Mate Factor

Delicious tea. I buy it on campus (or used to). It tastes like a mocha/coffee drink without the repulsive overbearing coffee taste. Actually it tastes closer to a minty hot chocolate. Either way, it’s a delicious treat especially for the winter months. I don’t think I can drink this in the summer. It’s really good with cream and sugar mixed in.

Smells like coffee and tastes like coffee, but it’s not coffee. This tea is playing tricks on my mind. I’m not sure if there is any advantage to drinking tea that tastes like coffee, instead of simply drinking coffee. Nevertheless, this is pretty good.

So far I’ve tried it with nothing added – good, then I tried it with milk – even better. Next I will try it with milk and a bit of sugar.

I am enjoying this, but it’s still weird.

Much “brighter” tasting than I thought it would be. Yummy “roasted leaves” flavor. Kind of cereally as well. I can taste the barley…and the carob (which tastes like sour cocoa to me). Come to think it it, this sort of tastes like a health food store smells—kind of grainy, woodsy with lots of herbs…and carob instead of chocolate.

Also reminiscent of wet soil and evergreens. Brews up very dark and coffee-esque with the chicory.

Overall, I think this is tasty blend! I like toasty, roasty flavors. And I love that they added the roasted barley and chicory in here—I think it tempers the “pungency” of the mate making a very smooth, toasty cup.

This is a sample I misplaced during the move that was originally sent to me by LiberTEAS. Thanks again! :D

This tea is really interesting. I like the lemon most of all, and the spice the ginger adds, as I’m not really a fan of yerba mate’s taste by itself. I’m glad they didn’t go crazy with the ginger like a few lemon-ginger teas I’ve tried in the past. Anyway, drinking this and trying to wake up after a late night. I added about a teaspoon of honey, and a teaspoon of sugar. It’s a very pleasant, feels like something to combat the fact that it’s still winter. And it’s working.

Smells like socks!

You know me! I have too look things up! Here is the specific root that this has in it
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Echinacea_angustifolia
And here’s the leaf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Echinacea_purpurea

This is quite good…much better than I anticipated, actually! I don’t know why I waited so long to try it! The Ginseng with the Echinacea as 2nd and 3rd’s to the Yerba mate was genius! The Yerba Mate toned down how medicine-E everything else tasted and it works out pretty well!

The taste is pleasant!

This doesn’t taste like the Yerba Mate I am used to (which is probably a good thing). It doesn’t have nearly the smoky/earthy quality that mate normally has. No bitterness at all. It tastes kind of like mate crossed with green tea. This is something I will actually drink for the flavor, not just the effects of the mate. Prepared with stevia.

Steep Information:
Amount: 2 tsp
Water: hot spigot water
Tool: kati loose tea system (my Review here.)
Steep Time: a little over 5 minutes (http://steep.it)
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: grassy, smoke
Steeped Tea Smell: roasty, molasses
Flavor: gritty, thick, roasty, smoky, woody
Body: Full
Aftertaste: astringent and bitter
Liquor: opaque dark brown, like coffee

A gift from TeaEqualsBliss.

I enjoyed this, I have found I only like roasted mate and not green mate.

I think a bit of cream and sugar would go well in this.

pictures: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/12/mate-factor-company-loose-leaf-mate.html

Quite good semi-sweet well balanced mate :)

LiberTEAS included this in the surprise box she sent me. Thanks so much!!

The lime is really strong in this one. The hibiscus is there as well, but for me the yerba mate is a bit stronger than it. It is indeed tart, and unlike the Citrus Rose blend, the yerba mate here tastes “dark”, maybe even a touch smoky. Would this one be dark roasted and the Citrus Rose not? A search of Mate Factor’s website doesn’t yield any info on the Citrus Rose…and it doesn’t really say either way on the entry for it here.

My impression: a smoky-tart lime mate with hibiscus notes. Not as good as the Citrus Rose, but very nice if you enjoy tart!

Hmm… this is interesting. I like the lime in this. The hibiscus is a bit strong, but the earthy quality of the Yerba Mate does manage to cut through some of the hibiscus. I think I’d like this one better without the hibiscus (or a lighter touch of hibiscus). This is palatable for me with a drizzle of agave nectar, a bit too tart without it.

Decent, not my favorite Yerba Mate blend, but, it’s not bad.

Finishing up the last of this sample from LiberTEAS. It’s a great early morning, get-me-going cup.

LiberTEAS sent me this sample a while ago…I can’t believe I’m just now trying it! This is fantastic. The mate is almost hidden by the spices, but the spices are well-balanced and not overpowering at all. I’m very impressed; this is definitely the best yerba mate that I’ve had yet!

Thanks so much, LiberTEAS, for sending me this to try. I love it!!

I think this tea was actually calling out to me. I hope it helps!

Here is the full-length review I wrote of this one (back when my taste buds were operating at normal capacity):

http://sororiteasisters.com/2010/12/07/organic-green-tea-ginseng-mate-from-mate-factor/

This is an interesting blend. Generally I shy away from blends Ginseng and/or Echinacea, and this blend has both! But, once I get past my apprehension about the tea and actually taste it, it’s really pretty tasty.

