Vanilla Mint Mate

Backlogging tea of the afternoon…. (SRP #37)

This one is from my Foodzie Box from LiberTEAS.

I requested this sample, because it sounds like a great blend for yerba mate. The yerba mate is roasted, so it comes across as an herbally light coffee taste. Then add just the light kiss of mint plus vanilla, and you have a really good flavor profile. What I love about this is the level of mint. It is actually just an addition to the flavoring….spearmint with restraint….rather than an overpowering force. It is wonderful with just a slight amount of sweetness added.

Mug method with a 5 minute steep.

Thanks to Ian for sending me some of this, the last of my mate samples to review.

I did steep this in my regular infuser mug method, it was at least 7 minutes but I lost track of time. After looking at the picture here on Steepster (which looks like a milkshake), I decided to add soymilk to mine which I think ended up being a good decision. It is lightly minty with a touch of vanilla which makes a good balance with the mate. I am not tempted to run out and order more of this but it’s definitely good. Thanks again, Ian!

Another strong, solid tea from 52teas. As this is brewing, the mint flavor just kind of floats through the house. That’s probably one of my favorite aspects of mint teas that I don’t get from other teas… nothing quite smells as good roaming through your house as freshly steeped mint. Except prime rib. But that wouldn’t make a good tea. Moving on!

The vanilla and mint are very nice on the tongue, definitely reminiscent of Creme de Menthe. The toasted flavor of the mate starts coming out shortly and really rounds out the flavor. It has an almost chocolate like quality to it, I’m not sure what the association is coming from., but it is quite enjoyable. Hrmmm. Kind of makes me want a mint/vanilla genmaicha. I bet that would be killer.

I’m eyeing Frank’s stock of this and wondering how much will still be around for my next payday…

Alright, this would be sample 2/8 in my plan to drink one tea per swap. (The Neapolitan Honeybush doesn’t count; I drank it and wrote the note last night, but forgot to hit ‘post’. Whoopsie.)

Thank you Missy & Dylan for the small sample of this one that I asked for! Although I’m almost regretting asking for one-cup samples of things sometimes, it is nice on occasion to eliminate a tea from the stash after one cup!!

Based on my surprising enjoyment of 52teas minty blends, I’m expecting to like this one, especially since it contains roasted mate. However, the steeped aroma is not terribly appealing. I smell mintiness, which is iffy, and perhaps some vanilla, but not the mate, and not the yummy “52teas flavouring”, as I will call it. (Uh, it just occurred to me that this “flavouring” of which I speak may actually be part of the flavourings used to produce a chocolate flavour… because the blends I can recall it being in, like Chocolate Mint, Mint Chocolate Chip Honeybush, Malted ChocoMate, Cherry Garcia, all have chocolate in them…. this is making me very sad that I didn’t get any Double Chocolate Decadence :( )

A sip of this blend confirms my recently developed suspicion – that flavour is not here, and consequently I do not care for this tea! The icky peppermint nastiness is a bit too apparent for me here, and because of that, I can’t enjoy the vanilla. I also can’t really taste the roasted mate (oh, maybe it’s there, but well-hidden. A little coffee-esque.)

This isn’t too terrible though; anyone who enjoys disgusting things like straight peppermint tea would probably adore this, but I loathe straight peppermint tea.

Well, this was worth a shot! Not regretting the one cup’s worth at ALL now!! Thanks for passing this sample along, Missy/Dylan :D

This is an interesting cuppa. I normally don’t care for mate, but I love the combo of vanilla and mint so I took a chance. You can barely taste the mate base, which I love – but people who like mate may not like that fact. The flavors of vanilla and mint are both prominent, so you can taste both individually, yet the blending of both is phenomenal. I’d recommend this one for an AM cuppa: it’s caffeine-charged and the flavor is tasty.

This is really nice. When I first read the “Vanilla Mint” my mind immediately recalled the Shamrock Tea, and I wondered how this would compare. It’s been a while, though, since I’ve had the shamrock tea, so I don’t know that I could do a comparison much justice at this point.

But I am enjoying this. The mint is strong, but the vanilla comes in pretty strong too, creating a nice, crisp, sweet and creamy mint taste. The Mate is there too. It gives the cup an earthy taste that is an interesting contrast to the clean taste of the mint and the sweetness of the vanilla. A very pleasant blend.

Le sigh! Why must they only be made once a week!? What’s worse is it’s one that my daughter actually would like to have around too.

