Chai Spice Maté from Fusion Teas

by liberteas

Tisane Information:

Leaf Type:  Yerba Maté

Where to Buy:  Fusion Teas

Tisane Description:

A spicy take on a traditional Argentinean brew. This fusion of yerba mate, and freshly ground whole cardamom, cinnamon sticks, star anise and ginger bits create a delicious and warming cup. Great iced or with sweetener and a touch of soy milk.

Taster’s Review:

Over the last couple of days, it’s been very windy here in the Pacific Northwest.  Windy and chilly!  When it’s like this, the chill seems to saturate me, and even my bones feel cold.  It’s perfect weather to stay inside and enjoy a hot cup of chai!  The warmth of the masala spices helps to warm me from the inside out, and makes me forget all about that howling wind outside.

I like this Chai Spice Maté from Fusion Tea Room very much.  The flavors of masala spice and Yerba Maté are balanced very well.  The earthy/vegetative quality of the Maté is very prominent, and usually that would be something that I’d find off-putting, but, I’m really enjoying how the earthiness of the Maté and the earthy notes of the spices work together.

The spices are very warm but not what I’d consider spicy.  I wouldn’t call them “mild” either, they’re somewhere in between the two – very pleasantly warm and exotic without overpowering the palate with spice.  One of my favorite spices is star anise, and I like that the flavor of the anise comes through very nicely here, giving a licorice-y kind of taste that lingers well into the aftertaste.

A wonderfully warm and energizing cup of chai!  This one will help get you going!

liberteas

Anne (aka the Mad Tea Artist) has celebrated her 29th birthday for many years now. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her hubby and her youngest daughter. Her oldest daughter is married and has bestowed Anne with the proud title of "Gramma" and her grandson is about the cutest boy you ever did see. Anne started her journey with tea as a casual drinker and became more serious about her tea drinking when she realized that she couldn't drink coffee. Shortly thereafter, she started becoming obsessed with the beverage and she started creating small-batch, artisan blends of tea that she sold online as LiberTEAS. After a few years, she realized she wasn't cut out to be the sole proprietor of a business so she closed LiberTEAS and started reviewing teas online. She met Jennifer through another blog that they both reviewed for and they decided to start their own review blog. This review blog! Throughout her journey as a tea reviewer, she discovered 52Teas and became enamored with the idea of creating a new tea every week. When the founder of 52Teas decided he wanted to move on, he offered the business to Anne but knowing that she wasn't cut out to be a sole proprietor, she instead offered the company to her oldest daughter who employs her as the Mad Tea Artist for 52Teas!

This post was posted in Chai, Yerba Maté

Chocolate Vanilla Twist from Big Tea House

by liberteas

Tisane Information:

Leaf Type:  Yerba Maté

Where to Buy:  Big Tea House

Tisane Description:

Get the best of both delicious worlds of chocolate and vanilla in a special Yerba Mate tea fusion. This rich creation is perfect for treating yourself to a little cup of decadence with a burst of energy!

Learn more about this tisane here.

Taster’s Review:

Chocolate and vanilla?  Yes please!

This is really a delicious, energizing tisane.  The yerba maté provides a rich base that is not quite as earthy as I had expected from a yerba maté blend – a nice surprise!  There is some earthiness to it, and a little bit of vegetative taste, but mostly, it tastes rich and roasted, with a hint of nutty flavor that compliments the chocolate flavor very well.

Yes, I would like there to be more chocolate (that’s no surprise, right?) however, it is still quite delicious.  The vanilla has a silky creaminess to it, and gives the cup a very smooth flavor.

The combination of the vanilla and chocolate together give it a truffle-y, ganache kind of taste, and the flavor develops as I continue to sip.  It’s as if someone dropped a chocolate truffle in my cup of yerba maté, and it is slowly melting, and it gets more delicious with each sip.

I do recommend drinking this hot as I find that the flavors mute a bit as it cools.  I also recommend adding just a pinch of sugar to the cup to bring out the flavors a bit.  It tastes a bit more like unadulterated yerba maté without the sugar, but with it, it tastes chocolate-y and rich!  YUM!

liberteas

Anne (aka the Mad Tea Artist) has celebrated her 29th birthday for many years now. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her hubby and her youngest daughter. Her oldest daughter is married and has bestowed Anne with the proud title of "Gramma" and her grandson is about the cutest boy you ever did see. Anne started her journey with tea as a casual drinker and became more serious about her tea drinking when she realized that she couldn't drink coffee. Shortly thereafter, she started becoming obsessed with the beverage and she started creating small-batch, artisan blends of tea that she sold online as LiberTEAS. After a few years, she realized she wasn't cut out to be the sole proprietor of a business so she closed LiberTEAS and started reviewing teas online. She met Jennifer through another blog that they both reviewed for and they decided to start their own review blog. This review blog! Throughout her journey as a tea reviewer, she discovered 52Teas and became enamored with the idea of creating a new tea every week. When the founder of 52Teas decided he wanted to move on, he offered the business to Anne but knowing that she wasn't cut out to be a sole proprietor, she instead offered the company to her oldest daughter who employs her as the Mad Tea Artist for 52Teas!

