MateVana

Backlog #3
Ok so I got a teensy bit outta control with the tea buying. but it was my first time at Teavana and I had to see what all the fuss was about! Folks here(at Steepster) love to hate and hate to love this place.
I’ll admit, the prices were excessive (I bought this one because it was one of the two cheapest options they sell), but the staff were friendly, and not too pushy like I had expected! just a tad excited about tea, which I totally get ;)
As for the tea, well this is really nice. Moreso than I expected. Kindof chocolatey and nutty. I need to try it here in Toronto but I seem to have left this one in Florida, eek!
Well, it looks like I’ll be a slave to this establishment whenever I’m in town, as much as it pains the wallet…
gah, I so badly wanted to despise Teavana :P

Another great day of tea prep. 3 heaping perfect teaspoons + 500 mL water makes for a rich, nutty, hot chocolate (with a touch of coffee) like brew. Better than with my old set up! Maybe because I’m not used to it, my chemistry finds mate very invigorating. You should see all the work I did today!

I stopped in at Teavana last night just to check out the mate’ types that I don’t have yet, and I got a whiff of this one. Mmmmm, cocoa. I picked up 2 oz. and had a nice cup this morning.

Before I rate the tea, I’m going to put on my tinfoil hat and sit on the grassy knoll and tell you my Teavana conspiracy theory. Now, I am pretty convinced that the Teavana employees know darn well what a 2 oz. scoop of tea looks like. Yet EVERY TIME I buy tea from them they put 2.8 oz. on the scale (which of course is almost a full oz. extra) and say, “Is 2.8 oz. OK?” “NO,” I always say, “2 oz.” They pour out a little bit. “2.6 oz.?” Me: “No, 2 oz.” They pour out a little more. “2.3 oz.?” Me, exasperated: “Fine!” I have a feeling they are trained to do this so that people who are not paying attention buy .8 oz. (almost a full oz.!) more than they asked for…it adds up, customer by customer! Am I crazy? Is it just me? Tell me your experiences!

So on to the tea. I drank it down pretty fast, which is a good sign. I am not a coffee fan, but I can see why they compare it to coffee a little bit. I get a roasted taste and an aftertaste that is reminiscent of coffee, but not in an offensive way. I definitely get a nice cocoa flavor without it seeming like a hot chocolate. It’s a good mate’ and I’ll gladly drink what I have. I’m going to reserve judgment on whether I’d buy more of it or not.

Goodmorning!
Thanks so much to Erin for a sample of this! I’d been wanting to try this blend for a while. My boyfriend’s a really big fan of mate so he stole most of it to take to work. :P But I did reserve a small cup to review :)
Dry leaves smell like bran flakes. Steeped 1 1/2 tsp per cup at 205 for 6 minutes.
I have to say this isn’t the best mate I’ve had. It’s not bad, though. It’s smooth and decently roasty. But I’d like it more intense, and roasty-er. I am picking up on the hazelnut and chocolate, but it’s faint. It’s like I can taste a hint of Florence from Harney & Sons…which just makes me want some Florence. Which I’m out of, but WHICH Erin included, THANKS ERIN :D.
Basically it tastes like it smells: bran flakes. Cuppa cereal. I added a splash of coconut milk & brown sugar. Enjoyable, but not knocking my socks off. Glad I got to try it, but I don’t know if I’ll be purchasing it.

Finally had a chance to try this. It has a roasted-chocolatey-cigar type smell.
For taste – a milky-woodsy-chocolate-type taste
It’s alright.
Good morning Cup!