Vanilla and mint are two of my favorite flavors right after chocolate. I think they are easier to get right in tea though. I feel like the vanilla and mints are all mixed together perfectly. Smooth and refreshing with out losing one flavor or another. Roasted mate is splendid! I get a toasted green taste from it. All these flavors mix so well which each other to make another wonderful tea.

I actually really like this one!
I’m not always the biggest fan of mate- I don’t think it tastes like coffee and tend not to appreciate blends that try to convince me that it does. I’ve been confused about the whole “mate latte” trend at coffee/tea houses.

But now I want someone who’s good at making lattes to make me one with this- because it’s just screaming for foamed milk.
My first cup I just had with water, but I’m trying it now with some steamed vanilla soy milk (I think I used too much and made it too weak- oops)
Anyway, vanilla and mint are a great combination, and while mate doesn’t have a stimulating affect on me, it’s pleasant enough in this blend that, well, I don’t mind that it’s there. Keeps this from being an (after dinner) dessert tea though- I don’t want to risk being stimulated right before bedtime.

I think all tea shops should stock this one to make me lattes with. Yumyum.

Thanks to Ian for sending me this one. First I am a big of roasted mate…..okay I’m a fan of Frank too :) It has a nice minty aroma coming from the dry leaf. I couldn’t really detect vanilla. I like it. I couldn’t really get the vanilla out of this one. I guess I was hoping the vanilla would make it a little more creamier. More like a wintergreen than spearmint. However I was sitting at my desk conversing with a record label rep with my nose inside the cup. I happen to do this quite a bit. I like to take in all of that the tea has to offer. More that simply just sipping it. I noticed something. There is this marvelous aroma arising from inside the cup. It’s like a nice a Cavendish or a high quality cigar. I’m talking Cohiba or Artuo Fuente. Whew refreshing like walking into a humidor.

I steeped this for way too long. It’s not fair for me to rate it in its current state. It tastes burnt (not in the way actual tea gets burnt but like it tastes like an ashtray smells…. ew) and just blech. I will try again when I have more time but for now I’ll have to dump this out.

I have been on a roll with 52teas. I have been enjoying every one I tried. I guess I can’t like everything and lucky streaks can’t last for ever.

It took me a while to decide to purchase this, but I like vanilla, mate and mint enough that I eventually gave in. As soon as it arrived I opened it to sniff at it. It coated the inside of my nose with “toothpaste” smell. Not what I was expecting. It was very sharp. After this experience it took me a long while to urge myself on to try it.

I steeped my 2 teaspoons to 12oz of boiling water. The smell of the brewing tea was much more pleasant than the actual leaves. It smelled smooth and creamy reminding me of Creme de Menthe. At this point I became a little more optimistic about liking the tea.

I tried it unsweetened and I got sharp spearmint taste. The vanilla was there, but not as smooth as I was expecting it. The Mate flavor was permeating through all the other flavors. Its woodiness and slight bitterness reminded me throughout the cup that this mint had caffeine! It reminded me of Root beer, except it was hot (not really a good thing…).

Once it cooled down I found it a little more palatable, but I can’t imagine me actually wanting to have more of this… I will try it iced, which might work well since I do like Root beer (cold…).

Oh well…

You can’t go wrong with vanilla and mint. Or so I thought. Turns out I have to be a bit more careful with my brewing technique.

The first time I had this, I loved the smell of the dry leaves and couldn’t wait to drink the tea. But it was very bitter. I couldn’t finish the mug! I had steeped it for about 7 minutes and added a little bit of sugar.

This time I steeped it for only 5 minutes and put both sugar and milk. Much better this time. Up until now, I hadn’t really given thought to the taste of different mints. The spearmint is quite different; I’m not sure yet if I like it as much as peppermint. But the combination of mint and vanilla is very nice. The maté is very different for me too; earthy and rich. I’d like to try this as a latte as well.

I was a bit afraid that this would remind me of toothpaste, but thankfully it doesn’t. This is such a richly satisfying vanilla tea with just a bit of mint in the aftertaste. The earthiness of the mate really helps this to not be overwhelmingly one note. I’m also loving the caffeine kick!

This reminds me of a blend I threw together myself! Great minds think alike?

Mate and mint are just a really excellent combination, and the vanilla adds a nice little touch. Personally, I’d rather have a stronger mint flavor but this would be an idea choice for someone who wanted only a touch of mint.