When it comes to Yerba Maté, I am extremely picky. I don’t really care much for unflavored Yerba Maté. I prefer roasted Maté over the green. And, generally, I am apprehensive (to say the least) to try a Yerba Maté blend that I have not flavored myself.
So, when I received this sample of Chocolate Maté from KTeas, it was met with a bit of nervous uncertainty. However, I decided to give it a try. After all, it IS chocolate flavored… and what kind of chocoholic would I be if I were to summarily disregard something chocolate?
The flavor is very smooth with a natural sweetness (I’m assuming this is derived from the rooibos as well as the chocolate). Traditionally, Yerba Maté is served with sweetener, and I found that this Maté blend does well with an ample dollop of agave nectar to bring out the subtle nuances of the chocolate.
The green Yerba Maté has a vegetal quality to it; however, it is not overpowering in this cup. Perhaps it is the rooibos which offsets the earthy characteristics, or maybe it’s that the earthiness compliments the chocolate. Either way, I do not find it off-putting as I so often do.
I also quite enjoy the sparkle of the red rooibos in this blend. Very often, red rooibos tends to be very sweet; however, just as the rooibos offsets some of the earthy characteristics of the Yerba Maté, the Maté does its part in this synergistic blend to offset some of the inherent sweetness of the rooibos.
KTeas describes this tea as:
Yerba Maté is the hot drink of choice in South America—usually enjoyed by sipping from a hollow gourd (cuia) through a filtered straw (bombihla). We don’t have the cuia or the bombihla, here, but we do offer you the chance to enjoy the invigorating maté with some sinful chocolate!
While the chocolate here is more subtle than say, a hot chocolate or even my favorite chocolate tea, in this blend it offers a very palatable balance of chocolate and Yerba Maté. The delicate, silky chocolate unites in a sort of rustic harmony with the vegetal nature of the Yerba Maté. And I like it!
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marlena said, in reply to Better Belly Blend from Two Leaves and a Bud on August 30, 2010 at 12:35 pm
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"Well, as someone who has tasted a lot of chai tea, I can attest that this really is not very similar in taste to Chai. Chai tends to focus on the spices, whereas this tea’s focus is on the orange, with the spices being very gentle and more of an accent to the orange."
liber-teas said, in reply to Harvest Orange Spice from Octavia Tea on August 25, 2010 at 11:00 pm
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"How fun! I love drinking tea so I love that you have a whole blog related to reviewing them. One brand that I really love that I don’t see on your list is the Portsmouth Tea Company. When I lived in Boston I used to buy lots of their teas and they were oh so unique. They had some really great fruity and floral blends. It’s interesting that..."
Kelly said, in reply to Harvest Orange Spice from Octavia Tea on August 25, 2010 at 11:25 am
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"Haha!! My co-worker told me that she purchased this tea after having purchased the Matcha Latte at Seattle’s Best, and her and another co-worker purchased this because they believed it was what was served there. She stated to me today that “it didn’t seem the same exactly…it felt like their was something..."
The Tea Guru said, in reply to Matcha Latté with Honeydew from Tazo Tea on August 20, 2010 at 8:55 pm
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Matcha Latté with Honeydew from Tazo Tea
"I’m not absolutely certain, but I believe that this is the concentrate that Seattle’s Best coffee shops use to make their matcha latte. The lattes I’ve enjoyed there were sweet with a definite melon flavor… and I have noticed that they sell other Tazo teas there. If it IS the concentrate that they use… I am..."
liber-teas said, in reply to Matcha Latté with Honeydew from Tazo Tea on August 20, 2010 at 8:47 pm
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"I Love this tea!! This flavor is my favorite. I am so addicted to it! Thanks
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Betsy said, in reply to Raspberry Earl from Zhena’s Gypsy Tea on August 20, 2010 at 4:55 pm
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liber-teas said, in reply to Easter Tea from Dammann Frères on August 19, 2010 at 7:42 pm
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