I’ve had this for awhile as part of a purchase where I was trying to see what mate was all about. Its okay, but I’m not wild about it, but that’s probably because it has a strong presence of red rooibos in it which I’ve learned is not a favorite for me. Some Teavana teas that I enjoy quite a bit are Peachberry Jasmine Sutra and Lemon Lime Kampai, which have green rooibos in the blend rather than red. As far as Mate, I love Teavana’s Raspberry Riot Lemon Mate iced, and it has no rooibos in it. Samarai Chai Mate as I recall is pretty good, but it has green rather than red rooibos in the blend. I need to try more Mate without red rooibos.

my last tea for the weekend, i’ll be in NYC this weekend visiting friends, no tea for me

Steep Information:
Amount: 1.5 tsp
Additives: none
Water: 6 oz filtered boiling
Tool: Mesh basket strainer in cup
Steep Time: a little over 6 minutes
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: nutty, chocolate
Steeped Tea Smell: nutty
Flavor: nutty, then slightly dark chocolate
Body: Full
Aftertaste: sour
Liquor: opaque dark brown, like light coffee

Post-Steep Additives: 1 tsp German rock sugar=much better no sour note, chocolate more prominent

Resteep: 7 min, weak
put in for….until i forgot about it, got a medium bodied nutty chocolaty (it had sugar dregs in it) drink, i don’t have the patience but if you do it is resteepable.

images: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/03/teavana-loose-leaf-mate-tea-matevana.html

I can’t wait to try it mixed with my morning mate!

Well, this isn’t the worst tea I have had. It was decent, actually. All the Teavana teas I have had have been alright, but not amazing. I definitely want to try this as a latte with chocolate syrup as the fellow suggested today, but I am on a budget now, so I had it only sweetened with the rock sugar.

Teavana was my first experience with tea and as much as I hate the “big store” mentality associated with them, overall I am pleased with most of the teas I have tried. I am transitioning from coffee drinking to tea, so this tea is still a fav for the morning!

I bought an entire pound of this at the Heavenly Sale. I just couldn’t help myself.
I need this stuff.

I was never a coffee drinker. The reason I fell in love with this tea is because it tastes like I always imagined coffee ought to taste like, and Teavana claims that it has about as much caffeine as a cup of regular coffee.

I wouldn’t know what kind of energy a cup of coffee gives you because I’ve never liked the taste of coffee enough to drink more than a sip, but I can’t face an early morning without it.

The aroma is not unlike coffee, but not spot on. It smells more like cocoa and less burnt.

The first thing that one tastes is a beautiful, roasted (some say “bran”) flavor and then a strong, undeniable, chocolate flavor. The tea is not astringent or fully as burnt tasting as coffee in the least. It’s not a very complex tea, at least to my taste buds, but it is much more satisfying than the flavor of coffee.

This stuff is amazing.

I received some of this from Doulton in the huge box o’teas that she sent me recently – thank you so much, Doulton! You rock!

This is yummy. Chocolate-y and nutty. Earthy and sweet. Creamy without adding milk (although milk is good in this too, I prefer it without though). A really tasty mate blend.

Thanks to Yssah for this sample. This is a mild Roobios / Herbal blend that really hit the spot this morning. I don’t normally gravitate to red tea in the morning but this is very tasty. I’m glad I got to try this one but I’m not exactly blown away by it.

I just purchased this tea. For the low cost, you can’t beat it! Its truly delicious! I love black tea for the jolt it gives me to run my small business on those lazy mornings.. but the MateVana has become my fast favorite! The only down side I have found is its resteeping abilities are poor. I’m a black tea kinda girl, I can get 3-5 steeps out of some of my teas (golden money comes to mind). But for the low cost.. i don’t mind the no resteeping factor.

I HATE coffee.. the taste is (threw up in my mouth a bit). Some say this tea has that coffee flavor coffee drinkers need, but don’t let that fool you.. its tea with cocoa flavors that resemble coffee SLIGHTLY.

over all i recommend it!

So… this mate was exactly what i wanted it to be and so much more. It was a perfect cup of hot chocolate. nice and sweet. This is sure to be my new coffee.

Thank you MadelineAlyce for my generous sample.

A full review will be added within the next couple of days.

