This was my first experience with guayusa. The blend is made of uniformly cut plant material of varying shades of green. The fragrance is very subtle and is close to a mix of spearmint and oregano. Once brewed, the aroma is of caramel with an impression of sugary-mint underneath.
The prepared drink is surprisingly sweet but in a light, mellow way. It tastes like a weak cola with a hint of mint. There’s also a slight woodiness. As the cup cools, it develops a suggestion of malt. There isn’t any lingering aftertaste, but instead a continuing sense of sweetness.
Shui Tea includes a caffeine meter on each package (kind of cool feature) and their Swagger line shows 5+ bars. This indicates that the caffeine content is higher than that of coffee. This probably leads to more of a bounce than a swagger, but it works!
