Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Yerba Maté
Where to Buy: Kally Tea
Tisane Description:
Organic unflavored Yerba Mate’. Our other Mate’ offerings are of a flavored variety. We felt that unflavored would be an excellent addition to our line.
Learn more about this tisane here.
Taster’s Review:
It’s been a while since I’ve had a pure, unflavored green Yerba Maté, so this Organic variety from Kally Tea is a welcome and inspired change from what I’ve been drinking. Not that I haven’t been enjoying what I’ve been drinking, but, sometimes it’s nice to change things up a bit.
I really don’t drink Yerba Maté all that often, maybe once every couple of weeks at the most, but that’s not because I don’t like it – I enjoy it. I suppose that the truth is that there are a lot of amazing teas and tisanes out there for me to try and … just not enough time (or bladder endurance) to drink them all!
This is a really nice green Yerba Maté. It tastes fresh and I can feel it begin to invigorate me as I sip it … I was a little sleepy before I prepared this cup of tea, and now, I can feel my eyes opening and my body feeling energized and ready to go! Yerba Maté always has this affect on me. It’s got that eye-opening ability that coffee has, but without the nauseating feeling that I get a few hours after I drink a cup of coffee. I get the best of both worlds with Yerba Maté.
And this organic green Yerba Maté from Kally Tea has a really nice flavor too. Sweet, vegetative, and earthy … but, unlike some Yerba Maté that I’ve tried, it doesn’t taste too earthy or vegetal. It has a smooth, delicious flavor. I don’t know if the difference here is that this is an organic offering or what the difference is, but I like what I’m tasting with this one.
Another awesome offering from Kally Tea’s new organic teas!
Enchanted Forest Blend from ESP Emporium
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green Tea & Yerba Mate
Where to Buy: ESP Emporium
Tea Description:
This blend of mellow Sencha and spicy, green mate is a real surprise. Richly decorated, it captivates not only with its striking look, but also develops a completely new and aromatic taste. The tempting aroma of Black Forest Cherry cakes, refined with a little sweetness and attractively decorated, make this blend a much sought-after specialty. An exceptional creation which proves that tea always has something new to offer.
Learn more about this blend here.
Taster’s Review:
This Enchanted Forest Blend from ESP Emporium is a tasty blend, but, even though I’m not hating what I’m tasting … I’m a little disappointed. The description suggests “Black Forest Cherry Cake” and I’m not getting that from the aroma or the taste.
What I do taste is a sweet, vegetative green tea, and the earthy notes of yerba mate. It has a refreshing taste to it and I can definitely feel the invigorating effects of the yerba mate. It has a fresh, crisp flavor, and I taste very subtle hints of floral tones. It is a pleasantly sweet, vegetative cup with a light brothy texture.
But, if I’m supposed to be tasting cake-y flavors, well, I’m not. No black forest, no cherry, no chocolate, no cake. And there’s nothing in this blend that even suggests at these flavors except for a vague, indistinct tart note that could be very faint insinuation of sour cherry flavor. But even that note is something that is so barely there that doesn’t even seem worth mentioning.
So, I was hoping for a chocolate-y, cherry Black Forest cake dessert-y type tea blend … but what I got was a blend of earthy yerba mate and refreshing Sencha. Tasty, yes … but not something I’d recommend to others.
Mate Chai from Chico Chai
Chai Information:
Leaf Type: Yerba Mate
Where to Buy: Chico Chai
Chai Description:
Organic Yerba Mate is blended with fresh-ground spices to create a unique spicy tea.
Blended in small batches, by hand in Chico, California. Only Organic Ingredients and Fair Trade Organic teas are used to make Chico Chai.
Learn more about this chai blend here.
Taster’s Review:
After having such a positive experience with Chico Chai’s Strong Brew Concentrate, I really looked forward to trying some of their loose leaf offerings. Fortunately, the good people at Chico Chai sent me a “Chico Chai Sampler,” and let me just say I love this little box! It’s a small box that is just big enough to fit four small tins of tea – one of each of the chai blends that Chico Chai offers. This is an awesome way to sample each of the loose leaf chai blends from them. Everything is packaged beautifully … this is the kind of thing that I love getting in the mail! And it would make an excellent gift for the chai lover on your gift giving list, too.
The first of the loose leaf chai blends that I decided to try was the Mate Chai from Chico Chai, mostly because I really needed that vigorous SHAKE awake that Yerba Mate provides. I have been feeling sluggish today, like I could easily go back to bed and sleep another couple of hours, but, I’ve got stuff to do! I can’t nap the day away.
So, it’s Yerba Mate to the rescue!
This has a delightfully spicy fragrance, and what I like best about the aroma of this chai is that no one spice stands out amongst the others in this blend. I smell notes of all the components, and it smells like a mouth-watering medley of warm spice that evokes thoughts of chilly autumn days (they’re coming! they’re coming!)
I brewed the tea strong (using a little extra leaf) in near boiling water – I find that when I use boiling water for Yerba Mate, it results in a slightly bitter tasting mate. Drop the temperature to 195°F and you can brew this herb for ten minutes (or even longer) and I don’t taste any bitterness! I brewed it extra strong because I wanted a latte.
But, I did try it first without the “latte” … and while it was strong … it is a very flavorful chai! Lots of peppery spice … this chai is not for the weak! If you tend to cower at the idea of spicy heat … this chai is too much for you … but for those of you who like your chai to bite you when you take a sip … this is one you need to try!
As a latte, the spices are softened somewhat … that is, they aren’t quite as edgy as they were when I tried it straight up. But, there is still plenty of heat from this chai when served with a splash of warmed milk. The ginger and pepper are prominent, and I can feel their warmth develop at the back of my tongue and radiate to the top of my throat. It warms me so wonderfully … this is just what I need on a chilly day like today!
