My Morning Mate

This came in a swap from Ze_Teamaker – thank you for the generous sample!

I really needed a kick start this morning; of course that’s how I feel every morning because I normally don’t feel awake and fully functional until around 10 AM. When the alarm goes off at 6 it is PAINFUL!

I thought this was actually a nice brew, the combo of the black tea and mate has a slight sweet hazelnut flavor. Not sure what the spice element is here but it’s a bit like a chai, I’m enjoying it. I made mine with soymilk and it’s good that way. I AM feeling slightly more awake! This is pretty good stuff… now back to work! (sound of whip cracking)

Argh! My review got eaten. x.x Take two!

I really enjoyed this, and I definitely did not expect to.

The dry leaf smell was very strong. Heavily nutty and very strong. I tend to be easily off-put by the idea that something will be overdone when it’s flavored, or that the flavor will be in some way artificial. I tend toward wanting a certain purity in the tea that I drink…or perhaps the word I want is ‘cleanliness’. I want a flavor that’s a clear note; I want flavor that knows where it’s going and feels pulled-together. Rich is fine, but over-assertive — especially with anything that runs the risk of seeming artificial — makes me wary.

My first sip surprised me, though, and I was delighted. Keep in mind that this may be due to any number of factors, such as
a) not having had much tea in the last week,
b) my mouth still healing after having my wisdom teeth out, and
c) the probability that most things taste good as a latte,

but with that said, I’m able to say that I plan on having another cup of this after I finish writing this note, so there you go.

I made it the same way that I make my chai. 1:1 water to milk, simmering the water in a pot on the stove, adding rock sugar, adding the tea, simmering a few minutes, adding the milk, heating, removing from heat to sit, strain and serve. I did add a little dash of light cream when it looked as though the nearly-no-fat milk I was using wasn’t quite creamy enough for my tastes.

As it was simmering, I was giving the pot funny looks. ‘You smell like black tea,’ I thought. ‘You say that you are a mate. Are you both? I bet you’re both. If you’re both I can’t simmer you for as long. How long have you been on the stove? Crap. I’m adding the milk before you get bitter. …now you DEFINITELY smell like black tea. I bet you’re going to be bitter, ugh.’

The flavor was warm chocolate milk with hazelnut, black tea, and an exhaled aftertaste of the aroma of coffee beans. When it was hot I had a vague sense of something like rosewater, but right now I don’t really trust my palate.

Without a doubt the aftertaste is my least favorite part of this concoction, and I’m not certain to what I should be attributing it. It’s a very slight tang of something. Fruity? Sour? Floral? The source of my rosewater impression? Not quite any of those things, but definitely there. I’m not sure if the yunnan in there was angry at me for subjecting it to so much heat, or if mate has a tangy aftertaste. I suppose I should pick up some plain mate sometime to find out, eh?

In all, this tea seems to fill the niche that my Chocolate Delight from Tea Guys filled, only it fills it in a much more satisfying way. Sad to say, I think the aforementioned blend may have seen its last days in my cupboard (which is extra-sad because I have basically a new batch of that at home. If anybody wants some, let me know…but be advised I’m dispensing it not because it’s tremendously good but because otherwise it will probably wind up wasted!).

Mystery mate tea to go. I decided to be bold and go for something other than my Strawberry Slender Pu Erh, which is my failsafe tea from Teavana. I couldn’t decide between a few of the mates and told the fellow to pick one for me while I browsed the tea accessory area. This is what he made me. It’s pretty good, though even as I had asked for milk and sugar, that was once again, neglected. He made this into my timolino directly, so I opted to try keeping the leaves for a further infusion.

I’ll have to go into more detail on the flavor when I have a little more time after work, and I have had more of it to decipher what I’m tasting.

edited to add****************

It’s definitely chocolatey, and I do get the nutty taste too. I am one who loves nutty teas, and I especially love hazelnut. Hazelnut lattes are my have. In the simplest word, I’d say this tea is cozy. Though I am getting a tart and juicy aftertaste too. Not sure if it is me or the tea.

