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Sipdown. Prefer this to Matevana by a long shot as this is much smoother and the flavors are better integrated, though a tad flat. Brews up nice and dark. Hazelnut with a hint of chocolate. Benefits from the addition of almond milk.

By the way, if you’re looking for a mate-based coffee substitute, the best – by far – that I’ve found is Guayaki’s Javamate, in either Vanilla or Mocha Maca flavors. That is purely on a flavor and body basis… you can even brew it in your coffeemaker. And there are pluses, as well — it is a socially-responsible company and these products also contain ramon nut, a rainforest “superfood” that’s still largely under the radar, at least in the US. Whole Foods used to carry it but now you can only order it from the company, apparently.

The reviews are all over the map on this one, and I fall into the “where’s the chocolate?” camp. I love mate but this tastes like smokey bark. Actually dislike it unless it gets a splash of almond milk, that helps a lot. I’m almost tempted to add sugar but I never do that when rating a tea. Maybe I got a bad batch. As a coffee substitute it moderately succeeds, based mostly on its depth/body. I really like Guayaki’s Javamate, in either Vanilla or Mocha Maca flavors, as a coffee substitute. Both of them leave Matevana in the dust flavor-wise, plus Guayaki’s a good company, socially, and the products contain another rainforest superfood, ramon nut.

Now that I’ve tasted more chocolate teas, I’m dropping my rating on this, since the complementarity of flavors seems to be off balance, so sitting and enjoying a cup of this leaves me wanting something to be different, rather than kicking back with a big “aaah”… it’s overweighted toward a sharp cinnamon, at least in the sample I had. Also tried it with a little almond milk and that didn’t help, only diminished its character.

Enjoyable! This was a surprise because I’m so jaded by so-called chocolate teas. I didn’t have to search for the cocoa or the coconut, both tasted natural and there were no ‘off’ flavor notes at all — smooth sailing. It is a little thin but there’s enough flavor to not be dissatisfying, just give it a good long steep, as my brethren here suggest. Drank with nothing added.

Slight cocoa fragrance, faintly chocolatey flavor. It’s a great ingredient list but the flavor doesn’t live up to expectations. I would not describe this as having surprising depth and body, even after I added almond milk. I think this tea might be nice as a low-key flavoring element for a fuller bodied puerh.

Really enjoyed this sample from Kasumi no Chagin, worth lingering over. This is neither a dark, oxidized oolong nor a fresh, green, floral oolong. It’s silky smooth, soft and round and … apricot. Apricot with a hint of assam from the nose through the long finish. The finish is slightly tannic on the second steep, though that may have been a little operator error oversteeping, not sure about that.

I am always seeking teas that inherently taste fruity (or chocolate/caramel/floral-y) without actually being flavored, and this is the most apricot I’ve tasted in that category. Smile-worthy tea sipping on this one!

If I liked chai I’d be more of a fan of this. It’s a nice enough cup but the cinnamon and clove hit pretty hard into the rooibos.

Molly sent me a couple of sachets of this that she’d just picked up so they’d be fresh, how sweet is that? There’s such a wide spread among the Steepster reviews and I can see why a lot of folks would love this smooth, flavorful tea, though I fall among those who are less enamoured, because it’s a bit too perfumey for my taste. The flavors are nice enough: I think Rebeccah hit it on the nose, so to speak, by calling it cherry pipe tobacco (I’d pulled out cherry and tobacco as predominant before reading her post, funny). Dark berry and bergamot are also apparent, and something smooths it out, like vanilla, which makes an appearance in the immediate aftertaste. Strong berry fragrance but this is not a typical light-bodied berry tea, it’s much rounder.

Smooth, malty, pulls no punches, easy drinking, I like it.

Thanks to Teavivre for the generous samples, much appreciated. This was a mild silver needle. Pleasantly buttery, with hay/grass and cucumber notes most apparent. Following recommended steeping with 1 1/2 tsp its flavor was quite subtle, so next time I will try it with 2 tsp.