Ginger Citrus Guayusa

Nom nom nom. I had the teabag of this for breakfast a few days ago and it was lovely. The smell is all citrus, sweet and a tad tart. The flavor itself is a very natural citrus and ginger balance, supported by the slight bitterness of the guayusa. I am going to have to get a box of either this or the Cinnamon Lemongrass to keep at the office.

I drank some this morning.
I paired this with Andy Capp’s Hot fries, a banana, and a Ess-A-Bagel.

From the Runa Box: Amazon Kichwa people "They come together during these morning hours to share dreams, music and myths in a tradition that is essential to what makes them “Runa” – fully living human beings.

So, I did my part.
I went to see the Micki Minaj concert at Rockefeller Plaza before work.
I saw screaming teenage girls.
I heard the song Beez in the Trap.
Then it was time to go to work.

Sharing, is caring, especially loud music.
.

8/15/12 – I’m drinking this at work. I love the caffeine buzz. However, I’m added: 1 Pack of sugar, Maca Powder and Yerba Mate to make this have a super kick.

I really like this blend. The ginger is a gentler ginger taste, still zesty but not overwhelmingly peppery. Not hot or spicy. The orange tastes bright and juicy, with beautiful sweet and tangy tones. The guayusa is a little lighter here – it doesn’t taste quite as rich as in other guayusa blends I’ve tasted. But I still like it. It’s a little more vegetative and a little less earthy.

Very nice.

I tried this at the Coffee & Tea Festival in NYC & from the first sip I knew I’d become a guayusa addict.

First off, the ginger is perfect. It goes really well with the citrus in this blend. I tried a full cup this morning thanks to my purchase yesterday. Love it! Definitely keeping this one on hand for normal stash.

I tried this sample bag of Guayusa with the recommended 8oz of water instead of my full, 12oz Kati cup. The tea is much better than the previous sample I tried, but it’s still not a super strong tea. The main even here is the guayusa, which is vegetal and ‘green’ tasting, if that makes any sense. I get a nice ginger note that rounds it out and gives it a little more depth, but I’m not really tasting any citrus. Overall a nice tea, but not really what I usually go for.

Check out our video-tasting here: http://blip.tv/the-tea-show/episode-27-runa-s-ginger-citrus-guayusa-5487101

On first taste, I disliked this blend. As a traditionally strong drink Mate drinker, I felt this was bordering on over produced blends that compromise the roots which is always the main ingredient, Guayusa. I decided to give it a few days, I then tried it 4 days in a row before work. By the 3rd day I was hooked. The Guayusa was not compromised, and it was not as overwhelming a flavor as I had thought. It began to grow on me, and was genuinely tasty by that 3rd day. Very Tasty, just like Guayusa, it is also subtle and very very tasty. Great blend, I will always be skeptical of blends in which seems a bit over produced, just like my music taste. I think my idea of teahouses are things such as the Citrus blend. I feel they go too much with flavor and substance, but I think this tea may have changed my point of view

As a major fan of Yerba mate, I also like this herbal tea native to South America. Today I drank it iced, cold brewed overnight. What makes this brew stand out to me is the lack of tannins. I often get a bitter brew from some sort of mistake on my part from making mate. It is quite finicky that way. The resulting liquor from this tea is lighter and more golden in color than mate, the flavor itself is great. Smooth, bright and the citrus plays really well off the ginger. It reminds me of a green tea. Young hyson perhaps? This tea is not wanting for anything, I can down it straight up all day without any jitters.

Steeped this one twice in a row, loved it equally both time. I found the ginger to be really soothing in combination with the citrus.

My very first Guayusa experience, this one from Runa, Ginger Citrus, tastes very gingery, with the solid bite I favor in ginger infusions. What’s new to me is the slippery texture (or is that slimy?) of the guayusa itself, which reminds me of the texture of licorice root infusions. The difference is that this was not very sweet at all—despite the text claiming a “naturally sweet taste”. Of course, it’s all relative. Next to licorice root, this is definitely not sweet. Next to bitter maté, well, okay, yes, I guess that it could be considered sweet.

The orange flavor here is far more subtle than the ginger, and overall this was a pleasant caffeinated non-tea experience, though I still have no idea what guayusa itself tastes like. The blend is definitely better than most of the maté blends I’ve tried, so I’ll be checking out the other flavors from this line…