★★★★★
Chais admittedly can be hit or miss with me, and wasn't sure I'd like the mate- but glad I tried this one! A nice toasted chai, not overly spiced and a great cup to warm up with.
Named to honor the rugged cattlemen of the South American pampas, our Gaucho Mate Chai is sure to become a fireside favorite.
Customers use these reviews to describe their experience with Gaucho Mate Chai, including flavor, aroma, preparation preferences, strength, and how the tea fits into daily routines. Browse the full review history page by page to compare tasting notes, steeping tips, and favorite ways to enjoy this tea.
Chais admittedly can be hit or miss with me, and wasn't sure I'd like the mate- but glad I tried this one! A nice toasted chai, not overly spiced and a great cup to warm up with.
Tried this one as part of Communitea and was happily surprised. Not usually a fan of mate but this was delish. The blend of spices which was cardamom and clove forward blended well with the toasted mate base and was just right to sip plain.
despite oversteeping, this tea wasn’t as strong as i expected it to be. i wasn’t a huge fan of the herbal taste, but i’m not a huge mate fan to begin with.
Lightly spiced chai with a caffeine super boost. Not really my cuppa.
I enjoyed this tea, especially the cardamon. It was surprisingly light in color. Honey and cream help.
I’m always hesitant to drink mate. I’m not a huge fan of the taste and it can give me extreme jitters. While I did get strong jitters with this tea, the chai spices did a lot to make it drinkable flavor wise. What’s extra impressive here is that I’m not always a fan of chai either, so this combination ultimately created something more than the sum of its parts. Because of how this physically affects me, I would not choose to purchase. However if you are looking for a caffeine boost, this could be what you’re looking for!
Wow! This is delicious. The usual reason to drink mate is for the appetite suppressing qualities. I've never heard anyone say they drink mate because they love the taste of mate. But with this tea, you can love the taste of mate.
Cinnamon is the predominant flavor, followed by cloves. To me, it tastes like a warm, gooey cinnamon bun.
I would drink this any day.
A nice toasted mate with chai spices. I like that the mate is toasted, but the chai flavors in this were mild.
The chai is not bad, but It has a perfume taste, that takes over the tea. I do like the mate that gives the tea, a nice caffeine kick.
This a great tea you can taste, love the spices (180 @ 5 min.)
The good thing I can say is that I am now more sure I don't like masala Chai spice
Rich, toasty mate is such a great compliment to the chai spices. Earthy chai spices warm you up and do a little happy dance on your tongue. I enjoyed this with honey. Did not try any cream/milk since I was enjoying it so much without it. The honey really brought the spices forward and made this such a delicious tea. I only used 8oz of water for my 4g packet and it turned out great. I also decided to steep low and slow and I am so glad I did. Steeped at 160º for 8 mins. Cheers.
This is a warm tea with a lot of flavor. To me it tastes and feels like a tea you would drink if you're feeling sick.
Not my favorite tea but it certainly isn't a bad tea by any measure.
This is a nice spicy tea. I enjoyed the addition of mate to bring in the nice caffeine punch.
This made a perfect balance of my two favorite drinks, mate and chai. I usually wake up my mate with soaking it a few minutes before I brew, not sure where I guy that tip from 😀
Trying this for the second time today. The ingredients sound so yummy, but something about it doesn’t work for me. It’s not unpleasant, but it has a mouth-numbing quality that is kinda weird. There are other mates and other chais that are far better imho.
A nice chai flavor, but not a fan of mate so not my favorite.
This is a slightly spicy chai blend with mate (which adds some flair). If ypu love chai...buy this blend. If you hate chai skip it.
I was careful and managed to steep at the right temp for the recommended length of time. It tasted nice - nicer when it had cooled slightly. I drank it without milk or sugar. I probably would not buy this - I always have trouble steeping mate properly - but it was very nice to drink for one day. Love the smell of all the spices.
The flavor is super clove forward. Very spicy and warming.
Whatever this 'east meets west' chai was an awful clash for me. As soon as I smelled the tea leaves that I knew I was not going to enjoy today's Communitea. It was more like a bad Argentine Tango where the woman of the night just smacked the gaucho so she can walk away and go home. I'm not a chai person. I do like marsala chai when it's not oversteeped, but this is my least liked chai of the ones I've tasted. UPDATE (12/28/2022): I tried again with sugar. No hay amor aqui.
UPDATE: I have to come to find I just don't like mate. Just nope. It makes my heart race a wee bit too much for my liking and the flavor is weird to me (bell peppers?). But I know some love it, Happy Sipping to them!
This one is good but I didn't love it. It's a little weak in my opinion. But I did enjoy all the warm notes from the cloves and cinnamon. It had just a bit of a kick on the tongue with that lingering tingle. This is a nice option for those wanting a different twist on chai. Drink this and daydream you are on the pampas!
