This is only my second time having mate. The first time was about seven years ago. I was drinking a roasted mate and was not smitten with it, so I gave the rest of the box away.
Today I am drinking an UNroasted mate, and an organic one at that. It is ethically sourced in South America, with consideration for the biodiversity of the area where it is grown. And in my opinion, it is an awesome price for an organic tea that has so much going for it.
There are a number of blends available from this company and this one, Holy Mate, contains Tulsi, also known as Holy Basil. I enjoy Tulsi and often mix it with lavender or mint, so I was interested in trying this to see what the mate adds to the mix. This also contains peppermint.
I have been shy of mate because I don’t need and don’t drink a lot of caffeine, but reading their very informative website, I discover that mate has about the same amount of caffeine as green tea. The difference is that there are three different kinds of caffeine in mate. This is why long lasting energy is apt to result! Also, the instructions for making it are quite different from what I did long ago, which may make it less jitter inducing.
I steeped it at 170F as the site recommends and am rewarded with a surprisingly mild tasting cup. I taste the tulsi most, I think, and the peppermint very little, which suits me as I prefer spearmint to peppermint and so I like for peppermint to be milder in blends. Since I haven’t tried unroasted mate that I can recall, I am not able to tease out which parts of the flavor are the mate and which the tulsi, but the tulsi flavor is pretty mild.
All in all, this is a nice beverage that I feel good about drinking and recommending to others, especially for the nice boost of niacin and the perks of having more energy and boosting metabolism.
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Mate
Where to Buy: ECOTEAS
Description
Experience the fusion of two herbal traditions with Holy Mate! Unsmoked yerba mate provides lasting stimulation. Tulsi inhibits cortisol, reducing stress. A pinch of peppermint brightens the blend.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Briar Patch from 52Teas . . . . .
What is tulsi? Apparently, it is another word for “Holy Basil”. Apparently its a very powerful and multi-functional herb. The other ingredients in this blend were interesting as well- green tea, a myriad of berries, black pepper, and long pepper. I’ve never had a blend that was more on the savory side like this one seems to be. Try something new everyday, right?
The dry mixture smelled mostly like berries, but the steeped liquid smelled very herb-y. I could smell the pepper and I do believe that I could smell a hint of basil.
My first taste was very herb-y as well. I mean this takes herbal to another level, but the base was green tea and I could taste that. There’s a refreshing quality to any tea that has a green tea base, they’re always thirst quenchers. The berries were there, but the main star was definitely the tulsi followed by a hint of pepper and berries. I cant sit here and say that this is my favorite blend ever, I also cant sit here and say that I disliked it.
In truth, I don’t really know how I feel about this. It is so different and unique. It’s not my usual and it’s definitely not in line with my preferences, but there was something intriguing about it that kept me sipping more. I came out of my comfort zone to try this blend, and I am really glad I did! A must try…but all 52 Teas’ blends are!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green/Herbal
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Description
Earlier this year, I played around with some Tulsi when I blended the RandyCandy and the Hot & Unbothered blends. I enjoyed the result of both those teas, so I decided that I wanted to further explore the joy of Tulsi! This time, I decided to try blending it with some berry flavors!
This is really tasty! I started with a blend of organic Tulsi (Green, Purple & Wild Leaf Tulsi) and added some organic Chinese Sencha. Then I added a blend of berries (strawberry, blackberry, raspberry, blueberry & juniper berries) – ok, ok, so juniper berries aren’t actually berries but because I added juniper berries to this blend, it just seemed like the appropriate time to mention that. Then I added some crushed black peppercorns as well as some long pepper.
The result? A really tasty beverage that tastes a little bit herb-y/vegetative, a little bit warm and spicy, a little bit sweet and a little bit tart. The berry is really nice in this and I like the contrast in flavors between the cool, herbaceous basil/mint notes from the tulsi and the hint of zesty heat from the pepper.
It tastes a little bit like what taking a hike into the woods and foraging for berries might feel like. Or at least what I imagine that might feel like (as I’ve never actually foraged for berries before and I would no doubt end up picking the wrong berry). It has a rustic, woodsy kind of flavor to it, somewhat earthy and nicely spiced!
organic ingredients: green tea, tulsi (green, purple & wild leaf varieties), strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, juniper berries, black peppercorns, long pepper and natural flavors.
