Today has been a Mate sort of day. I decided to try a sample sent to me from JustJames but since that had no steeping instructions on it and no steepster page (at least not one I could quickly find on my phone) for me to consult, I decided to find another mate with instructions that I could steep at the same time. Enter JavaVana Mate courtesy of MissB.
The dry leaf to me smelled very strongly of coffee. I am by no means a coffee drinker and also not a huge Teavana fan so I really did not expect much from this tea. However, when steeped the strong coffee smell went away, leaving behind an amazingly chocolate-y mocha scent to my surprise. Even more surprising, was the deliciously cocoa flavor of my first sip. More than just cocoa though, there is an awesome dash of vanilla intermingled in the taste. I do pick up on coffee but only at the end of the sip and though that is not a favorite taste, I don’t mind it in this cup. Shockingly, I am actually REALLY enjoying this tea. Thank you MissB for sharing this with me – it is something I would not have bought otherwise and I would have missed out.
On a sort of irrelevant note, I picked up some Truvia today after reading about it time and time again in your (MissB’s) tasting notes. I was planning to use some in this tea but it really does not need any sweetner. However, when I do get around to using it, I will let you know how it goes. I am hoping for the best but usually do not like artificial sweetners. Hopefully this will be different as I have heard many good things about it.
Oh, yay! I’m so glad you liked this. I too would have missed purchasing this if a staffer hadn’t said, “You really need to try this.” I actually like it when staff say that (if I trust them) because they’re the ones working with the product every day. As for Truvia, I can only use 1/2 a packet per cup of tea or else it’s too sweet for me. I hope you like it!
The woman who helped me in Teavana was very nice but rather pushy. I did take some of her suggestions but something that bothered me was she kept trying to push my mom to buy tea despite my mother saying she is not a tea drinker multiple times. In fact, she tried to get my mom to pick up some of this tea because she told her it was a good transition from coffee to tea (a transition my mom had been clear she did not want to make). So given that I don’t drink coffee, I never had an interest in this tea until you put it up for swap and I thought I would give it a taste. Clearly I am glad I did so thanks again for sharing.
Also, I usually don’t ever sweeten my tea because aside from enjoying lattes, I mostly like to drink tea plain. Unless I am sick, in which case I add honey. But I picked up Truvia for the few teas that I think would be enhanced with a bit of sweetner. I will definitely take your recommendation and stick to 1/2 a packet for those teas. Mostly I am wary of the aftertaste. I won’t touch diet pop because I just cannot stand the taste of aspartame and the aftertaste it leaves. Blech.
I tried the new monk fruit sweetener which is very sweet but does not have the aspertame aftertaste. You might want to try it. Splenda doesn’t bother me but the truvia tastes bitter in hot beverages and aspertame is bitter and has an aftertaste. I’ve noticed that using Spring water cuts down on bitterness in everything. It’s worth having a filter bottle for tea.
I will have to check that out. Most of the time I avoid sweetners all together just because I usually enjoy teas plain (or as a latte, of course). Unfortunately, I have found certain some teas fall flat and many people recommend sugar to bring out flavors so I figured I would give Truvia a try. So far I know I really don’t like aspartame or Splenda so hopefully this goes batter.
I personally couldn’t stand Truvia, but I don’t mind the taste of aspartame so maybe it will be better for you!