Main Squeeze

Dry, this totally smells like orange juice. I hope it doesn’t trigger my citrus allergy!
The taste is really weird! And so far it’s not weird in a cool sort of way, but more an odd sort of way. The first few sips were alkaline like in flavor… dry leaves. Kind of dirt like with a little orange on the end. I’m not much of a mate drinker, so I’m not super familiar with the taste. This has the flavor of orange juice without the kick that makes oj so juicy and mouthwatering. It’s okay I guess, but not something I’d buy and so far I’m not getting any mate kick from it which sucks because I desperately need a pick me up.

Second cup is a little better with some sugar, but still not something that is rocking my taste buds.

Smell after steeping: still very orangey, but this time with a foundation of other. Considering I’ve never had mate before, that could be it.

More details next time.

Had this iced and it’s pretty good. I brewed it hot and let it steep for a long time which caused the mate taste to come out a little stronger than I would have liked. My husband loved it, I thought it tasted a bit like a dirty orange rather than a nice, crisp orange flavor, but that’s probably my fault for oversteeping to ice.

I’ve had this in a cupboard (ok it’s really a giant overfilled drawer) for a while and I should’ve made it sooner! I thought it would have too much orange/citrus flavors but it doesn’t. I used the pitcher pack to make a nice big pitcher of tea and it’s really tasty. It has hints of pineapple and orange and just the right amount of tea bitterness.

I’m pretty excited to take advantage of David’s Tea summer $1 refills, though I hope there is more variety than two flavors. Today I tried the second flavor, Main Squeeze. (Made in store by David’s Tea professionals) it was a medium yellow/green when brewed, and had strong forward flavors of tropical fruits and pineapple. There is definitely a slight sour flavor or bitterness to the tea, though to be fair I take my tea without any sugar or honey. An earthy, almost hay-like tone underneath all the exciting fruit must come from the mate. It is a different hay-grass-like flavor than green tea, more earthy and musky than grassy greens. It’s definitely a minimal flavor (I’m nit-picking) but it was noticeable when trying back-to-back with something like David’s Tea mango flavors. I was glad for the high-caffeine in iced tea form, so thank you, mate! Overall this flavor is in the middle for me. It wasn’t mineral or heavy enough to satisfy my preferences for black teas with tannins and it wasn’t quite juicy or fruity enough to be a kick-ass herbal. Some fruit, some earth, and some caffeine. Not a bad $1 tea refill this summer, but I am still hoping they change them out to something new in July.

Welp, that was quite the transition from the vanilla orchid lol. I’ve never had a maté before (also just figured out how to type an accent aigu…this is an all around learning experience). This tea smell like orange Tang, both dry and steeped. This made me a bit apprehensive and I almost added sugar to begin with, but I’m glad I didn’t. I’m enjoying this much more than I thought I would! I don’t like orange juice (shhhh, don’t tell the other Floridians), although I do like eating oranges. This is a subtle enough orange flavor that it’s enjoyable and it’s also tempered a bit at the end by a sweeter general tropical fruitiness. That must be the pineapple and papaya, although I would not have been able to identify those flavors if I hadn’t read the ingredients. I bet this would be pretty good cold brewed too. All in all, I am enjoying this and definitely would not turn it down if offered but I am not sure I would buy it.

Thanks to Virginia for this sample! Left to my own devices, I probably wouldn’t have tried this tea and I would have missed out!

This one is from Janelle! thank you! I haven’t had a yerba mate lately, so here goes. I love that this has fruit in the blend, but the dry leaves kind of smell like that Davids tea with the gross walnuts. The flavor is better.. not like the walnuts, but then it has a taste that reminds me of the orange fluoride from elementary school. Not really fond memories of that flavor of orange! But it sweetens the yerba mate, which I like anyway. The second cup is stronger than the first. I like David’s Jungle Ju Ju better but after looking up the name, apparently that is guayusa and not yerba mate.
Steep #1 // 25 mins after boiling // 3-4 min
Steep #2 // 22 mins after boiling // 3-4 min

Not very pleasant. I found it very similar to Cold 911- but without the mint taste. I also didn’t detect much flavor.

Okay this one is good enough! The taste is lighter than I thought but I still liked it. It’s great for the morning.

Mmm…just what I needed to start my morning. Hints of orange and pineapple without being too overwhelming, and unlike orange juice has lots of caffeine :). For some reason I woke up extra groggy this morning, so hopefully the caffeine will kick in soon so I can get back to being good and productive (well, maybe).