Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Yerba Maté
Where To Buy: Culinary Teas
Tisane Description:
Full bodied and smooth herbal tea. The roasted character of this mate imparts a coffee-like toast flavor. Rich in mateine, which is recognized as a mild stimulant.
Learn more about this tisane here.
Taster’s Review:
Occasionally, I’ll wake up feeling like I could probably very easily sleep another four or five hours, even after a full night’s sleep. I’ll feel groggy and sluggish and not only “unmotivated” but just too “tired” to get myself motivated. It’s on those days when I need a cup of Yerba Maté! There is more caffeine in Maté than in a typical cup of tea, and I need that invigoration … I need more than just a gentle shake to wake me that I can get from a cup of tea.
I usually prefer the roasted variety of Maté over the green Maté, although I’ve come to appreciate both types. There was a time when I didn’t really care for either, but, now, I embrace Maté. I think that those who process the leaf have come a long way since my earliest cups of Yerba Maté, either that or I’m just better at brewing it! Whatever the reason, I didn’t like it then, but I like it now.
This is a very pleasant Roasted Maté from Culinary Teas. The aroma of the dry leaf is a little earthy and warm, reminding me of autumn and the season that is quickly approaching (yay!) It even smelled a little like chicory, which always reminds me of coffee – and that’s coffee in a good way. I don’t have a lot of good things to say about that other caffeinated beverage (aka coffee) but, there was a time when I did enjoy it, and there are times when I miss the fragrance of the roasted bean. But I don’t miss the sicky, icky feelings of nausea a few hours after drinking it.
So, I do like it when I smell something that smells like coffee and I even like it when I taste something that tastes like coffee, so long as I’m not going to be sick in a couple of hours. Fortunately, I’ve never felt that with Yerba Maté, so I think I’m in the clear.
The flavor of this tisane is warm and rich, very much the way the scent of the dry leaf smelled – that’s what I taste. Warm, earthy flavors, but not too earthy or vegetative. Smooth and rich, almost reminiscent of a cup of coffee. And that’s just what I needed today.
Yerba Maté is delicious served hot with some turbinado sugar – that’s the way I’m drinking it now. It’s also nice served straight (no additions), but, I think that the rich, coffee like flavors come alive for me when I add just a little turbinado sugar. It’s also great served as a latte – just add a splash of steamed milk! Recently, I discovered Maté as an iced beverage too, and it’s really good that way too! Very energizing and restorative!