This tea was spicy right off the bat but once it cools off a little bit the flavors mellow out and it becomes enjoyable! It's a nice mellow chai tea that taste good with a spoonful of honey to add a little sweetness.
Updated Review 1/28/22. Second chances are always worth it! I gave todays sample a short steep, a heavy dose of cream and sugar, and came out a winner! It was a very pleasant, moderately spiced chai. Delicious!
I’m glad that the CommuniTEA offered me an opportunity to try this blend. I’ve loved sampling the Mate blends, and I’ve enjoyed many of their varied chais. Unfortunately, this one was a bit too heavy in cloves and anise for my tastes. But thankfully, there’s so many other blends to turn to in the Adagio collection, everyone can find their favorite!
I like a good chai and this cup of tea is good but not perfect for me. I'm not a big fan of the stronger star anise flavor. Definitely a mixture of warm flavors in this cup!
The mate in this makes for a lighter than usual chai. You definitely will want to use less water to keep it from being too weak. The flavors are very warm and the spices linger. Delicious!
The beautiful aroma of cloves greeted me as I opened the bag, followed by cinnamon, cardamom, and anise—happy smells. Brewed, it was a lovely mix. Spicier would have been welcome, but a lovely mix nonetheless.
CommuniTEA Sample: This is a lighter chai and the mate gives it a very different flavor. As a few others have noted, no milk needed. A very nice sip this morning.
I'm pretty new to Chai teas. This one was good. Defiantly tasted the spices, but it wasn't too much.
Quite a tasty chai blend! Without the black tea base I'm used to, this smelled a lot like mulled cider while it was brewing. Now I wish I had some more to try that with...
Tasted as part of the Communitea
I brewed this at the suggested temp (212F for 5min), and after looking at some of the comments it seems mate should be brewed at lower temperatures (160-180F), maybe next time. At the 212F, there is a lot of wonderful chai flavor and spiciness. I find the flavor very nice but I think I like samurai chai mate a bit better. Overall, it is nice but not something I will have on hand due to the extremely high caffeine content.
Update 1/ 28/22:
I just upgraded this from 4 to 5 stars. I love the spiciness of this tea and the caffeine kick.
I am always a little hesitant to try a tea that has toasted mate . I jump to the conclusion that it will taste like coffee. I am pleased to say that this toasty warm chai blend does not. It is not overly spicy and quite enjoyable.
This was a wonderful combination or Mate and Chai. The spicy aroma of cardamon and star anise was the strongest. There was a hint of cinnamon, not so overpowering as to give it a “bite”. I would love to make chai concentrate with this for lattes
4/28/18 - Lovely fragrance and great spicy taste!! I love this tea!
1/28/2022 - I really do like this tea but have learned that I just can't handle mate. It makes me jittery. i drink a lot of tea...caffeine usually doesn't bother me. But mate is just not for me. So keeping this at 5 stars -- it's a great tea! But, my body just says nope. Not my cup of tea.
Enjoyed this mellow chai. Brewed at a lower temperature of 180°for 5 mins. The spicy flavors were nice without being overpowering. The mate was balanced well with the chai.Nice cuo.
Great tea!
I really liked this interpretation of chai. As someone who doesn't like adding milk or sugar to my tea, the mate allowed me to have my chai with no other additions.
A good spice blend, but it was a bit heavy with the mate.
Nice kick of caffeine along with the traditional chai flavorings without the bitterness of black tea.
Strong, spicy chai accented by smoky, earthy mate flavors. This tea does what is meant to do - it was just a bit too heavy for my taste.
A lovely chai. It's great as is and is also good with cream and sweetener. The chai spice isn't lost when diluted.
This was so astringent. Even smelling the leaves in the sample pouch made my nose burn. I got no mate taste. There was a bit of chai taste but it was buried underneath the overall harsh taste and smell.
One of my Absolute Favorites! Drink this tea almost every morning
Toasty and potent source of caffeine. Complex spice blend with no single flavor standing out over the others.
I love this hot tea. There are lots of flavors to enjoy.
Another excellent mate Chai! We've gotten really into the Mate teas at Adagio. They taste like spiced bread to us, and this one is very rich and warm tasting. So good for a winter morning or late night of work.
Will order this one again. Good chai tea with honey
On it's own this is a tad spice heavy and needs sweetening, however mixed 1:1 with Samurai Mate and it is AMAZING. The combination balances the spices to a lovely warming cup that is perfect for a morning kickstart.
I haven't met a chai from Adagio that I haven't loved yet. This is no exception.
Not spicy enough for me, personally. I also am not a fan of the aniseed, so it's not a go-to.