I saved the first infusion of leaves and am attempting my second, now that I am home. And have a bathroom so near. I swear this made me pee more than usual today. :P

I had been wanting to try this, but had pegged Matevana as my mate of choice from Teavana. There was something about this tea that was interesting, but the description for Matevana won out and I went with that instead. But still this tea begged to be tried. Since Teavana only sells in 2 oz bags or more I figured I’d just never try it (Javavana got it’s turn already with mixed results). Enter: the swap!

It’s not a bad tea but I cannot really understand why this is considered to be “the coffee kicker” especially over javavana or matevana. It’s fine, don’t get me wrong, but it doesn’t stand out to me. To me it tastes a bit like a mix of many teas making it a bit nondescript. There’s some mate flavor in there, a bit of vanilla perhaps, and maybe a dash of cinnamon?

Bottom line for me: it’s fine. Nothing more, nothing less. Glad I got to try it without committing to a full bag.

Shout out to Ze_Teamaker for a sample of this tea.

I was a little concerned with the water temperature, I had it down as 205F… but from what I understand, mates should be around 180-185F? Something about high temperatures make mates taste off or kill off the caffeine? I’m guessing the temperature is mostly for the black and rooibos.

DRY: Chocolately coffee smell. Lots of interesting chunks of peppercorns and what I saw to be a chunk of nut shell. I chewed on it and it’s totally a nut shell, very wacky.

STEEPED: Robustly coffee smell. Steeps up a dark brown.

TASTE: Slight wateryness at the start of the sip. Nutty black tea tea with some mellowness of slight chocolate flavor and hazelnuts. Barely any bitterness.

WHO’D LIKE THIS TEA: Nutty tea drinkers, and by that I mean ones who like nuts in their tea. Another good tea for kicking the coffee habit!

COMPARISON:
My Morning Mate – stacks up to be the most nutty tasting of them all.
JavaVana Mate (Teavana) – more on the mocha side (I prefer it over My Morning)
Good Morning Mate (Fusion) – King of robusty taste with lots of spice.

COMMENTS:
Okay, I’ve drank quite a few mate almost coffee teas now.
My Morning Mate isn’t too bad, the nuttyness is nice. However I’m thinking it’s lacking something, like more spice or kick.

This is one of my top 10 favorite teas. I need to use my finest mesh strainer to steep it and still there are floaties in the bottom of my cup. Fair warning. But the flavor! There’s chocolate, nuttiness, spice, who knows what else—it makes a smooth, mellow taste all its own. I could drink this all morning. When I run out I will buy more. For me, that’s pretty rare.

Edited to add, I’m not a coffee drinker at all, so I can’t speak to whether this is really a coffee kicker. But it’s definitely a worthwhile tea on its own!

So delicious! Hazelnutty, rich yumminess. I drink this with a bit of vanilla bean infused sugar, and it’s like a rich Starbucks drink. It’s thick tasting and rich, robust and reminiscent of coffee without the bitterness. Love the nuttiness and slight hint of chocolate. It’s not chocolatey, but there is something a little bit like chocolate there. One of my absolute favorite teas.

I…I…oh good Lord, this tea confuses me! One sip, I love it! The next, blegh. The list of ingredients doesn’t list cardamom, but I seem to see some cardamom pods. Cardamom tends to put me off of a tea, and I’m fairly certain that’s what I’m tasting that’s making me wrinkle my nose.

It does remind me of coffee, but a spicy coffee. Thanks for sharing, Wifey_Woman, I’m really enjoying this one! ^.

This does not taste like coffee, nor feel like coffee…just FYI for people out there that may think it is supposed to mimic the taste/feel of coffee. Now with that being said, this tastes sweet, chocolately, and like a spiced orange peel… those are the biggest flavors I am getting from this tea. I think this tea is a lot better with some milk added to it, to smooth out the edges a bit.

This is way up on my list of favorites, and one I prefer in the morning.

This is a lovely, sweet, chocolately mate with all the caffeine you could expect to find in a five-gallon drum.

This is a very flavorful tea. It doesn’t taste artificial. It feels like coffee without actually tasting like coffee (which I’d rather chew my arm off than drink).

