Good Morning Mate

Since I knew Awkward Soul had sent me some mates from Fusion, I took a look through my as-yet-uncatalogued envelope, and yay, found one!

The aroma I’m getting from this definitely reminds me of various roasted mates I’ve had in the past, plus… cinnamon? Is it supposed to have cinnamon? Again, can’t read the tea description, so I’m not sure…

The flavour tastes to me like a non-banana-flavoured, somewhat chocolatey roasted mate, with a definite floral note. Floral??? Interesting… I’m not sure I taste cinnamon at all though. However, this is quite pleasant! I could see myself drinking this one again as a morning pick-me-up, although I have an awful lot of Malted ChocoMate to get through before I think about buying any more roasted mates!

Thanks so much for the sample, Awkward Soul!

ETA: Wow, a second infusion really brought out the cloves and cinnamon! Although it was a flavourful second infusion, I’m not sure it was quite what I wanted.

I recently did an order with Fusion Teas and this was the free sample they gave me. BTW, great mate tea selection for fusion teas – I just realized I miss some other mates I should of ordered after looking at the site again. The free sample was awesome and they chose well with a mate (I’m on a mate kick). I decided to try and review this tea first as I figure it was the one I would like the least (ugg rooibos) and would go well with my cinnamon oatmeal breakfast.

DRY: Woodsy, roastedy… coffee? When I scooped it into my steeper, I saw the rooibos and got worried – I’m not a big rooibos fan. But hey, free tea!

STEEPED: Brown. Smells more woodsy, like camping or a lumber yard (lol). Reminds me like coffee again, but not that bitter sludgyness smell from coffee. I did a 5 minute steep and couldn’t go any longer because I don’t have the patience for it.

TASTE: Roasted mate that is very earthy with hints of cinnamon – almost caramelly (from the coconut maybe but no coconut taste). Little bit of cocoa flavour, but fairly subtle. The rooibos hits me at the end adding a coffee-like woodsyness. No bitterness.

WHO WOULD LIKE THIS TEA: Coffee drinkers (switch to tea now). Mate drinkers and black tea drinkers wanting to venture into mate territory (don’t be scared!). Peeps who love a robust cup of tea.

COMMENTS: Robust – thats the best word to describe this tea. With the 5 minute steep I probably didn’t get it as strong as I could to bring out more flavors, but it was still full of flavor and light enough to be enjoyed by a tea drinker.
I’m not a coffee drinker – I drink it rarely and only for a pick me up when I’m out and the tea selection is crappy bagged crap. I gotta say this is the BEST “tea for coffee drinkers” tea I’ve tried. I’ve only sampled these teas in store and never bought them because it would taste too oversteepy bitter and strong elements of tea, with a coffeeness to it making me wish I was dead or could water it down with soymilk and sugar. Good Morning Mate still keeps a good tea flavor but has elements of coffee.

Overall surprised how good this was. Unless this tea grows on me, I don’t think I’d order more – however I would recommend this tea to others and will use it to try and convert my coffee drinking friends and family.

Thanx fusion teas for the sample! I can’t wait to try more.

Second sample from my big box of samples from LiberTEAS

I knew I was gonna need some caffeine today, so I decided to brew up some mate. When I saw this one in there I decided to brew it up.

It’s very good! I haven’t had a LOT of mates, so I don’t really have a whole lot to compare it to, but this is pretty tasty! The toasty-ness of the mate really pairs nice with the richness of the chocolate and the sweetness of the coconut. I can get a little hint of cinnamon, but it’s kind of hidden in there. Overall, a very nice mate!

EDIT: I was able to get two EQUALLY TASTY steeps from this batch of leaves, so I’m upping the rating! (second steep used boiling water for 10 minutes)

Continuing on my mate and chocolate streaks, I figured I would give this a try today. However, this was a tea from Fusion Tea Room that I was afraid to try. Though I have really come around on chocolate or cocoa in tea, I still hate coconut. So much so that I actually picked out all the coconut pieces from this tea, so as to minimize any potential coconut flavour. Accordingly, I assume that my cup of this tea tastes at least a little different than it is supposed to.

I also learned that this one really needs to steep to the upper limit of the parameters, either that or it makes a weaker cup than the other Fusion Tea Room blends I have tried. I get a hint of cocoa and a (stronger) hint of cinnamon (is there any in there??) but not a whole lot else. For me, this would be improved with a stronger chocolate taste, and possibly more mate/no rooibos. This one is a bit of a miss for me. Drinkable, though a bit bland. As the cup cools I get more and more cinnamon…which, unfortunately, I am not enjoying. Thanks for the sample, Fusion, but this one was not for me.

Wow, looking at everyone else’s comments I am sorry to rain on the parade. The cinnamon really didn’t work for me, and in this cup at least, that was all I tasted. Maybe the coconut I removed was vital to the overall taste, in which case this is definitely not the tea for me. Oh well!

The Cocoa, Coconut, and Cinnamon create a flavor of it’s own. It’s very aromatic and pretty tasty. I’m thinking my rating on this one will change but for now I will go with this…

Mmm, this is a good cup. That roasted mate flavor dominates, but it’s about the smoothest preparation I’ve had so far with this particular type of tea – not too sweet, not too woody, just an easy brew that wakes you up without getting in your face about it. The cinnamon and clove in the background lend this a savory dessert feel, like the spices in a spice cake, without really being sweet. A good replacement for coffee if you’re trying to kick the habit, a good yerba mate if you like it straightforward and tasty. I’m glad to have this in my cupboard.

This is tasty! Nice and chocolate-y, with a hint of coconut and cinnamon.

Definitely one I’ll be revisiting soon!

Excellent!

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

MMMMMMM after just one taste I couldn’t wait to jump online and rate my new favorite tea from Fusion Tea Room. The Morning Mate is absolutely delicious first thing in the morning. I think its best to add a little bit of warm milk after steeping making it a tea latte. Smooth, rich flavors coming from many different directions, cinnamon, chocolate, and the roasted mate is intense. When I want to shake things up a little I mix it with the Raspberry Mate from Fusion Tea Room. This Particular flavor (Good Morning Mate), blends very well with others and is a must have for your collection. If not, the only one for your collection. Happy steeping

This is a nice drink for morning, or I guess anytime. I like the cinnamon kick to it, but it could have a touch more chocolate flavor. I easily got a double brew from this without losing any of the flavor. Very nice drink.