Mexican Mango Chili Mate

I want to thank LiberTEAs for this one! :)

Other Mexican Chili Mate type tea/tisane’s I have had have been ‘ok’ but no overly my thing! With this one, tho, I really like it! Perhaps it’s the addition of the MANGO…not sure…but this is pretty good! There is a LOT going on! Green Tea, Rooibos, Mate, Fruit, Flavors, Flowers, Nuts, Herbs! WOW!

The Chili is pretty intense but I like it! There are other secondary flavors that help back it up! The Mango is right behind the Chili. The rose, Ginseng, Orange, and Cherry follow. The other ingredients are more subtle! Everything seems to have it’s role in this! It’s very involved and quite unique! Nicely done!

Now I’m always up for some new mate in my cupboard for those times when you get home after a long day with a pounding headache and you just NEED a strong dose of caffeine…hence buying this.

It brews up nicely, but I would recommend timing it at maybe 5-6 minutes because the sweet fruitiness did get overwhelming and bitter by letting it sit untimed. I could definitely taste the chili, and of course the longer it brews the spicier it is. I don’t handle spicy as well as most people though so my version of spicy may be more mild than yours.

The mango isn’t obvious, it’s definitely a fruit, it’s kind of more citrusy than anything else. I think this would probably rock as an iced tea, and the sweetness of it would be more appealing cold. Overall I’m glad I have this and it’s not just a sample size. I would recommend it to fruity tea lovers, mate drinkers, and those looking for an iced tea mate.

I will agree somewhat with a previous user on the taste of this tea – someone described the taste as “spicy bubblegum” – it tastes like bubblegum (and not in a good way) but is not that spicy. Let me explain my reference for what I think is spicy – I grow my own fresh thai, cayenne, habanero, anaheim and jalapeno peppers at home in my garden. I am a big fan of spicy things in general. I had high hopes for this tea, but after trying it I looked more closely at the ingredients ( green tea, green & roasted maté, South African rooibos, rosebuds, blossoms (safflower, marigold, peony, and cornflower), ginseng root, chili peppers, carrot flakes, mango and pineapple cubes (mango, pineapple, sugar), mango and pineapple flakes, dried orange and tangerine pieces, dried strawberry, almond and other flavoring ) and was truly saddened to see that although it had so many wonderful -sounding ingredients none of them really shone through. Was also miffed that it did not specifically state what kind of chiles were in the tea – chiles have varying levels of spice depending on the variety. Steeped with boiling water for 8-10 minutes.

The flavor of this tea is spicy bubblegum and I’m not sure how anyone can taste anything else. I had to write a review because I was so disappointed in the flavor. I thought I was going to love it and it would taste like dried chili spiced mango slices, but it quite literally tastes like a gumball sprinkled with cayenne. I’m trying to find a way to get through it.

Philadelphia Coffee & Tea Festival #3

After playing at MajaTei, I crossed the expo floor and visited Capital Teas. They had a very nice and large set up with multiple tasting stations. I personally have very fond feelings about Capital Teas since they are my home tea company, having started in Maryland and with many locations in the DC area. Turns out they just expanded to Philadelphia!

As much as I like their teas, this tea, unfortunately, is not for me. I expected this tea to be spicy and it was, pleasantly (or unpleasantly depending on your nature, I suppose) burning the back of my throat. However, I didn’t taste much depth to this, and definitely no mango. I wonder if I would have liked it better sweetened?