite part of this blend was the fact that the Cinnamon plant is the Shade cover for the Guayusa plant while in the rainforest. Gives a story to the tea, which makes tea way better. I feel a connection is made for a product be it tea, coffee, or a baseball mit. They all have reasons we love them. Sometimes taste in a hypercompetitive market is not the only reason people buy and enjoy. Some reasons we can not explain. I have been told by at least five people that I have given Guayusa that they love this blend iced. I have only brewed this tea hot, as I only review hot blends usually. Awesome Blend!

A very potent blend. Almost overwhelmingly minty. Shade Tree has never loved smells and perfumy type things. This does not cross that line though, but when I drink this from now on I blend a half and half blend with Traditional and Peppermint, then the Peppermint is cut down a bit and it is more mild for my pallet. I have never been huge on mint tastes, but this is a nice because it only has 2 ingredients. I think that is another thing I like about Runa, straight to the point and doesn’t hide the ingredient that is reps. Many tea companies in the game should learn that if you are going to rep on product don’t hide it under ingredients.

On first taste, I disliked this blend. As a traditionally strong drink Mate drinker, I felt this was bordering on over produced blends that compromise the roots which is always the main ingredient, Guayusa. I decided to give it a few days, I then tried it 4 days in a row before work. By the 3rd day I was hooked. The Guayusa was not compromised, and it was not as overwhelming a flavor as I had thought. It began to grow on me, and was genuinely tasty by that 3rd day. Very Tasty, just like Guayusa, it is also subtle and very very tasty. Great blend, I will always be skeptical of blends in which seems a bit over produced, just like my music taste. I think my idea of teahouses are things such as the Citrus blend. I feel they go too much with flavor and substance, but I think this tea may have changed my point of view

A tasty treat. It took me a bit to get used to, but now I brew this awesome tea daily. I have gotten the hang of brewing it correctly. This is an invigorating, tasty, and energizing drink. I had my serious doubts with the taste, and the effect it would give me, but it pulled through and has rocked my socks off. The round, mellow, and sweet taste is so subtle. It is like a fine wine in which the greatness is in its subtleties. I drink this once a day, and feel a great energy everytime.

So I tried the Yerba Mate blend, which to my surprise was in tea bags, which isn’t really my style. This blend has Rooibos, cactus flowers, almonds, among other things. I waited to take a sip of the Yerba until I started driving as driving is one of the best ways to sip on some Mate. The first thing I noticed was the Vanilla flavor and its overall incredibly desserty smoothness to the drink.

I of course tried this drink in the morning and was taken aback by its nighttime smoothness and had some immediate nostalgia over last nights sleep. Republic of Tea markets this Yerba Mate blend as an all-night dance tea, but I feel like this should be a post-meal stay awake and talk near a fire drink. I enjoyed the drink immensely but will only be drinking this at night when I need to warm up and just chat.

A very nice drink, with a great look, and a great company behind it.

Described as traditional chai but with mate as the base instead of black tea.
Sampled with my girlfriend Kate, our opinions will be serperate:

Kate: (I took notes as she sampled)

-Mild chai flavor
-Good traditional mate with Chai notes on way out.
-Earthy chai smell: Pleasant
“Was exactly what I’d want from Chai Mate”

Sean:

-Too bitter at first
-More sips became smooth
-Most chai blends too much chai, but this one made mate big player which I love because I love mate of course.
-Smells strong, almost too much when dry, could have been me leaving it accidently in my car for a day. Loved this taste, didn’t get a chance with milk and honey but I can bet it would be amazing

Described as an evening Mate tea with Kava Kava, Chamemile, and Lavendar. My thoughts follow:

-Smells predominantly like Kava
-Tastes a lot like Kava with mate undertones
-Balances both very well
-Accidently left this bag in car (very hot) which makes smell funky (beware)
-Very smooth and tasty
-Kava hint is awesome
-Relaxed after all the mate I had sampled
-Kind of funky with honey though.
-LOVED THIS IDEA AND EXECUTION. As a Kava drinker myself, Oregon Yerba Mate did a great job introducing Kava to mate without leaving one or the other out.

