Yerba Mate Latte

I WILL NOT get sick. Will not.Willnotwillnot. In the interest of not allowing myself to come down with the blorgie, I am drinking a lot of tea today. And of the samples I picked up the other day, this is one of only two that I like. The almond comes through really strongly, and I have tried this one with both water and vanilla almond milk (I think I like the water better, oddly.) If I get an espresso machine for Christmas I’ll be trying again with steamed milk, because I do think this’d make a divine latte. Why Starbucks hasn’t started pushing this blend as a tea latte, I don’t know… apart from them not having a partnership with RoT, I mean.
Anyway, a nutty, rich blend. Nothing like coffee… not going to substitute for coffee. Not sure what the latte in the name refers to, other than a good rhyme.

Needed something with a little meat on its bones this morning (0 degrees on the thermometer, -16 wind chill). This doesn’t seem strong or stout to me, but it is thick and rich, especially with a little condensed milk.

So I tried the Yerba Mate blend, which to my surprise was in tea bags, which isn’t really my style. This blend has Rooibos, cactus flowers, almonds, among other things. I waited to take a sip of the Yerba until I started driving as driving is one of the best ways to sip on some Mate. The first thing I noticed was the Vanilla flavor and its overall incredibly desserty smoothness to the drink.

I of course tried this drink in the morning and was taken aback by its nighttime smoothness and had some immediate nostalgia over last nights sleep. Republic of Tea markets this Yerba Mate blend as an all-night dance tea, but I feel like this should be a post-meal stay awake and talk near a fire drink. I enjoyed the drink immensely but will only be drinking this at night when I need to warm up and just chat.

A very nice drink, with a great look, and a great company behind it.

Having this at a local coffee shop and I must say this is quite tasty. Hints of vanilla. I would get a can of this for regular drinking.

Got this one in a tea exchange, and was pleasantly surprised by it. Mine is in looseleaf format, and brews up with more of a roasted mate flavour than any other note. When I latte it I find that it mellows out nicely, allowing the other notes to shine through. Just don’t add cinnamon to the milk, or all you’ll taste is that, the tea can’t counteract the spice for some reason.

Picked this up while visiting a lovely friend in Oklahoma!

My quest for the perfect morning tea is ongoing, but so far nothing’s beaten Monk’s Blend. This is not an exception. It’s…huh. To be honest, I think I might just need to brew more tea leaves, because I’m using one teaspoon per cup and it tastes pretty much like water with a slightly savory coffee aftertaste. I might try 2 teaspoons per cup, as per the suggestion of the person who used 2 tea bags per cup. In the meantime, though…I’ll be keeping it to wake myself up with the yerba mate, but I am not impressed.

Bought a tin of gasp tea bags at a local bagel shop (bags, because they did not have the loose leaf pf this blend). I don’t know how long these have been on the shelf, or whether I’m just way past tea bags now. I was really hoping to love this tea. Rather, it was flat, like a can of diet coke left on a hot deck midsummer (not that I drink much diet coke any more). I’m wondering if the loose leaf would be better. A girl can hope…

Didn’t expect to like this one as much as I do! Delicious!

Single cup, honey

Amount: 3 scoops tea for 1 mug (not full teapot)
Time: a little over 5:30 minutes

Served: Hot
Smell: Almond, coco
Flavor: bitter, light
Aftertaste: none

added 1 scoop german rock sugar: took away the bitter but left the tea unremarkable

Added Almond milk – no change to the sweetened tea

next time i want to try longer brewing, maybe some honey? or maybe less brew time.

I adore this tea.

Do yourself a favor, though, and buy the loose version of this if given a choice. The bagged version is flat. When I first bought this, I found it in a tiny tin, loose. The flavor was WONDERFUL. Vanilla, nutty, just the right start to an early morning. (I am NOT a morning person.)

When I couldn’t find that version, I purchased the bagged version from the same store. It just doesn’t have the same dimension. I feel like I am drinking it just to finish up the tin now, and I don’t like to do that. :(

Try their Vanilla Almond if you want something vanilla, nutty, and bagged.

When I first got this one it reminded me pretty strongly of Teavana’s Matevana, but I’m starting to think that ultimately Matevana has a bit more to offer, a fuller taste than this one. Which isn’t to say this is bad – it’s a perfectly good mate, and the added flavors do a good job of calming the intensity of the roasted yerba mate. I don’t think I’ll be buying this one again though.

Had this yesterday as my morning tea. It was the loose leaf version, and I REALLY liked it. Can’t remember how long I steeped it (probably either six or eight minutes) but with a dash of honey and almond milk, it tasted just like a hazelnut latte! It gave me a good energy boost too, without the jitters or seriously upset stomach that I get from coffee.

This tea has a mellow hint of cocoa. Being a strong lover of dark chocolate, I find adding a bit more honey than usual accentuates the flavor of the tea.

Reminded me of a Mocha/Latte, but watered down. Very aromatic, rich color, and pleasant taste, Good way to fool the coffee club that your in.

This has been one of my favorite speciality teas! It has a rich nutty/ chocolate flavor. Great with desserts.

Interesting. I can mostly taste the rooibos, which is a little disappointing because I don’t really like rooibos, but it isn’t too bad here. The aroma is chocolatey, and the taste is sweet and a bit like honey (the rooibos), nutty, with a little cocoa. It’s definitely unique and something that will be just the thing when I’m in the mood for it.

Tastes like most chocolate-style mates I’ve had so far. The specific flowers in this blend soften the flavor (which is the key to most “latte”-style teas, along with wonder that is vanilla). It’s nice to have what’s effectively a latte in taste without resorting to milk of any type, and nice to have a caffeinated herbal tea with this effect (you often find black tea blends of the latte kind, the “Creamy Earl Grey”s and suchlike).

This tea is very smooth. Probably the smoothest tea I’ve tried so far. It has a very mild chocolate flavor mixed with a very mild coffee flavor, blended together into perfect seamlessness. I drink this tea when I want something very smooth and with only a hint of chocolate. I don’t drink it too often because I prefer more dramatic teas, and especially chocolate-heavy teas. I don’t know if I’ll buy it again.

With a nod to the name, I decided to make a tea latte with this. I like my tea lattes delicately flavored, so i steeped only two tsp in half a mug of water before finishing with with steamed milk and a touch of honey. I really enjoyed the combination of vanilla, cocoa, and nuttiness, and found they had the added benefit of tasting well as the tea continued to cool. Looking forward to trying this with an extra scoop of tea, and with water alone.

This cup is advertised as a nutty and chocolate mate, but I thought the flavor was too light. I brewed two bags at once to really taste it. That makes this cup expensive. I will try the loose-leaf version to see if it’s better.