I like that while this chai seems to focus on the ginger and pepper, I can also taste the cinnamon, cardamom and the nutmeg. It’s sweet and spicy and earthy … and with the addition of the milk, it’s so nice and creamy too! It tastes really good served warm but it’s also delicious as it cools. (An iced chai latte, anyone?)
And the Yerba Mate did in fact help energize and WAKE me up! This chai gets two enthusiastic thumbs up from me.
Mátejuana Tisane from Townshend’s Tea Company
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Yerba Mate & Lapacho
Where to Buy: Townshend’s Tea Company
Tisane Description:
Drink a whole pot of this máte, lapacho and kava root concoction and it may leave you feeling slightly altered.
Learn more about this blend here.
Taster’s Review:
OK, OK, I admit it … the name of this Mátejuana Tisane from Townshend’s Tea Company is what lured me to order it. My curiosity got the better of me.
Fortunately, the dry leaf nor the brewed tisane smell like what the name of the tisane suggests it might smell like. The dry leaf has an earthy scent, with a hint of mint which kind of surprised me. The brewed tisane smells earthy and slightly vegetative.
This is actually really tasty. I taste the earthiness of the Yerba Mate, but I like that it’s not overly earthy. There is a sweetness to this and a warm spice note that is vaguely reminiscent of a cross between ginger and cinnamon. It has the peppery quality of ginger and a hint of warm, sweet cinnamon. It’s not an overpowering spice note; instead it’s quite subtle and it’s a flavor that keeps the taste buds intrigued by what they’re experiencing.
I’m not particularly fond of Kava root, but, I’m finding the flavor not quite so discernible here. I do taste that slight … grassiness from it, but it melds well with the spices to give it more of a herbaceous taste rather than a bitter grass tone.
Overall, I found this tisane to be rather enjoyable. It tastes better served hot/warm rather than iced … although I didn’t mind the iced tisane either. I don’t know if it “altered” me or not … but, I liked what I drank, anyway!
Inscape: A NOS4A2 Inspired Yerba Mate Blend from 52Teas
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Yerba Mate
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tisane Description:
But I suppose you want to know about the tea this week. Inscape is my attempt at an artistic interpretation of Joe Hill’s novel. It is dark and mysterious with a roasted South American yerba mate base blended with almond slivers, marshmallow root, licorice root and a touch of peppermint. It is largely flavored with organic marshmallow and maple flavors and the cup tastes mostly like a rich vanilla/maple mate with a whisper of licorice and peppermint–like the ghost of Christmas, unexpected and strangely haunting. This is MY inscape, my re-imagining of Joe Hill’s novel manifested in reality and poured out for you. I hope you like it.
Learn more about this tisane here.
Taster’s Review:
I’ve been drinking this Inscape: A NOS4A2 Inspired Yerba Mate Blend from 52Teas for a couple of days now, but this is the first time that I’ve taken the time to sit down and actually write a review about it. I enjoyed it so much that I didn’t even think about writing about the tisane until it was gone! Ha! And since I like to be sipping on the tea/tisane as I’m writing the review so that I can provide as accurate a review on what I’m tasting as possible, I found myself saying a few times … “well, I guess I’ll just have to wait until I brew it again.”
I have not read any of Joe Hill’s books (sorry, Mr. Hill, if you’re reading this), but, I am really enjoying this tisane so much that it is making me curious about reading NOS4A2 to see how the book stands up to the tisane that inspired it.
Generally speaking, Yerba Mate is not my favorite tisane base … but I don’t hate the stuff the way I once did. There was a time when I found it way too earthy for my liking … but, now, I don’t mind it so much. I also think that it may have had something to do with the actual Yerba Mate I was drinking, perhaps the brand was just not a very good one. But this … this is really nice. It tastes earthy and roasted … and this particular blend … almost tastes like a flavored coffee but with less bitterness than a typical cup of java.
The maple is what won me over with this particular blend – it is so yummy and maple-y and just … GOOD. It’s like that first taste of real maple syrup after drizzling the syrup over a stack of pancakes … you know that little drop that remains on the lip of the bottle? You’ve gotta wipe that off with your finger and taste it, right? That delicious, maple-y goodness is what I experience with every sip of this tisane.
Then I notice the creamy vanilla tones – it’s light and fluffy tasting, like marshmallow cream. In the background, I notice hints of licorice. And there is a nuttiness to this as well, and I don’t know if I’m getting that from the actual almond slivers or if it’s from the Yerba Mate. It’s not a distinct almond-esque flavor, it’s just a sweet, nutty taste that really elevates the soft, marshmallow-y vanilla notes.
Surprisingly, I don’t notice a whole lot of the peppermint. What I do notice a sort of clean … crispness right up front, but it isn’t a distinguished minty taste. Toward the finish, I start to pick up more of the peppermint tones, and the aftertaste as a faint, mysterious hint of peppermint. This surprises me because peppermint does tend to be a rather aggressive herb in blends, and often overpowers everything else. But that didn’t happen here – this is very skillfully blended with just the right amount of peppermint that leaves the taster thinking: “what was that?” Like the way a faint breeze feels when you’re walking through some spooky woods as night falls, and it tickles across your back and it’s just enough of something to make you wonder if the woods are haunted and you just had an encounter with a ghost. But … it’s a lot less freaky and a whole lot more tasty!
I like this a lot. I like it so much that I just visited the 52Teas website with the intention of re-ordering some … but it appears it’s sold out. Hopefully it will be re-blended!