Matevana & Rooibos Chai blend

Okay, so first of all, the steeper mug from Golden Moon is NOT good with rooibos/mate/other small-leaf things. Ewwww. Unfortunately, I don’t have any paper filters with me, so I will have to deal.

And my verdict is that this is tasty warm as well (though I could have brewed it stronger than I did). :) It’s got chocolate (though not very pronounced) and spiciness and nuttiness. Mmm. Not something I would want to have everyday, but it’s enjoyable! Muuuuuuuch more so than MateVana on its own, which was blech.

Steep Information:
Amount: 4 heaping teaspoons
Water: 750 milliters filtered 212°
Tool: Breville One-Touch Tea Maker BTM800XL (Herbal, Strong, Auto start)
Steep Time: a little over 5 minutes
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: Chocolate, nuts, spices, wood
Steeped Tea Smell: Chocolate, nuts, spice
Flavor: spice, hints of chocolate
Body: Medium
Aftertaste: cinnamon
Liquor: translucent orange-brown

Gift from SoccerMom!

This is a delicious combination, if you enjoy Teavana’s Mates I highly suggest this.

Post-Steep Additives: German rock sugar, sweeter and more / stronger flavors overall

images: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/05/teavana-loose-leaf-rooibos-and-mate-tea.html

Today, I drank this blend cold. I made the blend last night: (2 teaspoons Rooibos Chai with 2 teaspoons Matevana with 1/2 teaspoon of German Rock Sugar) in my glass cylindrical tea carafe. I filled it half way with hot water, allowed it to steep for five minutes. This brew is dark, almost black right now, maybe I let it steep too long? Anyway, filled the rest with cold water and put in the fridge overnight.

This morning I poured about half of it out into my travel mug. It was still dark, but it was very good. So I kinda like this Chai cold, odd.

The flavor is complex: you have a tea flavor, but then a hint of almonds and cocoa, followed by the chai spices. The is what is most complex; it is contrasted by the temperature of the tea. This does not make the taste more intense, but it makes it a sensation, you have the blend of flavors and mouth feel combining to make a total experience.

This came in my Fire Sale box from iHeartTeas.

It’s funny because I’ve only seen MateVana mixed with Rooibos Chai. I’m curious what the MateVana tastes like by itself, but this is a nice little blend. I brewed this using one of my T-Sacs because I figured the mate or rooibos wouldn’t expand too much. The chai is not too strong, and it does still have that coffee taste. Although I do find it kind of ironic that you’re blending a highly caffeinated tea with one that has no caffeine. But the flavors go well together. We’ll see how this holds up to resteeping.

This one is very very good! My father bought a huge tin of this at Teavana one day since he tried it there and loved it. A great blend

This is slightly chocolate-y and nutty tasting with a spicy background. I can taste the vanilla, chocolate and cinnamon all individually. This is a pretty good mate blend.

I like! A good, well-balanced blend for this time of year. I wish I had brewed it a little stronger, and not had it follow up a spicy meal though.

Personally, I love this blend. I think that it is a perfect mix that instantly calms me down but at the same time gets me excited and leaves me intrigued. Anytime someone comes over I always offer them some tea but am a little hesitant to share this one!

I can never get the tea to taste the same way that it does in ths store, drats! I think I need to start putting more tea in (?) I played around with the sugar amount today and it didn’t seem to make a difference, so I think I’ll try making it more concentrated. Though, this already seemed like there were too many tea leaves and not enough tea! I drank two of these and I’m not really more awake (supposed to be the same amount of caffeine as coffee!)

Today I’m drinking straight up tea, nothing added. Although a bit of sugar would be nice, it’s not needed.

Something is off with this cuppa this morning. Not sure. I drink this often and it still smells delightful with the chocolate and spicey blends wafting up from the cup. However, I think my vanilla lip gloss has messed with the taste and it’s a bit disappointing. Good to note. No more lip gloss before my first cuppa the day.