I’m not sure what I think of this one yet. You can definitely taste the Cacao. It’s got a smoky taste to it that i’m not sure I like. Smoky like a fire, not like a cigar. It says it’s like coffee but i’ve yet to find a tea that actually lives up to that promise. When you drink coffee you WANT coffee, not tea that tastes like cacao. *ok, end rant. I think it’s the rooibos in the tea that is making me rethink steeping time, i steeped for 4 minutes, and it is a bit too long as i’m getting a real earthy/clay taste to it. Will try again.

Grabbed a cup today at the mall to try it. I like it. Very similar to my morning mate minus the black tea in it. I think this is one to add to the collection.

I found this hiding in the back of the pantry and thought I’d give it a shot.

The fragrance of this blend is vanilla, chicory and (I don’t know where these come from sometimes, possibly the almonds here?) slightly stale Lorna Doone shortbreads. While not an ugly mix, there’s not a lot to please the eye other than the occasional yellow or blue speck of florals.

Upon brewing, it produces a fairly dense reddish-brown liquid. The fragrance of both the vanilla and shortbread remains. From a taste standpoint, the flavor is of vanilla with a subtle note of brandy and carries a pastry aftertaste. As it approaches room temperature, it begins to pick up a very slight sourness.

I was surprised that, for the number of cocoa components it contains, I didn’t pick up any chocolate in either flavor or fragrance.

I’m not a huge Rooibos or Honeybush fan, so this may be why this moved to the back of the shelf. It’s OK, but not a favorite.

Was very excited to try this tea, as I had only heard great things about the rich chocolate taste that this blend is so famous for. Everyone is spot on! This Mate is fantastic and I’m sad I couldn’t stick around the party for a second steep. Anywho… this mate, which so far holds the gold in my book on cinnamon/chocolate blending, was one of the richest and full body ‘teas" I’ve tasted. Would taste amazing with cream, however I’d be careful with sugar as this tea is already naturally sweet.

OK, so now I’m learning about the love/hate relationship many tea sippers have with Teavana, and I’m realizing also that I did a darn good job at squeezing good deals from the company during their after-holiday sale. This one, which is usually pretty cheap, I got for $1.45 for a packet. Yay!

Anyway, this is my first foray into the world of mate, and since I was nervous (yes, I’m a mate wuss), I only put enough mate into my 12 oz. cup for an 8 oz. cup. I didn’t want it to be too strong! Well, it sure as heck wasn’t. I added my hot (not boiling, as is what I’ve been told) water, waited 6 minutes, then put in 1 teaspoon of sugar. And darn it, the stuff is weak. Now I know, I’ll put in the proper amount of mate next time…

For being weak, it has a nice flavor, so I’m happy to give this another go at its proper strength.

January 18, 2013
Second try. I put enough mate in the cup for 12 oz. but it still wasn’t very strong. Curious what’s up with that. Will try again tomorrow.

January 24, 2013
Well, that was a long “tomorrow.” With the stress of my current nursing class, I had been needing my daily Earl Grey, and just couldn’t substitute that for anything. Yesterday morning, though, I had to get up before the sun and get my butt outside in below-zero weather in order to be at the OR on time (my first OR clinical day!). I knew I needed something highly caffeinated, and wanted to give the mate another shot. I made it strong: two heaping teaspoons for my 12 oz. cup, brewed my water hot to boiling, and let the stuff steep a good 6 minutes. It was finally nice and strong, and I felt a good jolt from it that morning. Not sure I’m a huge fan, but the Matevana stuff sure did its duty.

This is one of those teas that I find myself going back to the store to pick up more. Originally I was looking for a good morning tea that could compete with my usual cup of coffee habit I’d been trying to kick. This tea was definitely a good option.

The dry leaves smell so amazing. I could smell them all day. Mmmm chocolatey and rich.

Brewed this tea is dark and almost looks like it could be coffee. But it doesn’t taste like coffee – it’s much different. Chocolatey, nutty, and roasty. I am picking up on a hint of creaminess as well. Very nice all in all. I’m happy with this tea. I think it will be a staple of my tea stash for a a while.