It’s very smooth. I think I’ll have another five-gallon drum.

This is a very pleasant mate blend. Although I’m not exactly sure what mate tastes like, I feel its completely hidden in this tea.

The chocolate and nutty taste balance really well with each other. I catch just a bit of spice here, some thing like allspice or nutmeg. It feels like a nutty cocoa, but smooth and mellow.

A dizzying blend of nuts, chocolate, and a potpourri of other flavors that combine to make a nice alternative to coffee.

Although not the best chocolate tea I’ve had, that title would go to another tea I received as a gift from a friend, it is quite a delicious chocolate tea nonetheless.

Even without rock sugar, it has a light milky creaminess, and a sweet decadence similar to caramel or hazelnut, which are both also in this blend.

If you like your coffee light on taste but full of nutty creamy flavor, this is a very great alternative.

This is (for me) the perfect substitute for a morning cup of coffee. The aroma is great at it steeps. I love the mix of flavors too. Just the right touch of chocolate and nuts. I like to make mine with a cube of regular sugar and a teaspoon of German Rock sugar…..perfection on a Monday morning. (Plus I gave up coffee for lent SO I need some pep in my step!)

Sipdown. Prefer this to Matevana by a long shot as this is much smoother and the flavors are better integrated, though a tad flat. Brews up nice and dark. Hazelnut with a hint of chocolate. Benefits from the addition of almond milk.

By the way, if you’re looking for a mate-based coffee substitute, the best – by far – that I’ve found is Guayaki’s Javamate, in either Vanilla or Mocha Maca flavors. That is purely on a flavor and body basis… you can even brew it in your coffeemaker. And there are pluses, as well — it is a socially-responsible company and these products also contain ramon nut, a rainforest “superfood” that’s still largely under the radar, at least in the US. Whole Foods used to carry it but now you can only order it from the company, apparently.

I sampled a cup at a Teavana store and liked the chocolate/nut/spice combination very much. The flavors do not overwhelm. I requested my tea without milk or sugar so I could have a better picture and had to react quickly to prevent the guy from pouring it into a cup full of ice! Really nice, even after it cooled down so I guess some people might want to make iced tea out it. Note to self – get some of it so I can try if I like it brewed a little stronger.

Not bad… I like this better than the Rooibos Chai fom Teavana that I had just before this. I added a bit of rock sugar and milk to it. Tastes like a VERY weak Hazelnut flavoured coffee.

I received this for HoppiTea Gift Exchange from Ottawa Tea! Thank you! This tea is aaahhhmaaazing! So delicious! The scent is yummy and a little chocolatey and spicy. In the cup, it is great! It can go without any sugar or milk, but I decided to add some. WOW! I am in love with this tea!

Hands down, my favorite tea. There are amazing chocolate and carmel undertones. Can’t think of anything I would rather drink in the morning.

I know mate is a love it or hate it kind of drink, but I LOVE it. I switched completely from coffee to tea recently and the guy at Teavana recommended this one. I’ve shyed away from Teavana for other brands lately but My Morning Mate is one I will not ever give up.

It has the nutty rich flavoring that coffee has but without the acidity or jitters. It can be brewed light or strong (I like it strong) and it takes milk well too. This tea is my ultimate wake up effort, and it never fails me. I have gone through over a pound of it and will continue to drink it.

I highly recommend this tea to coffee drinkers who want to switch or just mix it up.

Sigh, I had such high hopes for this tea. Especially since my Aztec Fire was a bust. It made a clearish brown liqoure and smelled nutty enough. But When I tasted it, all it tastes like to me was very watered down coffee. It was so dull I went and made my mom coffee instead.

Tasteing it again now that it has cooled a lot. I am tasteing a lot more of the flavors then before. It seems like though most of the flavors are in the after taste. Also some of the flavor might be because of the Hogcha black tea that I mixed in with it.

I am holding off my rating for now, cause I wonder if I used enough of it to brew….

*EDIT: I made another brew of this and found it to be more satisfactory. See later note.