Yerba Mate

Recently, I discovered a drink that I ADORE at the Philz on my walk to work. However, when I go there, I end up spending like $6 or more because I have no self control and get a vegan cookie, as well. Well, since I’m on a money AND food diet, I decided to buy a bag of these yerba mate bags, even though $5 for 25 seemed a little steep. Now, at Philz, I had them add a little soy milk and fresh mint, so I was trying to accomplish the same at home… SO, I mixed 40 oz of water with 4 yerba mate tea bags and 2 Trader Joe’s Mint Melange tea bags, then added some vanilla soy until my pot was about full (maybe a cup?)

PERFECT! Exactly what I was looking for. Too bad the tea bags are $5 for 25 and I’ve already used 6 bags since I bought them last night….

On a side note, does anybody know why there is a huge warning on the mate bag to NOT DRINK IT OVER 150 DEGREES?? :)

No rating, since I mixed it with another tea.

Steep Information:
Amount: 1 teabag
Water: 8 ounces hot spigot water
Steep Time: a little over 5 minutes
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: Wood, paper, green tea
Steeped Tea Smell: woody green tea
Flavor: woody green tea, a bit bitter and a bit astringent
Body: Medium
Aftertaste: bitter
Liquor: translucent yellow-brown honey colored

Gift from a co-worker who tried the Yerba Mate and found it to have too much caffeine. I enjoy being the crazy tea lady of the office.

So far I find mate to taste very much like a green tea.

Images: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/05/guayaki-teabag-mate-tea-yerba-mate.html

I have some serious a$$-kicking work to do today, so I thought it was time to bust this out again. My pack is a couple of years old—-I originally had it sitting in my desk at the library at which I used to work, when I was trying different ways of waking myself up in the morning.

At any rate, despite it being a couple of years old, this mate actually lasts really, really well. It doesn’t taste at all old or musty, and while a 5-minute steep may seem a little long, it’s really not much at all (especially considering that I usually am all about strong black teas).

Totally brilliant, I am very awake and focused, just as I need to be. Now, after having written this review, back to work with me—-as mentioned earlier, I’ve got a lot to do today. :)

I bought a half pound bag of this when I was at the store last time. It was a risk, but I was betting that I would love my new indulgence. I was right. I do love it down to the very last drop. I brewed this in my teapot and managed to get three steeps out of it. I could have gotten more if I didn’t shake most of the powder out of the tea ball.

The first steeps were roughly at 5 and 10 minutes. The liquid was a nice light honey brown. It smelled nice and I hoped that the unflavored mate tasted as good as the flavored. It tasted very earthy and a tad bitter, but I liked the bitterness. It reminded me of petrichor in taste form instead of scent.

The second steeps were another 5 and 10 minute steep. The liquid this time was a light green, which surprised me. The taste was a little softer, but it started to taste sweeter. I shared this steep with my roommate (she got the longer steep) and said that the taste was lighter than she was expecting. At the end of my cup, I was entertained by the fact that it tasted like I had real sugar in there when I didn’t. I am easily entertained.

The third steep is where I stopped paying attention to how long I was steeping it. I also ran out of water in my kettle, which was fine. The water was a little cooler by now. The liquid in the final steep is a light yellow green. The taste is reminding me more of green tea, but a little earthier than green tea. A slight sweetness is still hitting the back of my tongue, but it is less than the second steep was. So the third is more earthy and less sweet. I am down to sipping it now instead of really drinking it, so I think the balance of earthy and sweet in this cup is spot on.

So, I managed to get six cups of tea and I drank five of them myself. I really like the concept of re-steeping. It lets you get more flavors out of a pot of tea. I really need to get myself a gourd and a bombilla to try mate in the traditional way. But, for now I would be happy with getting a small one-person french press to have a way to make it easier in the morning. That way, I could have this as my morning tea again. Yummy!

I am certainly getting that “earthy” quality others have mentioned. This is my first time trying mate… had to even ask how it was pronounced. I am feeling somewhat more energized, which is definitely a good thing as I am currently at work and have another 2 and a half hours to go till this shift is through! Some days midnight cannot come soon enough. :)

Was a little hesitant to drink this because I had heard somewhere it was a potential carcinogen, but did a little research after my partner brought a bag home. Reminds me of nettles.

I’ve always liked yerba mate since I first tried it many years ago. Thank you AmazonV for sending this to me in a swap! I really enjoyed this one. It is earthy and nutty but has a sort of tobacco or roasted perhaps scent and flavor to it. Delicious.

I love Guayaki’s products and their traditional maté is one of the best I’ve had. Why? It doesn’t taste like only dirt and grass like some brands. If you have it in a bag, it’s great steeped not too long. But this is best served traditionally in a gourd.

Very nice mate. Drank it from gourd with a bombilla wich i haven’t done before. Didn’t have the patience to properly cure the gourd but i guess didn’t screw up the preparation completely as the taste was wonderfull.

Yerba Mate is one of my favorite teas. It adds such a nice flavor and uplift to my day. It blends well with anything, especially mint!

