Price range: $8.50 through $38.25
We took our favourite 5-spice Chai and blended it with yerba mate for an extra kick. The yerba mate has been roasted to offer a deep robust flavour that can hold up to the complexity of the chai. Toasty, spicy, and extremely energizing, this blend is the perfect morning coffee alternative. It’s full-bodied, dynamic flavours can hold up well to milk, so don’t be afraid to try it in a latte either!
50100g Makes Aprox
50 cups
Contains Caffeine
Yes
Infusion Time
6 – 8 min
Quantity
2 TSP / CUP
Infusion Temperature
90°C / 194°F
Mate, cardamom, cloves, ginger bits, cinnamon pieces, black pepper.
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Jesse (verified owner) –
O.M. Goodness, this tea is awesome. I purchased a 50g bag and it was gone in 1 week. Just purchased a 100g tin and will most likely add this blend to my autoship.
Michelle (verified owner) –
2tsp for 250mL water @90C, steeped 9 minutes. The packet recommends 2tsp for 1 cup of water, which seems like a lot to me, but with tisanes, things can get tricky. So I’ll follow the instructions. Packet also recommends a steep time of six to eight minutes. I got distracted and left it for 9.
Dry leaf: gorgeous dark roasted mate. I was delighted to see that, because the packet lists only “mate” as an ingredient. I was worried that green mate, so fresh and vibrant, couldn’t stand up to chai spices. Roasted can, I have no doubt. I love roasted mate, and it can be hard to find. Strong scent of ginger and cloves, which I love. Clove is an ingredient I don’t often encounter in chai blends. Stash uses it, and Stash was the first chai blend I ever tried, so now for me cloves need to be there. And ginger. I adore cloves and ginger. Cinnamon I can take or leave in a chai blend. This probably tells you I am an unsophisticated brute who knows nothing of chai.
Wet leaf: glossy dark roasted mate, but of clove and ginger showing.
Liquor: quite dark, though not as dark as a pu-ehr. Dark golden brown, as a Nigiri might give. Translucent: light passes through without interruption from down or fragments. Fragrant still with clove and ginger — and a bit of cardamom, which I also adore but can only take in small doses. Too much cardamom gives tisanes, teas and coffee a soapy mouthfeel. I also find too much cardamom hard on the stomach. Given how long I’ve steeped this, I’m a bit nervous.
Just on the edge of soap with the cardamom, and I blame myself. A shorter steep would solve that.
A very balanced blend. The roasted mate is all toasty and a bit earthy, a subtle touch of bitterness — which really works here. I don’t think it needs any sweetening, because the ginger and cinnamon sweeten things nicely at the end. The cloves add depth, and the pepper leaves a lingering bite that builds with each sip.
The mate lift kicks in fast, as it should. Not a smack to the head, but a definite boost. Very pleasant.
I really like it. Citizen Tea seem to have a good handle on blends. Watch the water temp and steep times on this beauty, and enjoy.
Conrad (verified owner) –
This is an awesome tea, the first sip was just magical and so has every sip since.