Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Yerba Mate
Where to Buy: Guayaki
Tea Description:
Enlighten Mint has a minty flavor with a touch of honey flavor, and an earthy note from the yerba mate. It’s easy drinking and clean tasting, and not too sweet.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Continuing with the exploration of Guayaki drinks, this is the one I was most skeptical about of the three I picked up. I’ve tried a few yerba mate and spearmint blends, and actually have one stocked right now so I know that it’s not a terrible pairing; in fact it’s a pretty popular pairing. It’s actually the honey aspect of this that scares me; when it comes to more commercial tea beverages, ‘honey’ usually means very sweet.
However, because Revel Berry maintained a respectable level of sweetness I was open to this one; hopefully it would do the same. I was poorly mistaken in my assumptions, however. This was assaulting; the spearmint was ridiculously strong and sweet in and of itself; like those Spearmint leaf five cent gummy candies that come in giant bulk bags. I’ve never been a fan of those. They taste so fake. On top of that the sweetness of the honey was equally as intense. The yerba mate, while pretty drowned up, did come through a little bit but it felt kind of grimy, and yet at the same time all three notes together conjured up the image of neon green slime.
To me, it tasted like one of those five cent candies dipped into a bottle of raw honey and then sprinkled with a little dirt. Why would you willingly put that in your mouth? I struggled through a third of the can and then finally called it quits and tossed it. It makes me more skeptical to try the third, and last, one I bought now knowing just how big the range between ‘hit’ and ‘miss’ from this company can be. Personally, I’ll be avoiding (and internally wincing) this flavor every time I pass it in the aisles at work – but if you’re feeling bold enough, and you like super sweet mint flavored things, I guess giving it a try couldn’t hurt.
Revel Berry Yerba Mate from Guayaki
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Yerba Mate
Where to Buy: Guayaki
Tea Description:
Revel Berry has a delicious raspberry and blackberry flavor. It’s easy drinking and clean tasting, and not too sweet.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
For those who don’t know, I work in a grocery store. It’s not uncommon for us to start carrying different, less common drinks but it is uncommon for them to be tea-related so when we picked up some of this brand’s flavors of iced/canned Yerba Mate I got really excited! I knew I’d seen at least one of this brand’s products reviewed on Steepster so I took the plunge and a bought a can of each flavor to try out.
I don’t know what I expected when I tried this one, maybe a little more yerba mate flavour? But this threw me off a little bit; it definitely tastes distinctly of raspberry and even has a tinge of sharper tartness however I can’t taste anything specifically blackberry flavoured. If anything, I almost want to say there’s more of a blueberry flavor present. Regardless, this does seem pretty watered down and I’m missing any distinctly earthy notes from the yerba mate – which is kind of the best part of mate other than the caffeine. I absolutely appreciate that this is not overly sweet though!
I don’t know if I’d personally buy this one again because I know I enjoy a stronger Yerba Mate flavour but I do look forward to trying the other two flavours I picked up and I’m all for the idea of this if it gets a more “mainstream” consumer experiencing Yerba Mate – which I know it’s been doing at work since some my coworkers have taken to drinking this during break instead of other popular and more “conventional” energy drinks. Plus, the convenience of it being canned it always a plus.
Organic Metabolic Energy Tea from Fit Life Tea Company
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green Tea & Yerba Maté
Where to Buy: Fit Life Tea Co.
Tea Description:
Ready for liftoff? Increase muscle energy and boost mental agility with an invigorating cup of Organic Metabolic Energy Tea. It’s packed with potent antioxidants and natural caffeine from sustainably grown whole green tea leaves blended with traditional rainforest energy tonic.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I’ll be honest and say that I really wasn’t looking forward to trying this Organic Metabolic Energy Tea from Fit Life Tea Company after I read the ingredient list:
Ingredients: Organic Green Tea, Organic Yerba Mate, Organic Eleuthero Root Ginseng, Natural Flavoring and Organic Stevia Leaf.
First of all: Mate and ginseng in one blend? That sounds TOO earthy to me. Then there’s the stevia. I really don’t like it when a tea company feels the need to sweeten a tea for me. I like to decide whether or not the tea should be sweetened and if it does, I like to decide how much and what type of sweetener will sweeten it.
But, I decided to give it a try anyway.
Wow! This is actually really tasty. It’s sweet but not too sweet and even though I was worried about the earthiness, it’s not so earthy at all. It has a very refreshing taste to it. It’s citrus-y and very drinkable. It reminds me a little bit of a very watered down Tang. Yes, the drink the astronauts took to the moon. It doesn’t have the same gritty texture of tang, though. (Fortunately!)
It’s pleasantly sweet with a really enjoyable, fruity flavor. That said, I don’t taste much green tea in this. I also don’t taste much Yerba Mate. Since I love tea, the fact that I found these flavors lacking in this is a little disturbing to me. But not disturbing is that I don’t taste the ginseng either.
To brew this, I hot-brewed the sachet in 8 ounces of 185°F water for 3 minutes. Then I let the tea cool completely before I poured it into my BPA-free drinking bottle from Fit Life Tea and refrigerated it overnight. Before I let it cool, I did take a sip of it to find out if I’d like it better hot or iced.
