Tea Information:

Leaf Type:  Guayusa

Where to Buy:  Stash Tea

Tea Description:

GUAYUSA (gwhy-you-sa) is a rare herbal tea produced from the leaves of a holly tree (ilex guayusa) native to the Amazon Rainforest of Ecuador. Guayusa is naturally caffeinated and has an awakening effect similar to coffee and yerba mate. For this signature blend, Guayusa is paired with peppermint and spearmint for a refreshing, rejuvenating blend.

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

I really like this blend.  The Guayusa is very invigorating (and I really needed it to help me wake up this morning!) and the mint flavor gives it a very refreshing, crisp taste.

I’ve reviewed a few Guayusa blends now, and I really like this herb.  It has a rich, earthy flavor that is neither too vegetal nor too earthy.  It reminds me a bit of a light roast coffee.  It also reminds me a little of yerba maté, although if given the choice, I’d choose Guayusa over yerba maté, because I like the smooth flavor of Guayusa better than the rather strong (and sometimes a little bitter) taste of yerba maté.  Don’t get me wrong, I like yerba maté too, but, I just prefer Guayusa.  Guayusa has never been bitter or astringent any time I’ve tasted it – it’s always just been smooth and energizing.

This blend combines the delicious flavor of Guayusa with mint … peppermint and spearmint, to be exact.  And the flavor is very minty.  It tastes cool and leaves my mouth feeling very clean and fresh.  But because of the Guayusa it doesn’t taste too minty.  It doesn’t taste like a mouth full of toothpaste, it just tastes refreshing!

While I am drinking this hot at the moment (I prefer my morning teas to be hot), I think it would be very delicious iced too.  However, it isn’t a tea that I’d recommend drinking too late in the evening (which I tend to do with iced teas), because it is a highly caffeinated beverage.

Instead, this is the kind of tea you’d want to drink early in the day when you need a super-charged boost of energy. This tea will do that for you, and without all the sugar of the typical energy drink in a can!