A Review of MateVana Herbal Tea

This post is a little different for my blog. I don't think I've ever reviewed a tea before and this is more or less a reference for me so that I can remember my first impressions of this tea. My memory isn't what it used to be, lol. I've probably reviewed a tea and just can't remember and I'm too lazy to look.

I had a tea haul from Teavana delivered yesterday. This is probably one of the most missed stores that I miss from San Diego. There are some things that you should buy in person rather than over the internet and loose leaf teas are definitely something that you should buy in person. I really hate Teavana's high-pressure sales techniques, but seeing and smelling loose leaf tea in person is a great experience. When you live in the boonies, what are ya gonna do?

I loved the sound of the description of this tea from Teavana's website:

It’s not coffee, is it tea? Taste this coffee-like maté and red rooibos blend. Sweetened with cocoa and chocolate chips, this mochaccino inspired blend infuses smooth, dark rich sips that are soft and robust. 
Roasted infusion with rich chocolaty overtones

A palmful of MateVana Tea. You can see the marigold and chocolate chunks clearly.

This Mate tea has a bit of caffeine in it and I love a tea that I can drink in place of a morning cup of coffee because some days, I'm just not in a coffee mood but can use an energy boost. This is a very aromatic tea with strong chocolate overtones and nutty undertones. It has a strong tea flavor with chocolaty/nutty flavors. I think it also has a bit of a light anise taste to it as well. Something that bothers me about this tea is that I can swear that I'm tasting an artificial sweetener but it isn't listed in the ingredients. I would almost put money on this tea having an artificial sweetener in it.The ingredients do list sugar and "artificial flavors" soooo... Despite the troubling sweetener taste, I have enjoyed this tea this morning. While the chocolate comes through very strongly, I would not compare this tea to a mochaccino. It's just not what I think of when drinking this tea. It's very tea-y versus having a coffee flavor. It's also something that I would rather drink on a cold morning and/or evening rather than a hot and humid morning like we had today at my house. 

Very dark brew. It looks like coffee but tastes like tea.

Tea Time

I know nothing about tea. All I know is what I like and what I don't like and that I still haven't figured  that all out either. One of these days, I'll be a tea snob. ;)

Black Tea...Don't like. I have never tried a variety of black tea that I like. It has too strong of a tea flavor I think.

Sweet Tea...I honestly don't understand how anyone likes sweet tea. Living in the south for three years, it was EVERYwhere and I was probably the only person around that could have cared less. It's so thick and sickening sweet. Yuck.

White, Green, Oolong, and Herbal Tea...I haven't come across a variety of these teas that I didn't like. I like them plain and I like them flavored. I like them cold and I like them hot. I love how the different blends have different health benefits. I love how a hot mint tea feels wonderful to drink when I have a cold or sore throat. I love a cup of hot tea on a cold day. Yum.

Mate'...I've only tried this variety in a blend so I can't say whether or not I like it for sure.

Rooibos...I've never tried this variety. At least I don't think I have. I'm gonna though.

I am the only tea drinker in my house. Well, I used to be the only one. Yesterday, we took a drive up to North County Fair (When I went to their website to get the link, I discovered that they now call it Westfield North County Mall. I knew it as North County Fair so there.). It's a nice mall and we hadn't been there since we moved back to San Diego. On the second floor, I looked over and lo and behold, I saw a store called Teavana. I dragged the Mister and the kids over because I just had to go inside. We'd barely stepped over the threshold when we were offered samples of teas. I tried them all and so did the Oldest child. We both liked what we tried except she didn't like the sample of Oolong tea we were given. Then we were educated on cast iron teapots and how they are the superior way to drink tea. They had alllll kinds of cast iron tea sets. And I mean all kinds. I had the hardest time picking out a set. ;) I decided to go with a neutral gray set that had a dragon on it. It's the year of the dragon and I like what the dragon symbolizes:  Power, strength, good fortune, happiness, and immortality. I figured we could use some good fortune and you can never have too much happiness.

After picking out my teapot, I then had to decide which teas I wanted to buy to drink out of my pot. I made the Mister try the sample of "Chai Chai" that they had out because I thought he'd like it despite the fact that he thought he didn't like any teas. And I was right. So we bought some of that blend. I really wanted the Monkey Picked Oolong but at $25.00 for two ounces, I thought it a bit pricey. So we decided to get the Youthberry Wild Orange Blossom blend that was also a sample and was the Oldest's favorite. Then I picked out Blackberry Mojito Green Tea simply because I liked the sound of it and it smelled wonderful in the tin.

Last night, the Mister, the Oldest and I (the Youngest was at a sleepover) tried both the Youthberry and the Blackberry teas. After some trial and error with measurements, I brewed an excellent pot of each variety. They were just fabulous and all three of us liked each pot. This morning, we're having the Chai Chai blend. It has as much caffeine as a cup of coffee so we saved it for the morning. I LOVE my teapot.

I still refuse to look at the receipt to see how much we spent, lol. It was like once I got started picking out stuff, I couldn't stop myself. We spent enough that they brewed us three complimentary cups of Chai Chai. We're going to go back today (there's a Teavana at a mall close by) and pick out a few more teas. I'm excited! Teavana is my new favorite store. I love everything about it down to the tissue paper they used to wrap up my tea set. We also appreciate that they appreciate the military by giving us a 10% discount on tea.

My Dragon Teapot Set