Toasted Mate

This is my first mate. (I was a mate virgin!) Honestly, I’m not impressed. Mate is very fine in its loose form. I use tea filter bags over an infuser and I’m glad I do because using an infuser with mate would be a big ol’ mess.
On to the taste. Weird. (Wow, so descriptive.) Nutty, toasted. But smooth. A good basic tea base. It reminds me of something and I can’t put my finger on what, but the taste is very familiar. Hearty and woodsy. The aftertaste is nutty, almost like coffee. Maybe it reminds me of weak coffee? There is a sweet smell to it as well…weak but sweet coffee, that’s what I bid. Kind of like free coffee you get while waiting for a service: car repair, real estate, insurance.
I got this as a sample and I don’t think I’d buy it again. No offense, maybe it’s my mate ignorance, but I don’t drink tea just to drink tea. I enjoy the flavors, the aroma, the experience. This one just didn’t thrill me.

my boyfriend really likes maté. so basically in my mind i designate all maté as his. if i open a new bag and put it in a canister, i point out “your maté is here” so i can feel sure he will enjoy it.
the result is that all of my maté is tasted from his cup. haha (can i have a sip?) (can i have another sip?) (could i have one more sip?)
but it also means he uses and enjoys all my tea accessories, which i think would be lost on him otherwise.
this is a nice maté! i’ve never had a plain one before. so i feel extra glad that TastyBrew sent me some. honestly i like it much more than i thought i would. it’s a unique flavor. definitely the toasted-ness makes it extra warming.
and not that he’s a tough sell, but the boy seems to like it too!

Funny story; I swapped a few teas with Meghann M for some of Adagio’s new mate samples. The next day, I received an order from Adagio (a tasting set) and suddenly remembered that I’d been promised the mate sampler with my next order, after making a comment on Facebook about missing out on that deal. (Tea companies are truly awesome sometimes, don’t you think?)

Well, maybe not so much funny as boring. Anyway. I now have far more mate than anyone should.

This is definitely a new experience for me. I’ve been curious about mate for some time, but I hadn’t any idea what it would taste like. I’m having trouble putting it into words at the moment. Just… toasty. And earthy. And good, but not mind-blowing.

On it’s own this is pretty gross. I think I’ll have to try it mixed with some vanilla comoro or a tea like that to get past the taste of this one. Which I can’t even figure out what I’m tasting.

I was hoping some off the real bitter bite of mate would be covered somewhat by the added ingredients- but it still tastes almost exactly as any plain yerba mate- though I do detect a tones of coffee-type-roast taste which is nice.

For me I’ll probably mix it with the Rooibos Earl Grey or the Tulsa Chai to take off some of the edge, otherwise it’s pretty good.

If you are looking for a coffee substitute, then this would probably be the drink for you- but keep in mind the intense bitter bite and that I’ve never tasted coffee so…take it with a pinch of salt, lol.

- loose tea w/ infuser
- 4 sugar cubes
-- recommend mixing it with an herbal chai or herbal earl grey.

Nice caffeine pick me up. any unprocessed sugar works my fav is rock sugar.

It has a strong, almost pungent smell when brewed, just short of making it unpleasant. I liked it, although it would probably be easier for a coffee drinker to enjoy than a white or green tea lover. Had a hint of a nutty taste as well, and no bitter aftertaste.

See this and all my reviews at http://www.teageek.org