Described to help with digestion, circulation, and the immune system by using cayenne, mint and cinnamon/ My thoughts follow:

-Inhaled while sediments were billowing out of my french press and burnt my nose, sneezed almost 15 times.
-Helped allergies, but nose burnt a bit. WOW Careful smelling!
-Strong smell when brewed as well
-Crazy taste: Spicy
-Least mate influenced
-Crazy flavors, loved idea
-Great idea when sick
-Supplement with water when sick and you will be out of bed in no time
-Got tastier as I drank it
-Great morning wake up
-Even crazier with honey
-Must be very hot for it to be tasty. When sampling, I loved it when it was most hot. Not as tasty when luke temperature.

Desribed as their number one seller. Proven to reduce lactic acid and improve performance through the use of their added herbs such as; Damina, Maca, Ginseng, and others.

My thoughts:

-Crazy looking blend
-Enjoyed the smell and the look of the dry mate
-Very smooth
-Tasty
-Not very distinctive though, tastes just like the house blend which is not a bad thing.
-Love the idea of a performance blend. Distinguishes them from any other brand.

Described by site to be the full bodied blend imported from Argentina & Brazil. My thoughts follow:

-Stems give an initial bitter taste as most “con palo” blends
-Tasty
-Second time trying, and is still a very good blend
-As I drink it not very bitter like most “con palo” mate, with great drinkability.

Described by the site to have Ginko Biloba and Ginseng. Considered number two best seller by OregonYerbaMate.com and states that it tastes like regulary mate.

My first thoughts in bullet point:
-Interesting smell
-Smooth taste
-Good with Honey
-Leaves taste in mouth for a bit (different than traditional blends)
-Taste stays with you
-Overall great taste just as I will discuss with the house blend, but with a great idea with the Ginko Biloba that really helps Mental Clarity.

-AWESOME DRINK!
-EcoTeas’ best move.
-So smooth, so tasty, awesome when strong.
-Great blend, accentuates mate while being able to taste tulsi.
-Potential for awesome Juicy Mate that I think would have awesome marketability and would stay on track with EcoTeas’ mission for cheap, sustainable Mate products.

-I received a ½ lb bag, hopefully they sell 1 lb bags because this is one of the best loose leaf blended mate’s I have ever tried. Nothing overwhelms another ingredient, and it still gives you everything a good Yerba Mate should.

Only draw back to this Mate is that it does not have the re-usability that Mate usually entails. One use only, and the drink must be pretty hot.

Double use or luke warm Tulsi Loose Leaf = No

Great look: I LOVE Numi’s drawings and art. Best art in industry.
Very Smooth: This drink is incredibly smooth. I love the sediments. Due to the supply of Mate Factor Fresh Green Yerba Mate as their base. Lemon Mate is always a bit rough to drink without sugar or juice, but very smooth, sometimes a bit stringent if brewed for too long
Very Lemony: As said before if brewed for too long a bit stringent. I love mate, so I enjoy more predominant mate, but I understand Numi’s customer base.
Taste is awesome, kept me warm. I drank this on the first day of cold in Denver, and it did the trick.

I really enjoy Numi, as MateFactor supplies their Mate which makes it very smooth. I don’t know the percentages of Green Tea and Yerba Mate, but maybe cut the Green Tea in half and Double the Mate and it would become a staple for Shade Tree

As an avid Yerba Mate drinker, I have grown my pallet to enjoy bitter things. This does not only mean my taste buds, my nose as well. Before I review this I will say I hated the initial smell, before and after brewing. On that note, a VERY TASTY blend. The Mate wasn’t very potent but it was there and it gave me a good, almost jittery energy. I know “jittery” is a four letter word in the world of Mate, but it was good jittery, ha! Great tasting blend although a suspect smelling one for a very sensitive nose

This blend was the most intriguing of all of the blends. Mate with sliced pistachios and actual pieces of limes. I was mortified and intrigued all at once, I had to try this blend.
When I finally got a chance, I was on my fourth cup of blended Mate drinks for the night. I was overloaded with liquids and my senses were heightened, but I was not going to not review it….right?
I immediately am taken a back by the smell, I say to myself, “this smells awful, pistachio and lime, what was Fusion Room thinking?” I brew a stout batch, and dig in…GLORIOUS! The team work of the pistachio and the lime worked wonderfully. At first I thought was going to be a dud, turned out to be great. They worked well together, and the smell was mellowed out when brewed. The Mate was not incredibly potent, but with a crazy blend like this, I did not expect to. I could taste the Mate though which I could not believe.
Awesome Blend

Another awesome Oregon Yerba Mate Blend. Not only is this for the veteran drinkers of Mate because it gives a great stout glass of Mate, it is also smooth for rookies.

