I am only giving 100 reviews so far and this is my second review. Gotu Kola at night and Yerba Mate in the morning and afternoon is about all I need to feel that all is right with the world. I love the taste of Guayaki Traditional Yerba Mate. I’ve tried the flavors and prefer the Traditional (yellow package) best of all. I tried the San Mateo version in the light green, which is just straight Yerba Mate from a different part of the world, and the taste is totally different. It’s acceptable, but I prefer the Traditional by far.
The energy and the mental clarity and overall good vibes this brew gives are really unbelievable. If you find yourself stressed out and often lethargic, considering the easiest way to kill yourself rather than go on with your daily drudgery, please consider Yerba Mate first (and Alvita’s Gotu Kola in the evenings). I’m really not exaggerating; it’s possible I’ve been clinically depressed most of my life. I’ve only ever self-medicated with drugs, booze, meditation and herbal remedies and never sought real treatment. As you may have guessed, the drugs and booze only made my problems worse in the long run, but over the past decade or so, I have found a few teas really work in turning your life around… and Guayaki Yerba Mate is one of them. BTW, I don’t advocate drugs or alcohol at all, but it seems to be a natural part of growing up for many of us. :-/ I’m over that.
Since this is a “tasting note” I want to reitterate that I love the taste of Guayaki’s Traditional Yerba Mate. It’s light and sweet and a little earthy. It’s got it’s own unique flavor with a slightly bitter aftertaste, but less bitter than most green tea. I suppose it would be good with some spearmint (Guayaki has many flavors to choose from), but I like it straight, Traditional flavor (yellow bag). And I often double-up on the bags or if I’m using the loose leaf, I sometimes add way more than I should, so I enjoy the taste even if I triple up on the mate/water ratio.
You can supposedly keep pouring water onto yerba mate and get more of the minerals, etc. out of it, but I rarely do that. Mate works either with regular or hot water, but it does not (and shouldn’t) be boiling, as that destroys the mate. Water does not need to be hot in order to infuse; you can drop some in a jar with water and shake it up, wait about 10 minutes and you have mate ready to drink.