This post was posted in Yerba Maté

Banana Cherry Green Yerba Maté from 52Teas

by liberteas

Tisane Information:

Leaf Type:  Green Yerba Maté

Where to Buy:  52Teas

Tisane Description:

So, I’m on a bit of a banana kick lately, but trust me, you won’t be disappointed in this week’s tea of the week. Here’s some green (non-roasted) yerba mate blended with real freeze-dried bananas, and natural banana and maraschino cherry flavors.

If you haven’t had green mate (or any yerba mate) before, you’re missing out. The un-roasted variety is a bit vegetal; it reminds me of a nice green tea, except it doesn’t get bitter. Yerba Mate also has the extra benefit of being VERY caffeinated. A lot of people who have issues with side effects from other caffeinated beverages report that they do not experience the same side effects when drinking yerba mate.

This blend of bananas, maraschino cherry and energy is going to become a welcome addition to my morning routine.

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

I wasn’t too sure about this blend when I first tried it, and even now, I can say that it isn’t my favorite blend from 52Teas.  Even so, I am enjoying it, so I can’t say that it’s a disappointment, either.

The dry leaf aroma is spectacular.  The fragrance of bananas fill the air every time I open the pouch – and I happen to love banana.  I can also detect hints of cherry as well as the vegetative, earthy tones of the yerba maté.  Once brewed, the infusion emits an aroma that is quite a bit softer, but still very much banana with faint cherry notes and the slightest whisper of that earthy quality.

Which I guess is what threw me off … because I had expected the fruit flavors to be stronger than the yerba maté flavor, but, my first couple of sips, what I tasted most was the earthy, vegetal, and even slightly smoky presence of the yerba maté.  I could taste the banana; I could even taste the cherry.  But neither were as strong as I had expected from the aroma.

But as I continued to sip, I noticed the flavors starting to develop.  Now, as I am halfway through my second cup of this tisane, I am enjoying the flavors.  I like the way the sweet flavor of the banana marries with the earthy tones of the yerba maté, and how the cherry notes weave their way in and out throughout the sip. The cherry becomes especially pronounced in the aftertaste, when I taste a distinct cherry flavor that is sweet and even just a little tart.

Not exactly what I expected when I first opened the pouch, but it is still tasty!

liberteas

Anne (aka the Mad Tea Artist) has celebrated her 29th birthday for many years now. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her hubby and her youngest daughter. Her oldest daughter is married and has bestowed Anne with the proud title of "Gramma" and her grandson is about the cutest boy you ever did see. Anne started her journey with tea as a casual drinker and became more serious about her tea drinking when she realized that she couldn't drink coffee. Shortly thereafter, she started becoming obsessed with the beverage and she started creating small-batch, artisan blends of tea that she sold online as LiberTEAS. After a few years, she realized she wasn't cut out to be the sole proprietor of a business so she closed LiberTEAS and started reviewing teas online. She met Jennifer through another blog that they both reviewed for and they decided to start their own review blog. This review blog! Throughout her journey as a tea reviewer, she discovered 52Teas and became enamored with the idea of creating a new tea every week. When the founder of 52Teas decided he wanted to move on, he offered the business to Anne but knowing that she wasn't cut out to be a sole proprietor, she instead offered the company to her oldest daughter who employs her as the Mad Tea Artist for 52Teas!

This post was posted in 52Teas, Tea Company, Type Of Tea, Yerba Maté

Coconut Maté Masala Chai from Yogic Chai

by liberteas

Tea Information:

Leaf Type:  Yerba Maté

Where to Buy:  Yogic Chai

Product Description:

We use Organic & Fair Trade Green Yerba Mate from Brazil for our Mate Chai(s)

Yerba Mate is a lightly stimulating beverage from South America that has a mild amount of caffeine with just the right kick. It produces a light green beverage, with a refreshingly bold flavor that has found a perfect match with our masala spices!

Taster’s Review:

This is one of the smoothest tasting Yerba Maté blends I’ve ever encountered.  Generally, I find Yerba Maté (and particularly green Yerba Maté as in this blend) to be quite rustic, consisting of a strong earthy quality as well as a vegetative note.  And, while this Yerba Maté blend does have that rustic feel to it, I think that the spices and the coconut help to even this Maté out to give it a smooth finish.