For all of the times you accidently made a weak brew, or god forbid you had to drink Mate from TeaBags, this blend is what Mate is all about.

A good characteristic for Mate is:
1. Can’t see through it
2. Has great sediment on the bottom
3. Gives some bubbles on top when brewed stoutly
4. Smooth, but a bit bitter taste
5. Is called 5X Blend

No notes yet.

I must commend them on this blend. The tea bag smelled good, packaging was fresh, the tea bag looked large like a Mate Factor portion, and I really loved how simple the ingredient list was. Ingredients: Roasted Mate & Black Tea.

I enjoyed this because many companies try and hide behind ingredients such as chicory, cinnamon, etc. This blend seemed like mostly Roasted Mate, possibly a 60/40 blend, Mate to Black Tea.

Off first taste, it was smooth. I only used one teabag but it was stout enough for me. My bias toward roasted mate kept me from loving it, but I love the idea and the smoothness. It gave me a good buzz as there is probably quite a bit of caffeine in there. The stringency of the Black Tea was nice. I enjoyed this blend. This would be a very good intro to Mate for someone totally against the idea of Mate. I feel made into an espresso blend, and made into a Morning Thunder Latte, that could be amazing. The round, smooth taste of this blend was very pleasant and could be a once a week staple.

I commend Celestial Seasonings for the simplicity of this drink, and its attempt at a Mate blend. I had emailed them many times about bringing in Mate not knowing this blend existed.

For people that are die hard CS drinkers, this is for you. If you get your buzz from CS, then this is where to go. Good drink Celestial Seasonings!

Perfumy
MOST AWESOME TEA BAGS ON THE MARKET!!!
Very very smooth, but too fruity.
Too many ingredients for mate drinkers to like.

Could be a great Mate Mojito.
Felt like they just picked all of the ingredients randomly and threw them in.
Grew on me as I drank.
Such a pleasant taste in my mouth after drink though.

I Love Mighty Leaf’s style though, and I love the teabags. If they came out with straight good Traditional Mate with these Teabags I feel they could take a lot of business away from other companies that sell teabags. I never buy Mate in teabags but I can guarantee you if I ever did I would buy theirs if they have Traditional Mate in teabags.

www.shadetreemate.com

Smells like Chicory. Very strong, not very pleasant -Has potential for awesome Mate Milkshake -Mate not very prominent -Honey or Mascovo addition could be tasty -Bit watery, minty, metallicy -Taste grew on me as I drank it as I was weiry of chocolate mate -I think this blend has potential for espresso mate, mate lattes, and mate milkshakes. -Post Drink analysis: Mouthy minty feeling, I am not understanding this minty feeling that Pixie has been giving me.

A very tasty blend -The metallic taste is very overwhelming and daunting -The Mate and the Green Tea both bring their own tastes, which blend together very nicely. -Didn’t jack me up, which I needed at the time. Unsure why.

Off first smell of the loose leaf it made me think of a raspberry popsicle. The smell was a bit harsh for the Shade Tree pallet, as I have never been able to handle strong fruity smells. The loose leaf was a bit crumpled like it had gotten wet. It possible was the saffron as I do not know anything about this ingredient. The blend had an interesting look, like there was fungi on there. This could have been due to how long I have had it as well.

On first taste, I was still weary of the smell but the taste was awesome. It was savory and smooth, with a bitter after taste which was awesome. The Mate had a significant presence which is key.

My conclusion on this blend is that the smell is overbearing for a traditional pallet. Once brewed it is very tasty, and iced or soda mate could be amazing. This blend may smell foul, but tastes great! Makes me want to make mate popsicles! Great Blend Fusion Tea Room!