Samurai Chai Maté

Thanks to Michelle for sending this along.

I actually drank this a couple days ago, while working on an assignment for school. I really needed some caffeine, and knowing tea might not be quite enough, I thought about coffee. Now, I have nothing against coffee, but I’ve really tried to cut back on it when I can and drink tea instead. Also, I didn’t want to support Starbucks if I could help it ;) .. And then I remembered I had this tea. Yerba Mate is known to contain LOTS of caffeine, and since I needed a “fix” I figured this was the perfect time to try it.

Since I knew Yerba Mate wouldn’t need to expand, I put this is a tea filter, boiled some water, and let it steep while working on my assignment. Not sure how long I brewed it for – at least 6 minutes.. maybe closer to 8? It was not bad at all. I agree with the other reviewers that it tastes a lot like Big Red gum, since the cinnamon is so strong. It’s definitely not a bad tea, and was tasty enough to drink the whole thing.

I general, I plan to limit my Yerba Mate intake since I don’t want to have caffeine overload. In general, I don’t like to “need” it to get through my day. But there are definitely dragging days. I wonder how this compares to the Mate Vana, the other mate tea Teavana sells..

This is a really attractive blend with a nice balance of shapes and variety of color. Picture a drinkable potpourri.

This is all about subtlety. The fragrance is a light citrus with a hint of cinnamon. Brewed, this is only slightly warm from the Indian spices and has a faint licorice aftertaste from the anise adding just a bit of sweetness.

One point where subtlety gets thrown out the door, however, is in the power of the Maté. Mistakenly, I drank this too close to bedtime and didn’t sleep that night. This is a morning only beverage.

I received a free sample of this and was not excited about it as this isn’t one I liked the sample of in the store but, when I made it at home it was pretty good.
At least it wasn’t as bad as I remembered it.
more notes to come

My husband treated me to a couple samples of Teavana, so we’re enjoying this tea tonight and the Earl Grey tomorrow morning.

It was Jake’s first visit to a Teavana, but after watching what happened with my mom and reading some of the stories here we were prepared. We left the cards at home and only took the cash with us that we intended to spend. We were very up front about a $10 budget for tea samples, and it was so funny to watch the shop girl get more and more frustrated as she tried to push the $16/2oz teas!

But moving on to the actual review ;)

For the preparation, I used about two tablespoons of tea and two tablespoons of Sugar in the Raw in a 2-cup teapot, then a nice dash of milk once I’d poured the tea into our mugs.

From the start I was surprised at how mild it is – not exactly the fierce warrior brew I’d expect based on the title. Although my tongue does tingle slightly, it’s not exactly a kick in the mouth. The cinnamon overwhelms most of the other flavors, and I can’t really pick out the fruity elements. I can understand why other people have described it as tasting like Big Red. It’s actually kind of true.

I also can’t detect the mate element. I didn’t realize it was a mate when we bought it – there was absolutely no vegetal smell – and I was worried about it when we got home. Luckily (for me at least, because I have yet to enjoy a good mate experience) the taste is not present at all.

Sipping this, I can easily picture myself putting together the elements of a new story but I’m not exactly ready to strap on a cuirass and go to war!

One of my friends just sprung some tea samples on me. She brought this mate to breakfast with her and I was very glad she did so. I had it hot, plain, and kept the tea ball in there the entire time I was drinking so it got stronger as I was drinking.

It was interesting. I think I was tasting the roobios prominently in this blend along with the cinnamon. It spicy. I didn’t really taste any of the other fruit that was supposed to be in there though.

It was tasty and I would have a cup if it was offered to me, but I don’t think that I would run out and get a tin of this for myself.

I bought this from their latest sale, because I love Chai/Chai blend, which is this plus White Ayurvedic Chai (in what proportion, one can only wonder). I have the WAC and thought it was weak on it’s own, so if I don’t like this on it’s own either, I could always blend them.

The aroma of the brewed tea is of cinnamon and other spices blending in. First sip is cinnamon and a fruity tone. Yep, I’m getting the pineapple mostly but the other flavors are melding in. Since I like pineapple (mmmmm, pineapple upside down cake) and cinnamon, I’m finding this very good. Little too much ginger for my (sensitive) tastes, but that isn’t a fair criticism imo. Overall it is sweet (added tbs. of honey, but think it would be sweet anyway). Aftertaste is back to the pineapple and cinnamon. Haven’t tasted (green) mate on it’s own, so not sure how it’s playing in here, but not noticing much beyond the fruit and spices.

Will see if this perks me up tonight (groggy)… tgif!

Thanks The DJ Booth for this sample :-) This is pretty good. Its strangely sweet though which was surprising. I agree with one of the other reviewers it almost has a cinnamon gum taste to it. The dry leaf and steeped leaf smell delicious but I feel like the taste doesnt match up. But still a decent mate blend.

4 tsp. @ 208º for 7 minutes in 20oz. teapot. This is my favorite tea from Teavana. It is sweet, complex, nicely spiced, and very soothing. Today it is fueling my paper writing.

Oh how I have missed this tea. Its spicy goodness prepares me for winter. The ultimate wintery treat.

Steep Information:
Amount: 5 tsp
Additives: none
Water: filtered, boiling, 1 cast iron teapot full
Tool: Cast Iron Teapot with Mesh basket strainer
Steep Time: a little over 6 minutes
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell:
MilitiaJim: It smells kinda like Jaegermeister. Very medicinal.
AmazonV: Peppers, cardamon, cinnamon.
Steeped Tea Smell:
MilitiaJim: It still smells medicinal.
AmazonV: Peppers, cardamon, cinnamon.
Flavor:
MilitiaJim: vaguely spicy
AmazonV: Sweet, orange, clove, cinnamon
Body: Full
Aftertaste: spicy
Liquor: cloudy orange-green-yellow

The taste reminded me of the holidays. We drank it as tea and did not make it as proper chai.

Post-Steep Additives: MilitiaJim added 1 tsp German rock sugar -“better now, sweet and spicy.”

Resteep: 7 min – weak, watery, cinnamon clove water with a hint of citrus – dumping it.

images: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/03/teavana-loose-leaf-mate-tea-samurai.html