Special remedy for a slight cold?
A pot of Yerba Mate.
Learned how effective YM was when I was really into Matevana from Teavana…
but hey, the plain stuff is just as effective.
In any case, yeah, I got a sore throat, and I’m a little phlegmy. But when I got my mate, I’m just phlegmy.

Sorry about never actually following through on my previous posts about the iced teas…
Here’s the story:
They all turned out awesome.
I’ll post about them in a sec.

Oh, and I was the only one that brought anything to the potluck.

I really enjoy this tea and drink it somewhat regularly. It’s nice to have as my “instead of coffee” tea.

I love this yerba mate! It has been absolutely essential in getting me through some early mornings. I like it best steeped far longer than other teas. I’ve been known to leave it for 15-30 minutes before drinking it. Honestly, this is only one of 3 different yerba mates I’ve tried, so that world is still wide open to me.

I like this with a little powdered agave nectar. It’s like drinking the Earth.

When I was fourteen or fifteen I signed up to go on a mission trip because a girl I liked was going on it. So I flew to Argentina from the God Bless the U. S. of A., because it seemed like a better idea than just asking her to the movies or something. In fact, if I ever say, “Man, I’ve got a great story,” and you interrupt me and demand to know if there is a female in it, and I say “no”, I’m lying about it being a great story or about being a female in it.

While down there I was introduced to this whole mate business. I was also introduced to this whole caffeine business, which I didn’t really understand prior to drinking a ton of this at 11pm at night and then not sleeping. At all.

As far as the caffeine content goes, yeah, it’s on the high side, but black coffee (which is rare) gives me jitters, while mate doesn’t. I think that Guayaki is the closest thing to name brand mate in the USA. Pretty good stuff.

I’ve been a skeptic of yerba mate for some time now, but when a co-worker offered me a bag I thought I’d give it a try. It was a pleasant surprise.

Great flavor that’s not overwhelming. 5 minute steep seems to be the perfect amount of time to make the tea enjoyable. Can’t say much on the energy front, but just drinking it makes me feel great.

I am only giving 100 reviews so far and this is my second review. Gotu Kola at night and Yerba Mate in the morning and afternoon is about all I need to feel that all is right with the world. I love the taste of Guayaki Traditional Yerba Mate. I’ve tried the flavors and prefer the Traditional (yellow package) best of all. I tried the San Mateo version in the light green, which is just straight Yerba Mate from a different part of the world, and the taste is totally different. It’s acceptable, but I prefer the Traditional by far.

The energy and the mental clarity and overall good vibes this brew gives are really unbelievable. If you find yourself stressed out and often lethargic, considering the easiest way to kill yourself rather than go on with your daily drudgery, please consider Yerba Mate first (and Alvita’s Gotu Kola in the evenings). I’m really not exaggerating; it’s possible I’ve been clinically depressed most of my life. I’ve only ever self-medicated with drugs, booze, meditation and herbal remedies and never sought real treatment. As you may have guessed, the drugs and booze only made my problems worse in the long run, but over the past decade or so, I have found a few teas really work in turning your life around… and Guayaki Yerba Mate is one of them. BTW, I don’t advocate drugs or alcohol at all, but it seems to be a natural part of growing up for many of us. :-/ I’m over that.

Since this is a “tasting note” I want to reitterate that I love the taste of Guayaki’s Traditional Yerba Mate. It’s light and sweet and a little earthy. It’s got it’s own unique flavor with a slightly bitter aftertaste, but less bitter than most green tea. I suppose it would be good with some spearmint (Guayaki has many flavors to choose from), but I like it straight, Traditional flavor (yellow bag). And I often double-up on the bags or if I’m using the loose leaf, I sometimes add way more than I should, so I enjoy the taste even if I triple up on the mate/water ratio.

You can supposedly keep pouring water onto yerba mate and get more of the minerals, etc. out of it, but I rarely do that. Mate works either with regular or hot water, but it does not (and shouldn’t) be boiling, as that destroys the mate. Water does not need to be hot in order to infuse; you can drop some in a jar with water and shake it up, wait about 10 minutes and you have mate ready to drink.

I love this stuff, both for the pick-me-up and the way it has a light planty taste which goes really well with honey and milk. I steep it for 8-10 minutes or whatever in not-yet-boiling water. I think that’s per package instructions.

When I drink this I’m drinking like a Uruguayan soccer (er, football) star!!

I love this tea. I drink mine straight, with no sugar. It’s a great alternative to coffee.

First time trying yerba mate ! I’m really enjoying it ! Used a little honey to sweeten it . Will definitely look into buying the trad. gourd & straw for drinking it in future !

My first experience with this tea wasn’t the best. But it’s grown on me over time. I now drink this every morning. I enjoy using the loose leaf tea with my cast-iron tea pot, as it really adds to the whole “tea making” experience. Contrasted against the boring tea pouches you drop in your cup.

I recommend this to all my friends already, so I’ll recommend it to you.