Guayaki

So this is my first experience with drinking loose yerba mate in the traditional style with a mate gourd. I ordered one and a bombilla finally and seasoned the gourd with this tea. I figured I’d like this kind more than regular mate because it is unsmoked and has a more green flavor than most mate.

The flavor is really intense with a gourd full of leaves and a narrow canal down the edge filled with water. The flavor is really foresty and green. There are hints of evergreens trees. When this yerba really reaches its pinnacle and is brewed its strongest, it has an incredibly savory umami flavor like a vegetable broth, and it’s also a little salty. It has some natural bitterness too that is not very present if you brew this more like a regular tea with a small amount in a cup rather than in the traditional “gourd full o yerba” method.

The intense savoryness of this tea really reminds me of gyokuro prepared in the traditional method. I imagine gyokuro lovers would enjoy this. I have to admit, I’m not used to that intense savory flavor and I cringe a little when I drink it (same with gyokuro), but I’m also kind of intrigued by it and drawn to it, and continue to drink it… so I have a strange relationship with it… not something I’d really go for often, but something that works in the right mood.

I really want to try roasting some of this in a pan and drink it that way… kind of like home-made houjicha but with yerba mate. That would be fun.

Don’t be fooled by the cheap-looking teabag or reasonable price tag, this is an absolutely delicious on-the-go mate. I have to ration myself, otherwise I’d probably drink three or four bags a day, which wouldn’t be so bad as the caffeine has a very gentle curve. Wait, why exactly do I ration this?

In any case, expect a lot of rich and spicy notes along with a satisfying, though somewhat tame, yerba mate taste. This has an extremely full-bodied flavor, especially with a touch of cream—if I’m skipping breakfast, this is my go-to meal replacement tea.

This is weird. I don’t know what to think of it. I went the “mate latte” route, as described on the bag, by adding a tiny bit of sugar and cream. It’s currently 6:30 in the morning and I’m at work for overtime. I can’t keep my eyes open, so I figured now was a good time to bust open this bag.

It kind of reminds me of a pu-erh, which I’m not a big fan of. It has that smoky, earthy taste to it, but not fishy like most of the pu-erhs I’ve tried, so it does have that going for it. Maybe I’m just not used to pure, regular yerba mate. The only mate I’ve ever had has always been blended with other flavors, like cocoa, chocolate, or coffee. I’ll keep giving this a try. Don’t want to let a giant bag of tea go to waste.

I love mate. And I love drinking out of my gourd. Especially on chilly mornings :3

Using my gourd this morning! I love it :) the first few gourd-fulls are pretty strong but this is actually quite different than the regular yerba mate. It has a mellow flavor but has so much going on. It starts off kind of grassy but has almost a minty/pine flavor too. The finish is sweet with super light citrus notes. I almost like this better than the regular yerba mate. I want to go camping and take this and my gourd!

Full-flavored and roasty mate. Satisfying and nicely warming for this cold January day. Would be a good base for adding ‘dark’ complementary flavors like cocoa nibs/vanilla, if you’re about that as I sometimes am. I don’t think it’d work so well with citrus or other bright flavors. This would also be a great one to add to your coffeemaker if you’re looking for a coffee-mate blend. Decent also on its own.

Good for 1 or 2 solid re-brews.

I do like supporting Guayaki but I actually like Lupicia’s plain mate a bit better though I don’t know anything about their socio-economic sourcing.

Drinking this in my gourd this morning while doing housework. Yerba Mate is one of my great loves. There is nothing like a warm gourd amigo to help me get through my day. It makes my body feel light and airy, and hums around my feet and hands. Strange, I know, but this is the only way I can properly describe it.

Today I filled my gourd 1/6th of the way full. A tiny splash of cold charcoal-filtered spring water to awaken the leaves Added cooler water than what is usually prescribed on other websites, and ‘resteeped’ about six times. Tannins were lower than usual, and disappeared after the third gourd-full.
To me, this is the only way to drink mate :P Nothing else compares!

I love it! I can’t make it traditionally, but definitely the closes thing to coffee! Yum!

Liking this better than Republic of Tea’s version, Double Dark Chocolate Mate. One reason being that RoT’s version requires 2 bags and a splash of almond milk to get full enough flavor. Drank this one bare and it was decent… it has a brighter and well-orchestrated flavor profile. Got a sample packet without ingredients listed so it would be interesting to see how the ingredient lists of the 2 teas compare.

Would love to find a great chocolate mate, if it’s out there!

Pleasantly spiced with a mild chocolate edge. I agree with other comments about the sweetness — I’d rather not have it at all if stevia or other non-sugars are used.

