Organic Yerba Mate, Loose

I’ve been drinking mate’ for years. This is excellent. It seems smoother than a lot of the other brands you normally find on the shelves here. Worth a try.

For a Yerba Mate this is the best deal. Its pure leaf meaning less roots and more of the leaf (antioxidants). For a Yerba Mate this is a 9 out of 10, as for taste its not really that enjoyable. The only reasons I would recommend this tea is because of the health benefits and also drinking something healthier than coffee without worrying about harmful soils etc… This tends to be a bitter grassy taste.

It smells like catnip to me. LOL

But, I really enjoy the pick-me-up of this maté without the heaviness of coffee.

I definitely like a cup of yerba mate (unsmoked) when I need an interesting pick me up.

This tea is strong and yes it is definitely a tea that you must have an “acquired taste” for (cigarette aroma). But I definitely like its strong, astringent earthy flavor. It is refreshing over ice with a little bit of stevia. This is not a tea I would drink with a meal.

This has become my daily beverage of choice (not that I’ve given up coffee). The most important thing about yerba mate that I’ve discovered to keep it from getting bitter is something I saw in a snippet on another site – soak it in a little bit of cold water before brewing, just enough to get the leaves good and wet. I forgot to do this one time and it makes a HUGE difference in the flavor.

The way I have it:
2 Tbs yerba mate
1 Tbs dark chocolate chunks, broken up
2 tsp Oolong tea
1/4 tsp peppercorns
1/4 tsp whole cloves
a dash of nutmeg & cinnamon
Brew with 2.5 cups of water in an automatic drip coffee pot, add sugar and a dash of cream. I love it hot or iced!