So, my first exposure to Mateina was at the MTL Tea Festival last year where I got to try an assortment of their teas – and I actually ended up purchasing two of them as well. I thought they were a pretty company, and I had a good impression of them overall.
Last week, while grocery shopping, I stumbled upon their new RTD line up and I couldn’t resist buying a can of each flavour to try out! I’ve been drinking them with my lunch at work this week, and I have to say that I’ve been really impressed.
I am definitely the customer base for a yerba mate or guayusa based RTD for energy/focus, and I’ve tried a solid assortment of different brands now but they usually aren’t great. Too earthy, bitter, muddy…
These ones are actually impressively good though.
This is the “Original” flavour, which is a straight forward yerba mate with lemon. Very safe; very commercial – but super well executed. The lemon is really bright and fresh; like a lemonade with the perfect balance of sweetness and puckering tartness. The yerba mate is smooth and slightly earthy, slighty grassy – not covered by the lemon but not muddy or bitter/too strong. A tiny hint of went smokiness, which is a flavour that I find inconsistently present in yerba mate – just with my personal tastes.
Lemon is not an RTD flavour I often gravitate towards, but this is nice and would definitely be an option for me.