Fresa Guayusa from Fava Tea Company. . . .

Guayusa is a non-traditional type of tea, like mate.  Both guayusa and mate come from a type of holly bush and not the traditional tea plant.  While technically herbal teas, guayusa and mate both pack a big punch of caffeine so brew this tea when you’re looking to get hyped.

Fresa Guayusa from Fava Tea Company adds sweet strawberries to the guayusa base.  I think this is a great combination for tea. I find mate and guayusa to be a bit too plain on their own.  They have a pleasant dry grass scent and flavor, like standing in a field at the end of the summer with everything feeling fresh but a bit dry and toasty.  But after a whole cup of this flavor, I find myself wanting a little something else.

Adding strawberries makes this bright and happy, with natural pink fruitiness it livens up the blend.  Besides, if you’re reaching for a blend with as much caffeine as this guayusa has, you could probably use a little perky sweetness in your cup too.

This would be a great iced tea to kick off hot summer days, or a nice alternative to black tea on an afternoon where you need something sweet and highly caffeinated to get you going.


Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type: Guayusa
Where to Buy: Fava Tea
Description:

This tea has been shown to reduce physical and mental stress allowing for stronger mental strength and courage.

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!

Jungle Ju Ju Guayusa from DAVIDsTEA

junglejujuTea Information:

Leaf Type:  Guayusa

Where to Buy: DAVIDsTEA

Tea Description:

Head for the Ju Ju Jungle, made with a guayusa herb and fruit blend that’ll make you feel like swinging from the vines and hanging from the trees. No wonder. Guayusa contains a combo of the natural stimulants also found in green tea and dark chocolate. People claim it protects you against snake bites, gives you courage, and helps you spiritually connect to nature. With its smooth flavour and natural buzz, we’ll just say it makes for a deliciously stimulating cup of tea.

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

Uh-oh.

So I picked up some of this a couple weeks ago ’cause I had sipped down Main Squeeze (also from DT), which has been a cupboard staple of mine for daily use a little over a year now, and I wanted to switch things up a little bit because drinking too much of the same thing can definitely get boring or begin to feel too routine. Well, I think I may have spent a year missing out because this was really, really good.

Overall I tend to prefer guayusa over mate; I like the wet, mossy, earthy flavour of guayusa a lot because it makes me think of petrichor so this tea already had that edge over Main Squeeze; dry it smells very fresh with a more raw, unrefined peach flavour. It’s not a soft, creamy peach: it’s peach fresh from the orchard with the skin and a bit of dirt. The papaya comes through in the scent as well, but it’s definitely not the focus despite the surplus of very large candied papaya pieces in the leaf.

And the taste was awesome; the guayusa was everything I could have asked it to be and the peach I got to experience in the dry smell translated perfectly into the taste. The papaya is stronger in the taste as well, and adds this lovely roundness to the flavour that highlights the peach, petrichor, and plush earthy notes as well as a tropical and exotic kind of vibe. And it tastes so fresh; it’s weird that it tastes both tropical and like it could’ve come fresh from a local orchard.

It’s sweet enough that I can’t ever see why you’d add anything to it but it’s still got a mellowness to it too. The mouthfeel was very full as well. I’m totally picturing myself drinking this on the walk to work and I think that’s an A+ idea. Really, I have zero complaints about this one other than my own idiocy for drinking it at 6PM and now being way too wide awake.

This could easily, and I predict will easily, make its way into my cupboard staples so long as it proves to provide a consistent brew. It’s not one of the fanciest/highest quality teas I own – but for every day drinking and that extra caffeine boost before going to work I think it’s perfect! Plus, it’s a totally fun summer kind of flavour!

Product Review: Lime Zero Unsweetened Guayusa from Runa

LimeZeroProduct Information:

Step into the limelight – experience bright and refreshing flavor with zero calories.

Learn more about this product here.

Taster’s Review:

I don’t often buy RTD teas/tisanes.  But usually when I’m in the supermarket, I do look over the varieties of teas and tisanes that are available in the ready to drink section.

My biggest issue with RTD teas/tisanes is that they’re usually so loaded with some type of sweetener and often more than one type of sweetener that I can’t taste the tea.  Then it begs the question for me – what’s the difference between this and a soda?  Nothing really, except that the soda has bubbles.  So really, the sweetener has changed the tea into a soda that is more expensive than the typical commercial soda … an expensive soda without bubbles.

So, last week when I was in Chuck’s Produce, this ready to drink Guayusa caught my attention.