Just like the Teatox tea from Fit Life, I prefer this tea cold. It has a refreshing taste and the texture is light and smooth. And I even feel like it’s elevated my energy level too!
I don’t know that I’d actually drink this as an actual “tea” because it simply doesn’t taste like tea. But I would drink it as an energy drink which is what seems to be it’s purpose. And since it’s an energy drink that doesn’t rely upon troublesome amounts of sugar to enhance the drinker’s energy, I’d say Energy from Fit Life deserves a thumbs up!
Papaya Mango Mate Herbal Tea from The Tea Guys
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green Tea, Yerba Mate & Rooibos
Where to Buy: Tea Guys
Tea Description:
South American yerba mate makes the perfect base for this wonderfully tropical blend with sweet chopped papaya, apples, and refreshing lemongrass. The addition of green tea and organic rooibos helps to smooth the blend and create a healthful, antioxidant rich tea that is a wonderful way to re-balance anytime.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
When I look for an energy boost to get me through a challenging day at work, I usually bring with me a nice large jug of cold brewed tea. I absolutely love cold brewing. It’s the perfect lazyman’s way to prepare a nice cold beverage for the next day. I don’t have to double the leaf usually, and the results are almost always satisfying. All I have to do is dump some cold water over some leaves overnight and bam! Great results with little effort.
I like using tropical-themed teas for cold brewing, and Tea Guy’s Papaya Mango Mate certainly fits the bill. Smelling the dry leaf, there is something so nicely fruity about it. The papaya in this blend is most certainly the star. I have had plenty of other blends like this from Tea Guys, and I am sorry to let the cat out of the bag; most of their tropical/fruity teas smell the same. I wish the mango was much more present in this tea, I feel like the combination is really great and should not be forgotten when blending the tea. Looking at the dry leaf, I see a lot of flotsam that may only be 50% necessary. I see more blue corn flowers and safflower than I do yerba mate or green tea. While I do see plenty of lemongrass in this blend, I have had ones that have overwhelmed the loose with it, so see less of it is quite refreshing for a change.
What this tea promises in the dry leaf, it delivers in the cold brew! I get a herbaceous dry grassy note snuck into the body of the tea that alerts me to the Yorba. The tropical papaya shines through in both aroma and main flavor component. The lemongrass is leading lady, and lends a brightness to the tropical flavors. I must have been thirsty, because I gulped down the entire quart in my mason jar pretty quick without complaints. While I think that their Golden Grapefruit is a better iced tea, I would still recommend this tea for the cold-brew fanatic who needs a nice summer change up to their routine.
Chew-brew from Adagio Teas (Signature Blend)
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Red Rooibos/Mate
Where to Buy: Adagio Teas
Tea Description:
Warm and fuzzy or strong and bold? Either way Chewy always has your back.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
So lets start this off with saying I am a huge science fiction/fantasy/horror nerd. The horror genre is my favorite but after having kids you learn that watching a good ol fashioned movie like Halloween or Aliens doesn’t fit into your schedule. I learned to adjust and started watching more science fiction movies with my kids. My boys love Star Wars. Especially my nine year old. It does a mama proud when you hear your son arguing Star Wars with another adult. Telling them that the best three are 4,5,6 and naming them correctly. Heart Swells. . .Sigh.
Anyway. . .Today is May the 4th. So let me say to all “May the 4th Be With You”. I had this idea to do a Star Wars inspired tea and ran it by liberteas. Thought it might be fun. So I picked up a tea that I had in my stash for today. One of my favorite characters is Chewbacca. I mean, how can you not just fall in love with him? He is just awesome from the very first time you see him on screen. From the noises and the amazing job done by Peter Mayhew, this character steals the show.
The tea I picked for this awesome day was Chew-Brew by Adagio Teas. I am going 100% outside my comfort zone with this one. The artwork is just awesome so I couldn’t resist. This has the dreaded red rooibos in it. Ugh. But I knew that. Again, the artwork gets me every time with these fandom blends. Brewed this one up at work so I just used the water spout on the coffee, threw the tea in my teapot, brewed for 5 minutes and poured the brew over ice.
While this was brewing, you could smell the hazelnut and almond flavors. It was an almost overwhelming smell. Not bad, but just a bit much for me this morning. As I took my first sip, cringing and waiting for that first hint of red rooibos to overtake the cup, I was 100% surprised. I do not taste the red rooibos at all in this blend!!! How can that be?? I almost did a little dance at work but thought better of it.
As I continued to drink my iced tea, I picked up all of the nutty flavors listed. The almond, the hazelnut, and the mocha nut flavors. I do really enjoy Adagio’s Mocha Nut Mate. It has this rich roasted nutty flavor that I adore and I can pick it up in this and it is amazing iced. The honeybush hazelnut provides a creamy touch. This would be a nut lovers dream tea. The whole tea has a flavor profile of rich nuttiness that I can’t say I’ve had too many other times.
I can’t say that I would drink this one again even though I really enjoyed it. I am just not a huge hazelnut fan. The red rooibos almond must be a very small percentage of this blend. So for people like me that really don’t like it, there is still hope for us.
There really is only one way to end this review. . . . . May the 4th be with you. . . . . .
