Green Mate (Organic)

This was a sample from Jessiwrites that I was interested in, then wasn’t and then it sat for about 3 months and now I’m trying it.

It’s surprisingly good? I was afraid it would be boring, but mate does have an interesting je ne sais quoi to it. Can’t describe it. It is a bit smokey though, as jessiwrites described, although I don’t mind that. It’s not overwhelming and it helps wake me up.

Also I threw that in there like a pro! All those years of college french – you weren’t a complete waste! (I forgot a lot…)

Sipdown!

Had this one this morning to kick me in the pants. I was groggy and out of it and knew that a standard tea cup wasn’t going to do it. So, mate to the rescue! The high did the trick, and lasted until about 3:30, when I was stuck in a meeting of dooooooom. Flavour wise it isn’t anything extraordinary, but I do enjoy it, and it does the trick when I need a kick!

I enjoy many mate blends, and I really love guayusa… but this green mate doesn’t really do it for me.

I want to like it so much, but there is this strange sort of smoky flavor that is really throwing me. It’s kind of earthy, like a fire pit or something? I don’t know, it’s hard to explain.

I still finished my cup, but definitely did not want to steep again.

The leaves in the tin are beautiful – small, evenly chopped, smooth and silky, sort of like confetti. I have to confess to running my fingers through it like a child :)

The tea straight I don’t love. It’s not bad, but it’s not really a flavor I go for. I don’t know how to describe it… A bit vegetal but without the spinach overtones. Sweet, in a sense.

I’m drinking it iced right now with a bit of spearmint and lavender honey, and it’s a fantastically invigorating summer drink. Even if I don’t like it plain, I’ll definitely order more.

I guess this is probably your generic, green maté as it should taste, but to be honest, I never drank any other plain maté than this one, so I’m not in a position to compare. I don’t think I’ll try another any soon either; why go for something new when what I find to be totally perfect is right in my cupboard? For some reason, I never get tired of the maté taste, quite the opposite, I always feel like having some. The taste is so complex, yet so light that I could drink many many cups in a row. I’m afraid I can’t find the right adjectives to describe it. Surely, it’s a bit grassy, but in a different way than senchas. It’s slightly sweet, maybe more so in the aftertaste, which reminds me of maple water (the stuff that comes directly out of the trees – maybe you have to be Canadian to have tasted that previously ;P). There’s also this distinctive taste that I can’t get enough of, but I can’t think of anything else tasting like it for comparison. And through all this, there’s still a refreshing feeling, maybe because it’s light: I would compare this sensation to that of a good white tea. I’m really happy it’s so cheap, if it was expensive, I could really ruin myself for this stuff!

Dry this one reminded me of Guayusa – which I love. It has a slightly different scent steeped – not so much Guayusa but still I’m excited to try this.

Hmm there’s something smoky in there that I’m really not loving. Yeah, nope that smokiness is way to much for me. Oh darn, I had high hopes for this one.

High caffeine and with a primarily grassy taste, this is a good energy caffeine, but not quite a replacement for a good, strong breakfast black tea.

For what it is, straight green mate pretty enjoyable. On its own (with 4tsp brewed in my 2-cup teapot), its got a moderate strength of flavour, closer to a green tea than a black in robustness, but I feel less afraid of overstepping than I would with tea proper. I love mixing this in with less caffeinated things when I want to give it a bit of a kick — it tends to blend with other teas well.

Big fan of the Green Mate! I really like this, it’s a little green tasting which is a nice change from the roasted mate that seems a little too close to coffee for my liking. I take this one clear, or with a little agave if I’m in the mood for something slightly sweeter. It’s a great early morning tea as it does bive a good jolt in the morning. Before breakfast though, not with. I also turn to this one fairly regularly in the evenings when I am trying to stay up and alert to finish a paper or some other literature assignment. good times.
This one is a keeper on my tea shelves for sure!

I liked this one. I put a little honey in it. I get a grassy taste. Love the smell of this too. I recommend this to anyone who hasn’t had an unflavored mate.

To be honest? I only have one complaint about this tea and it has nothing to do with taste.

This mate tastes great. I’m a big fan of mate since one of my Argentinian friends introduced me to it, and I’ve had mate from all across South America. This tastes just as good, if not better, than most of those.

The ONLY downside is if you plan on drinking this mate like you traditionally drink mate in South America. You put about 4 times more mate in the gourd than you would for just one cup, and just keep topping the gourd up with water. I end up going through almost 1.5 L of water in one gourd with about 3 tsp worth of mate. The problem? Because the pieces are so small, they start to break up and I end up sucking them up through my bombilla (and I have the DAVIDsTEA bombilla, too, so no excuses!).

For the taste and price? Can’t be beat.