Main Squeeze

Smells and tastes just like Sunny D lol. It’s really good! I’m pretty sensitive to caffeine but this didn’t bother me at all. I drank it in the afternoon before work and felt alert but not jittery. No headache or crash later in the evening either. I slept good. Mate is a magical!

It’s that time of year again. Work really picks up from the end of November right through to February now, pretty much, and then there’s Christmas and all the associated hoo-ha that comes along with, and this year I’m also half-way through buying a flat. So I’m tired, and stressed, and a bit grumpy right now. And I have to do reception this morning as well as my own work (try concentrating when you’re being interrupted every ten fucking seconds), so that’s already put me in a fairly disgusting mood and today’s work day is only 10 minutes old.

Mate is what I usually turn to from mid-December until the Christmas break starts on the 23rd. I’m looking forward to having 10 days off more than it’s possible to communicate in words. I plan to sleep a lot, and be at least a little bit selfish. Until then, I’ve got this. I used 1 tsp of leaf for my cup, and gave it 4 minutes in boiling water.

It’s good. Maybe the best mate blend I’ve tried in a while. I like the freshness of the orange. It’s juicy and fruity and walks the perfect line between sweet and sharp. There’s also a hint of papaya, and just a touch of pineapple, but it’s mostly orange. Like orange juice orange. Orange perfection. The mate is a little earthy, but it works, somehow, and I’m really appreciating the energy boost. On the whole? A really good ’un. Love this.

I was a little disappointed that this wasn’t more orange juice like in flavor as some of the reviews promised. But, I really enjoyed the light citrus and cream notes I did get.

So long, Main Squeeze. I’ll have to get more of you since you’re so nice to wake up with.

This tea has a bitter, tangy orange & tropical fruit taste. It’s intense. Drinking it iced helps a lot to cut back on the bitterness. I bought it while I was on a maté kick (more caffeine the better!!!! was my reasoning).
I recommend adding this to an iced tea mixture to give it a zing. I don’t personally like it as the main attraction, but it helps as part of an ensemble.

Mint note and smokey note present. There is a soft sweetness but it is just a little bit too sickly sweet for my liking. I can detect what seems to be authentic zesty citrus zing which is quite pleasant.

Tastes fruity and the mate is tolerable. Not a fan, but it was drinkable. Tried it iced.

This tea was a nice surprise. It smells just like orange juice, when dry and steeped. I love that this is a stimulant, its a nice change to having to drink black teas for a pick me up. I only had a 5g sample of this, but it did not disappoint. This is one I would add to my tea stock. Just like orange juice for breakfast without the acidic-ness. Would be great as iced tea as well.

I had a sample of this and thought I’d polish it off today before heading out of town for the holidays. It smells great, but since I’m not a big fan of yerba mate, this was kinda wasted on me – the medicinal herbiness of the base kept poking me in the eye, disrupting the other tropical flavours.

I’ve only tried this tea hot so far, and it did not really impress. Tasted like lapsang souchong with a hint of citrus flavor. I am not a big fan of smokey teas and so wasn’t a big fan of this one. I know I have liked matés in the past, but in this blend it was strange. Will try it iced and see if it is any better, but I don’t recommend it hot.

My 300th tasting note! Geez, I can’t believe I wrote so many (though I know most of you have me WAY beat) or drank so much tea!

This came as a sample from David’s. Dry, it smells like pure dreamsicle, just heavenly. But once you steep it, the flavor of the mate pretty much takes over. I still pick up on some orange notes, but the mate has this murky taste that dulls everything else. It’s not unpleasant, but I wish it tasted like it smelled.