The earthy, vegetal taste of the green yerba maté is the strongest flavor of the cup, but I can also taste the sweet notes of the Sencha. The Ginseng and Echinachea are (thankfully) do not lend a strong presence in the flavor of the tea. My initial reaction to the first sip was “medicine-y” but, as I continue to sip, I don’t really get “medicine-y” … a herbal-y flavor, yes, but not off-putting or medicine-like.

Jillian kindly sent me some bags of this blend…ever since I read her note about “the citrus and hibiscus forming an unholy alliance” in her mouth, I’ve been intriqued. I adore tart things…my lemonade, for example, should lock your jaw it’s so tart, and I brew hibiscus-based blends at 10 minutes or longer.

So, on to this. It’s definitely pink, and definitely smells like hibiscus. I can kinda smell the yerba mate underneath that, but in scent, it’s definitely not the star player.

It’s really not as tart as I was expecting. Actually, I really don’t find it tart at all. The hibiscus is in the fore, and there’s lemon-like notes, but the yerba mate taste still comes through for me as herbal/woodsy. Sweet without having anything added; I think adding anything would be a bad idea. Probably the best yerba mate blend that I’ve had, to be honest (I’ve tasted all of three, and the other two were blended with chocolate flavors, so please take that statement with a grain of salt). I think this’d be fantastic iced in the summer as well.

Jillian, thanks for sending this one to me!! I’m definitely enjoying it!

WOW is this Lime & Hibiscus! Oye!

Even tho it’s tooooo hibiscus for me some may like this. I do like the lime and there is a lot of it. I wish there was significantly more lime than hibiscus but they are both very loud!

I have LiberTEAS to thank for a sample of this!

This is definitely interesting. I’m still getting used to yerba mate itself, so this tasted a little light and foreign to me. I’m used to black tea chais, as one might expect. I like the balance of spices, and it has that chai warmth to it, but I think I prefer traditional chais. Still, I’m glad I got a chance to try it.

Had this with breakfast again this morning – mmm. I am curious to try this with milk. I am throughly enjoying it plain and simple though. Really a great breakfast tea!!!

I got this tea as a bonus with my winnings from the SororiTEA sisters blog contest – thanks LiberTEAS !!!!!!!!!

I decided this would be a good tea to have with breakfast this morning. I like more plain teas in the morning and I wanted some energy to get some studying done – yay midterms :(

The only yerba mate I have had is malted chocomate from 52 Teas (ironically also won in a contest – haha) and I have been wanting to try more. This looks way different than the 52 Teas one! It smells roasty kind of like coffee beans, it also has this odd kind of salty smell to it.

It tastes very roasty and kind of earthy. It also tastes very healthy, which probably sounds negative but it was in fact quite delectable!!! Great way to start my Saturday!

I had to keep reminding myself that this was indeed a Mate. It was hard to detect the mate flavor (my only other mate experience is drinking it plain and roasted without any additional flavors). The chai spices are smooth and evenly distributed. As it has been mentioned, it is hard to discern one spice from another in this tea. This is a nice, pleasantly blended chai, but there simply is nothing too distinctive about it.

This is delicious! The green yerba maté is a refreshingly different base for the lemon & ginger – I’m really enjoying it. The flavor is bright and sunny, with a warm heat from the ginger (but not overwhelming), and a fresh taste from the yerba maté – it is earthy but it isn’t a strong earthy quality. It’s very light and melds well with the lightness of the lemon.

A very well balanced cup. I bet this is fabulous iced too!

So I dumbed down the steeping and found that it wasn’t as overwhelmingly tart as it was the first time. But all the same, the hibiscus and citrus pretty much end up overwhelming any yerba maté flavour that might have been present. If someone gave me a cup of this without telling me what it was, I’d never be able to guess that maté was the primary ingredient in it.

If I was a fan of hibiscus I might be inclined to give this tea another chance, but I’m not so half of this tea will likely go into the Travelling Teabox and the other half will be put up for adoption (any takers?).

I got this tea on sale at my local health food store, not realizing until I got home that the ‘rose’ part actually referred to rose of sharon – the dreaded hibiscus. Still, in the interests of trying something new I decided to give this tea a chance.

It’s packaged in rather large teabags, unlike most mates I’ve comes across, so the convenience is nice. The bags smell citrusy and herbal with a bit of a tea-like odor and hints of something spicy. That seemed promising so I followed the steeping direction, brewing the bag in a 10 oz coffee mug for 5 min at 90ºC (boiling water apparently can ruin yerba mate).

Unfortunately my worst fears were realized and the tea turned out to be mouth-puckeringly tart, the citrus and hibiscus forming an unholy alliance in my mouth. The mate is only faintly detectable as a herbal undertone, but it’s not really there all that much. I’ll try lowering the steeping time, but right now I can’t say I’m impressed.

Backlogging – the last set of three.

I drank the second steep of a mug of mate that I made for my husband. Weak, but still strong enough to be drinkable. I made it almost to the end of the cup before the taste got to be too much of that taste for me

2nd steep: 10 min.