I suspect the same recipe of spices that goes in to Yogic Chai’s award-winning Original Masala Chai is used for this blend, and I like the way the spices and Yerba Maté work together in this blend.  The result is a gentler Maté with a savory kick of masala spice with just a hint of coconut goodness.  The flavors are warm and spicy.  I find the blend to be very soothing and a pleasure to sip.

The coconut is much more subtle here than I expected, but it gives the overall cup a creamy kiss of coconut-y sweetness that I really like.  The coconut is present throughout the sip, but, it is a subtle tone of coconut.

This is delicious hot but I actually prefer this one iced.  While it also makes a great chai latte, I prefer it without milk.  I just add a drizzle of agave nectar to enhance the spices and serve it chilled.   It is so refreshing and so beautifully different with its medley of spices.  It is calming and yet energizing; it is peacefully invigorating!

liberteas

Anne (aka the Mad Tea Artist) has celebrated her 29th birthday for many years now. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her hubby and her youngest daughter. Her oldest daughter is married and has bestowed Anne with the proud title of "Gramma" and her grandson is about the cutest boy you ever did see. Anne started her journey with tea as a casual drinker and became more serious about her tea drinking when she realized that she couldn't drink coffee. Shortly thereafter, she started becoming obsessed with the beverage and she started creating small-batch, artisan blends of tea that she sold online as LiberTEAS. After a few years, she realized she wasn't cut out to be the sole proprietor of a business so she closed LiberTEAS and started reviewing teas online. She met Jennifer through another blog that they both reviewed for and they decided to start their own review blog. This review blog! Throughout her journey as a tea reviewer, she discovered 52Teas and became enamored with the idea of creating a new tea every week. When the founder of 52Teas decided he wanted to move on, he offered the business to Anne but knowing that she wasn't cut out to be a sole proprietor, she instead offered the company to her oldest daughter who employs her as the Mad Tea Artist for 52Teas!

This post was posted in Chai, Yerba Maté

Mango Maté from Fusion Tea Room

by liberteas

Tea Information:

Leaf Type:  Yerba Maté

Where to Buy:  Fusion Tea Room

Product Description:

The elegance of this blend is simple and sophisticated. Our unsmoked yerba mate infused with the flavor of ripe mangoes. Very smooth that goes down easy. You ‘ll forget you’re actually drinking mate because the astringency and bitterness that so many other brands have isn’t there. Energize your midday over ice. Love it, drink it, share it.

Taster’s Review:

I have to agree with the above description, this is very smooth, it goes down easily!  There is no astringency and no bitterness.  It is sweet and absolutely delicious.  This just may be my favorite Yerba Maté blend yet.

Although I must say that I don’t actually forget that I am sipping on Yerba Maté, because it tastes like Yerba Maté.  It does lack the sometimes bitter taste that accompanies a typical smoked Yerba Maté, but beyond that, I can taste the vegetative and earthy qualities of the Maté.  It also has that invigorating quality of Yerba Maté.  This is a Yerba Maté blend I’d recommend to those who have tried Yerba Maté in the past and found it to be a little off-putting.  This blend will change their mind!

The mango tastes sweet.  It’s a very vibrant fruit flavor – very authentic and juicy.  The fruit melds so beautifully with the vegetal taste of the green Yerba Maté.  The vegetative taste is a little more prominent than the earthy quality of the Maté here, and the flavors unite so harmoniously.

As I said before, I’d recommend this to anyone who has tried Yerba Maté in the past and didn’t care for it – this one will change your mind.  I’d also recommend this one to the Yerba Maté newbies out there.  Heck, I’d recommend this one to anybody – it’s that good!

liberteas

Anne (aka the Mad Tea Artist) has celebrated her 29th birthday for many years now. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her hubby and her youngest daughter. Her oldest daughter is married and has bestowed Anne with the proud title of "Gramma" and her grandson is about the cutest boy you ever did see. Anne started her journey with tea as a casual drinker and became more serious about her tea drinking when she realized that she couldn't drink coffee. Shortly thereafter, she started becoming obsessed with the beverage and she started creating small-batch, artisan blends of tea that she sold online as LiberTEAS. After a few years, she realized she wasn't cut out to be the sole proprietor of a business so she closed LiberTEAS and started reviewing teas online. She met Jennifer through another blog that they both reviewed for and they decided to start their own review blog. This review blog! Throughout her journey as a tea reviewer, she discovered 52Teas and became enamored with the idea of creating a new tea every week. When the founder of 52Teas decided he wanted to move on, he offered the business to Anne but knowing that she wasn't cut out to be a sole proprietor, she instead offered the company to her oldest daughter who employs her as the Mad Tea Artist for 52Teas!

This post was posted in Yerba Maté