MateVana

Drank this last night. I wasn’t sure what I thought while drinking the first cup, but I resteeped, and the second cup was delicious. Got a total of 4 steepings, and probably could have gotten a 5th – 2nd & 3rd were definitely my favorites. I couldn’t imagine drinking this all day every day like I do green teas, but it is a very nice morning drink.

TeaEqualsBliss hit this on the head for me when she said “Chocolatey-cigar type” that’s exactly what it reminds me of and it does have a slight milky/creamy taste to it. Not my cup of tea, but the quality seems to be good so if this taste strikes your fancy then this would probably be good to try out.

My boyfriend made me some of this to fight away afternoon grogginess. It perked me up almost immediately. Placebo effect? Probably, but this is still good tea.

Maté-vana is a my compromise between coffee and tea. I tried it more than a year ago as a stand-alone tea and liked the chocolate and earthy undertones. I recently re-purchased it and decided to try it the traditional way with the Cuia Gourd and Bombilla straw, and it’s taken the drink to a new level. The floral/grassy notes of the yerba are enjoyable and complement the initial wave of chocolate as you sip. It has the caffeine equivalent of coffee, but more of a nutrient boost.
Best experienced with the gourd and metal straw if you’re feeling adventurous. The only thing to remember about the gourd is to take the time to “cure” it first by pouring boiling water into the vessel with a generous amount of the maté and scraping the inner peeling of the wall to eliminate the excess “skin.” If not cured in advance, you’ll experience a bitter taste immediately. Once cured, the gourd absorbs the maté flavor and no longer interferes. Others have even discussed adding fresh citrus peelings or a preferred brand of rum to the gourd during the curing process to have those flavors infused into future servings of the tea.

Blended with a rooibos chai also from Teavana and a bit of milk. Still new to making chai so the tea to milk ratio isn’t perfect yet. This cup was okay but I prefer masala chai.

One of my all time favorites. I go through 8 oz. in no time flat.

Finally tried this tea yesterday! It was good, but a little too close to coffee for my taste. To be honest, when I tasted it straight up it reminded me of Celestial Seasonings Morning Thunder. I had the guy add sugar and milk and that helped. Wasn’t sure what to expect as far as the effect of mate, but this left me feeling like I needed some good strong black tea, LOL! Got home, had some earl grey and felt much better :) Oh well, glad I got to try it- it’s all about the experience!

a lighter my morning mate

I picked this up in Teavana’s Heavenly Sale for fantastically cheap. The minute I opened the package I just went “Yep, this is a Teavana tea alright.” It probably had something to do with the overwhelming smell of Cocoa Puffs and everything-but-the-kitchen-sink approach to the blend. Snarking aside, it’s not bad at all. The sweetness isn’t nearly as overpowering once brewed, so it’s quite drinkable. The cocoa does overpower the delicate flowers, of course. I’m not sure why they’re even in a cocoa-mate blend except to make the dry leaf more colorful. Halfway through the cup I added a splash of cream, which complemented the mate and cocoa nicely.

Overall, not bad for a morning cuppa if not a little heavy-handed and clumsy. Recommended to chocolate tea lovers and sweet-tooths (sweet-teeth?) who want to give up coffee.

This tea grew on me. At first, I wished to return though I decided to finish all the of 50g because of the health benefits of mate tea. After some days, I began craving this tea and really enjoyed it in the end. Mate tea has the same amount of caffeine as coffee so be careful. I drank three cups one day and I could not sleep that night. So mate tea is excellent in mornings to wake one up.