I bought a half pound bag of this when I was at the store last time. It was a risk, but I was betting that I would love my new indulgence. I was right. I do love it down to the very last drop. I brewed this in my teapot and managed to get three steeps out of it. I could have gotten more if I didn’t shake most of the powder out of the tea ball.
The first steeps were roughly at 5 and 10 minutes. The liquid was a nice light honey brown. It smelled nice and I hoped that the unflavored mate tasted as good as the flavored. It tasted very earthy and a tad bitter, but I liked the bitterness. It reminded me of petrichor in taste form instead of scent.
The second steeps were another 5 and 10 minute steep. The liquid this time was a light green, which surprised me. The taste was a little softer, but it started to taste sweeter. I shared this steep with my roommate (she got the longer steep) and said that the taste was lighter than she was expecting. At the end of my cup, I was entertained by the fact that it tasted like I had real sugar in there when I didn’t. I am easily entertained.
The third steep is where I stopped paying attention to how long I was steeping it. I also ran out of water in my kettle, which was fine. The water was a little cooler by now. The liquid in the final steep is a light yellow green. The taste is reminding me more of green tea, but a little earthier than green tea. A slight sweetness is still hitting the back of my tongue, but it is less than the second steep was. So the third is more earthy and less sweet. I am down to sipping it now instead of really drinking it, so I think the balance of earthy and sweet in this cup is spot on.
So, I managed to get six cups of tea and I drank five of them myself. I really like the concept of re-steeping. It lets you get more flavors out of a pot of tea. I really need to get myself a gourd and a bombilla to try mate in the traditional way. But, for now I would be happy with getting a small one-person french press to have a way to make it easier in the morning. That way, I could have this as my morning tea again. Yummy!
