Several years ago, I got an amazing Christmas present from my mom. It was a big orange box with a gold string tied around it, and inside I found a tea press, a silver tea spoon, a bag of German rock sugar, and four large tins of loose leaf tea. This was my introduction to tea, and it launched an obsession.
I brewed up all four teas for myself and two friends and we did a taste test. We all agreed that the mate vana was the best of the four. It smelled like cocoa and almond slices and went well with milk and sugar. It didn’t become bitter or astringent with longer steeping times. In short, it was the perfect introduction to tea.
I have to love mate vana. It was my gateway tea.
