Caribbean Calypso Mate

I took a walk with my Doggy (Sencha) to ease the soreness from Ice Skating training out of my muscles. It was super sunny and when we got back we were both ready for a cold drink. Sencha doesn’t like tea (regardless of her name…), so she got water. I love tea, so I made myself some of this iced. This was a Christmas present from an aunt who very kindly figured out that tea may be the best gift for me. : )

The dry tea looks like “tea confetti”. It is full of colors and shapes and smells like a fruity punch in the face… with a mint afterthought.

Steeped it is a neat dark purple with a tint of red to it. It smells like a berry fruit drink that has a bit of mint in it. Perhaps a berry mojito? Interesting…

With a tad bit of sugar it was decently tasty. Berry was the main player with a little apple. The aftertaste was mint and strangely (because it isn’t an ingredient in this tea) a got a bit of anise. That ruined it for me. I hate anise… I will finish this happily and I will do my best to enjoy it. I just won’t be buying it again.

I received this sample from someone somewhere and I have no idea. It was awhile ago. Sorry and thank you mystery person! I had no label to read when I did my brew. There was just the Teavana and the name of the tea so I wrote what I tasted without checking the ingredients first. Here is my honest review.

The first steep was 4 minutes when I began to pour. Since this is a fruit Mate I added sweetening..just a bit… and took a trial sip. I tasted creamy apple and the heat of ginger, some sort of nut background and a little lemony pineapple. The flavors being not too strong or spicy are a little strange which I can’t explain. I had not taken the brew basket out of the teapot so I poured a little stronger brew which was still tasty and a little more hot on the tongue and lemony. By the third and forth mug the tea was very lemony and had picked up more ginger heat. Don’t get me wrong, these cups were highly drinkable…just more potent and just the sort of cuppa you want to cure your sore throat. Tasty. The fact that you can take one big tablespoon of Mate from the first flavor profile to another and another without it getting wierd or bitter is pretty spectacular don’t you think? I do. This is something I might try again just for fun! (Now back to my TV show!)

Okay, I purchased just a bit of this one because I’ve always thought the ingredients sounded a bit interesting. The reviews seem to be okay/slightly positive. The worker today actually was kind enough to brew me a cup of this in store out of the stock I had purchased instead of paying for it separately. I’ve smelled this one in the store quite a few times, but never really thought about purchasing. Today was different! lol I’m a bit manic this week, hence the shopping. >.<
I was pretty disappointed when I actually started sipping this. The worker may have just brewed too little leaf for my tastes. But the coconut was there and was the only really prominent flavor. I’m surprised that Ninavampi’s was purple (right?) because my look like super pale water…I’m going to have to brew some myself just to see if this is how it always is. For now I don’t feel right grading it because of those circumstances.

Thank you MadAlyce for the sample! I’m slowly but surely going through my sample drawer :D

With the ingredients in the tea, one would think it would be absolute heeeaaaven for me! It has everything I love – yet something smelled wrong. It reminded me of sickness. I think it was the quality of the mate to be honest. (but I’m not sure what it was)

I brewed up a cup and sadly, it tasted the same. I couldn’t taste any coconut, but I think some pineapple was there, and a little bit of lemongrass, but other than that – it was just very murky.

I appreciate being able to try this tea – but Teavana has been a 100% miss for me! Nothing I’ve bought or sampled has been good. Oh well! Thanks for the sample though – you never know until you try! :)

The dry leaves give off an odd scent, which might be because of the dried tropical fruit mixed with lemongrass.

Once they are steeped though, you can smell the sweet tropical bliss of exotic fruits, it is extremely intoxicating.

The lemongrass is the base of the flavor, but doesn’t take away from the bright tropical taste, which isn’t as strong as the aroma, but is there in a significant way.

Because there seems to be more pineapple than any other fruit, that seems to be the base of the tropical flavor.

As I’ve said before I really like bright teas, and this one gives quite a magically bright flavor that isn’t as strong as I would prefer, but it works with the lemongrass and mate to give a great tropical blend.

Sample #2 from Chuckie, I really enjoy fruity teas, and I certainly enjoy mates. By all logic I should absolutely enjoy this tea…right?

This tea has an overwhelming fruit smell, but lucky it is not powerful or annoying it is a pleasant aroma. Steeping the tea fills the room with the aroma, make it a nice calming tea. Plus I can confirm there is enough mate in a 12oz mug to give you a nice little pick me up. I drank a couple of this first thing this morning cause I was so tired I felt like a zombie.

The final brew is fairly clear with a very light coloring to it, I can easily see to the bottom of my mug that has a crazy orange inside! This is the third Teavana tea I have had and the first to actually have a very present flavor to it when brewed to their directions.

It has a very present lemon flavor, most likely due to the amount of lemongrass in it which is ok, I like lemon. I brewed this as a hot cup of tea and it was really delicious; however I have a feeling this tea would be utterly amazing iced, it has a very juice like taste to it, for me the mate was not present at all.

Certainly a nice tea, definitely one I would actually purchase from Teavana. My biggest downside with them is I haven’t found any of their teas that just scream out at me.

Well priced and full bodied taste. Every morning I make a Maté tea and put it in my thermos and take it to school as my drink for the day to replace soda. This is my favorite breakfast tea especially when I steep it with a half stick of cinnamon in the pot while it’s brewing. I will recommend this to everyone I meet as a morning tea

Another tea that smells sweet to the point of sickness when dry. I might have passed this one up if I had smelled it in the store first, but I decided to take a risk during the heavenly sale. I taste lemongrass and it is very citrusy. The more I sip, the more I realize it taste like a near match of the discontinued Bangkok Lemongrass Rooibos. This one has caffeine and a rose like aftertaste. I’m not picking up on much of the coconut that was promised. It is good, but I have been wowed with this flavor before and I think I prefer the rooibos blend since I need more non caf deliciousness for the evenings.

Had this with a friend,he brought it over so we could try it. During the first steep,it was very fruity in taste,then for the second steep;it had more of a kick to it,with a taste of spice like cinnamon. It was definitely enjoyable and took the tastebuds on a trip,no sugar added.

I like to drink tea at my desk at work, where I am a captive to the computer and telephone. A good tea is a blessed escape. I had mixed feelings about this tea when I first tried it at home- particularly upon observing an oily sheen on the surface of the water. I am trying to move away from the fruity, sweetened teas and wasn’t impressed at what I was seeing. Yet, I grew to love this blend of slightly sweet, tropical flavors and the wonderful aroma that reminds me of a sunny beach. The linchpin was when I took it to work and was able to get about 8 infusions from one tea ball – hours of pleasure that helped me transcend Cubicle City for a few magical hours. That was a memorable day, and for that reason I have just ordered 4 more ounces.

Grabbed an glass of this from the pitcher in the fridge mid-workout. Refreshing!

Interesting mix of lemongrass and citrus with coconut – great for mixing with other tea as well.

Color: Pale yellow
Aroma: Lemony (Like Pledge)
Taste: I taste mostly lemongrass with a hint of pineapple/mango on the finish. I brewed this weak and strong… tastes a little richer and full bodied on the second steep of the same leaves.

I don’t know how another reviewer got purple… that’s interesting. I’d say this is more of a lemongrass flavor and every thing else is a subtle hint. Middle of the road for me. I’ll most likely not buy this again, but was fun to taste.

This is one of my favorite all-time teas. While steeping, its full-bodied aroma will fill the air with deep aromatic spices and the taste is simply…sensual. This tea tastes even better when transformed into a latte. This is one of my favorite drinks to make.