The first thing that caught my attention was the price.  It was a featured item that was priced competitively ($ .99 for a bottle, not bad.)  The second thing that caught my attention was the word unsweetened on the top of the label.  This isn’t zero calories because it’s made with stevia or an artificial sweetener that will make me feel queasy.  This has zero calories because there is NO SWEETENER in it at all.

In fact, here is the ingredient list:

INGREDIENTS:

Brewed organic guayusa (purified water and organic guayusa leaves**), organic lime juice concentrate, organic lime extract, natural flavors, Vitamin C (ascorbic acid).

Now that’s my kind of ingredient list.  OK, I’d like a little more details on what the “natural flavors” are, but, I like that this is has no sugar, no cane syrup, no corn syrup, no stevia, no aspartame, no saccharine, no nothing to make this taste like some sticky, sickeningly sweet, syrupy soda without bubbles.

And what I’m tasting is lime and Guayusa.  The Guayusa has that smooth, slightly earthy and coffee-esque taste that I’ve come to recognize as Guayusa.  The lime is strong in this, but it tastes like real lime juice.  It’s bright and refreshing.  The drink is cool and energizing and it feels clean on the palate, not heavy or inundated with too much sweetener.

I’m really happy that there are some companies out there who are willing to celebrate the flavor of the leaf – even if the leaf in this instance happens to be the leaf of Guayusa and not Camellia Sinensis – my point is that this is the way RTD teas/tisanes should be.  They should be about the leaf and not the sugar!

Lime Cola Guayusa from Bluebird Tea Co.

lime_cola_guayusaTisane Information:

Leaf Type:  Guayusa

Where to Buy:  Bluebird Tea Co.

Tisane Description:

Energy boosting Guayusa tea is blended with cola nut and linden leaves in this lime and cola flavoured tea blend. Guayusa is another one of those Amazonian energy charged super plants and Linden leaves (Lime) has been used for centuries to treat colds, fevers and inflamation.

Learn more about this blend here.

Taster’s Review:

It’s been a while since I’ve had a guayusa tisane, so when I saw that Bluebird Tea Co. had this Lime Cola Guayusa, I knew it was something that I just had to try!

Guayusa is an herb that has a high caffeine content, so it’s one of those tisanes that you should consume earlier in the day so that you’re not overstimulated as the day comes to an end.  I find that after I’ve consumed a cup of Guayusa, I’m much more alert and energized!

This is a tasty blend.  I don’t know if I’m getting a true “Lime Cola” taste out of this, but it does taste good.  Guayusa tends to have a slightly coffee-esque taste to it, but its smoother and not bitter the way a cup of joe tends to be.  And I do get that thinned coffee taste from the Guayusa here.

Then I taste lime!  It’s a bright, uplifting flavor that elevates the cup.  I taste the citrus notes throughout the sip and well into the aftertaste where I’m getting a little tarty tingle on the tongue.

I do get a slight cola-like flavor and this is especially noticeable as the drink cools.  While the drink is hot, though, I could barely taste any cola notes at all.  This definitely tastes better chilled!

Even though I didn’t get as much “Lime Cola” taste as I thought I would based on the name of this tisane, I did really enjoy this.  I found it tasty and of course, invigorating!  A really tasty blend!

Winter Fire Guayusa Blend from Butiki Teas

winter fire guayusaTea Information:

Leaf Type:  Guayusa

Where to Buy:  Butiki Teas

Tea Description:

Spice things up with our Winter Fire guayusa. We started out with a generous amount of cinnamon then ground up some whole chilies and added a touch of cayenne to our guayusa base. The result is a cinnamon flavor that packs some heat with a smooth molasses undertone. This guayusa works well without sugar; however, add a little sugar for a flavor that resembles red hot candy. 

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

Wow!  This Winter Fire Guayusa Blend from Butiki Teas has got some SERIOUS kick to it!  I doubt anyone could accuse this tisane of wimping out – it brings the heat, and then turns it up … way up!  If this winter weather has left you feeling cold, just brew yourself a cup of this tisane and it will warm you right up!

But, as the description suggests, there is a smooth molasses undertone to it too.  Once your palate gets past that striking heat, there are some really delightful flavors to explore.

The fiery heat from the cayenne, chilies and cinnamon sort of mask the coffee-ish flavors of the guayusa at first, but as I continue to sip on this, I start to notice those coffee notes.  There is a sweet, molasses-like flavor to the cup as well.

The prominent flavors are – quite obviously – the spices of this tisane.  It’s a little jarring at first, just how spicy this is, but, once your mouth begins to get used to the heat, you’ll find you’re able to explore the other notes and you’ll find that there’s more to this than just the spice.

Those who can’t handle spicy-hot … this is not a tisane for you.  This is for those who like it hot!