A good alternative to traditional tea. It has an herbal flavor with a light bit of orange on top.

I like this tea with a slice of organic lemon.

Try this tea iced! On weekends when I don’t have time to make or drink a steamy hot cup, I use 2-3x the amount of loose leaf mate and some peppermint leaves/teabags (mainly Celestial Seasonings. Their mint has more punch than Twinning’s or Stash) in a quart sized mason jar, add cold water the night before, and in the morning, BAM! Delicious iced Yerba Mate with no tannins whatsoever! On my days off I just sip this out of my mate gourd with matching bombilla all damn day.

Dang, I was really disappointed here. The tea is VERY mild for Chai spices…can’t even taste the bitter bite of maté…oh well…definitely wouldn’t recommend this- the price is NOT worth the super mild taste. Going to try two teabags and less water but you know…it says to add milk for a chai latté but I’m lactose intolerant so does anyone know if almond milk works okay in tea?

My allergies are making me d-r-a-g my way through the day. I got out one of my favorites Yerba Maté Chocolatté! I am AWAKE!!! It always seems to have this effect and I wonder why I don’t drink everyday. I mean really!

Today I think this tea picked up a bit of mint that was in my last pot of my Breville. Oops! Of course, chocolate mint isn’t a bad thing.

I had a delicious cup of this before my husband and I went on a 4.7 mile hike with lots of ups and downs and twists and turns. I had the rest of this in a tumbler waiting for me in the car which might of helped me keep my speed up. ( 17 min. per mile) Yikes, my knees are sore! But I enjoyed this tea both before and after our walk.

Now what kind of tea should I drink for the knee pain?

I made a pitcher of this as a cold brew. Yummiest iced tea I’ve had in along time! It took a while to give me the expected boost but maybe it was because I was extra sleepy. We kept getting phone calls around 4:30 am. Wrong number! Of course, as a mother I really worry about a phone call in the middle of the night… Well after the first call, I didn’t have to worry about that. The person calling was hanging up before we could straighten out what number they thought the were calling. ANNOYING!
I brewed this up using 5 bags and 6 cups of water for 12 hours. Added a couple drops of Stevia.

As some of you know, I have been a Yerba Mate kick lately. It seems I can hardly get things done with out it. One nice thing is the tea is easily available at stores near me. No driving thirty miles and then being tempted to buy other teas. I made this a bit strong (3 bags in 16 oz.) today, steeped for ten minutes and added a little stevia and hazelnut flavoring. Oh my gosh! I’ve also done a resteep. Goodness gracious I feel like I’m 20 years old again, well, maybe 30? 40? 50? Have I finally found the Fountain of Youth? Should I perhaps bathe in it? With the hazelnut it makes a nice change from the other very good flavors that I enjoyed previously ( and still enjoy). I just thought a change would be fun… And it is!

I’m still loving this tea! The taste is almost as good as the energy it gives me. I have a Breville so I have to make a minimum of 2 cups. If I resteep I suddenly have 4 cups. OH MY! Today I vacuumed and steam cleaned all the carpets, washed all the tile and wood floors. Amazing how much energy I feel. Not bad for an old lady! I will definitely have to keep lots of this in my cupboard!

I actually had to go back to the kitchen and see what kind of tea I had in my mug. It is a very smooth cuppa with (for me) just the right balance of spices, yerba mate and a bit of chocolate. The chocolate is mild but together it is striking just the right note. I like the energy level of yerba mate for all the reasons others have already noted. The box said to steep for 5-10 min. I steeped of 6.5. I wonder what it is like if I try a longer steep? More chocolate-y? Guess I’ll have to add more to this note later.

I saw a recipe for lemonade terere recently, which is simply brewed mate, agave, and lemons. I must try this soon!

For today, I made a quick cup of this, straight, because I had to get up brutally early and didn’t have time to make anything nice out of it. It’s smoky and exotic, and it gets the job done caffeine wise, so that’s why I always seem to have a handful of these tea bags tucked into my enormous tea collection.

Ash Wednesday equals fast day for teaqueen. My friend who spent some time in South America once told me that maté helps with hunger, so naturally I reached for this this morning.

Nice and smoky and slightly vegetal. Woke me up and distracted me from thinking about food.

Yerba Maté for the win!

Made a pretty strong brew of this for late breakfast (love snow days) and it was pretty good with a splash of milk. I like how mate gives me a very gentle buzz rather than the up and down roller coaster buzz of coffee. This goes very well with a breakfast of buttered, toasted pound cake.