★★★★☆
Really nice, almost coffee like taste, and a really strong pick me up
Brazilian toasted mate with a mellower, yet full-bodied character. Toasty, with a comforting chicory note, and hints of tobacco.
Customers use these reviews to describe their experience with Toasted Mate, 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.
Really nice, almost coffee like taste, and a really strong pick me up
For me, mate is a 'good but not great' sort of flavor, both regular and toasted. This toasted mate was good, but not great. It did smell quite a lot like coffee, but didn't taste too much like it. I found the flavor to be too bitter for my taste, so I sweetened it, and then I enjoyed it pretty well, but not enough to love it. I brewed at 160F but with two teaspoons of cool water added to get to 150F for 5 minutes.
Earthy, smokey, nutty. So much going on in each sip of this tea. Nice change of pace from your everyday tea. Love complex teas that change with every steep and every sip. This did not disappoint. It’s good with or without honey/cream. I liked it most with just a bit of honey. Follow Jim R’s steeping instructions. That is the best way to steep this. Enjoy!
Pretty good, hard to describe. Definitely toasty! Makes a good base for other flavors.
I think I like mate better in a mix, then on its own I'm not sure how I feel about it every sip is diffrent and I'm just indifferent. There was a peach mate we had a couple months ago in the Communitea and I loved that.
I have little experience with mate, but from what I've had the opportunity to sample through the CommuniTEA, I don't think I care for regular yerba mate. There's a musty quality to it that just doesn't appeal to me. On the other hand, I generally enjoy blends that include toasted mate, so I was eager to try toasted mate on its own. As I hoped, my first few sips yielded an enjoyable toasty nuttiness that I found quite pleasant. Though I wouldn’t compare it to coffee, I can see why some would. That said, it lacks the bitterness and astringency of coffee, so no additions felt necessary. I found, though, as I sipped, that I liked the beverage best at its warmest; as it cooled the nuttiness gave way to more herbal/fruity notes that reminded me that the root of the tea is regular mate. I can enjoy toasted mate, but having now had the chance to try it straight, I prefer it blended with something - spices, cocoa nibs, other teas, etc. (5 minutes @ <160°F)
This tea had a nice toasted flavor to it. I personally didn't really feel like it tasted much like coffee
This is my back up for when I can’t have my coffee. It’s chalked full of caffeine and nutty flavor. I steep mine for 4 minutes.
I really like this tea. It's nice plain but I loved it with cream and sweetener. It was slightly nutty with a hint of smokiness. It's reminiscent of coffee and didn't give me any jitters.
Today's CommuniTea packet was toasted mate. I've only tried mate a few times, and I'm not yet able to get that excited about it. Today's packet was fine, but not something I'd rush to repeat or even resteep. If I wanted something sort of like coffee, I'd much prefer the real thing. Steeped in 12 ounces of water at about 155 degrees for three minutes.
Very unique tea. I steeped per packet instructions. The tea was reddish-brown with a full-bodied flavor that is toasty, nutty, and slightly smoky. Sweetening with a bit of sugar brought out hints of cocoa. I didn't experience any jitters from the caffeine content.
This tea is definitely an acquired taste. It is one of those ingredients that I haven't warmed up to yet. I am not a coffee drinker and this tastes like coffee. I did drink a cup and didn't hate it but not a fan either. I don't mind the high caffeine. Maybe this would be more enjoyable in a blend.
I don't love it, I don't hate it. I guess I prefer it in blends. By itself it's a little too woody/smokey - not something I'd reach for often.
I followed Jim’s review and my CommuniTEA packet gave me a few nice brews. The flavors were toasty, smoky, and slightly coffee like. Nice jolt of energy was my pay off. Happy sipping!
I was pleasantly surprised with today's tea, as I haven't been a huge fan of some of the other mates we have tried. This one was nicely different- toasty, mildly smoky and had a tiny bit of burnt baked goods taste. I don't think that I will want to drink this often but I could actually see that this tea may offer a unique flavour profile when mixed with other teas.
Disclosing I went into this not liking mate but trying to keep an open mind. Nope. Still don’t like mate. I will grant this was closer to tolerable tasting to me than other mates (if given the choice between this one, Yerba Mate and Samurai Mate, I’d pick this one), but I still thought it tasted like a stick.
Smokey and I are not friends unless he’s a bear. Sorry.
Tried this as part of CommuniTea. Mate can give me odd jitters so I opted to only have part of a cup to taste. Each sip was a little different. Every once and awhile, I would taste toasted rice which was nice but other sips were woodsy or bland. Ok, but I think I will leave this one to others who appreciate mate and get my caffeine fix elsewhere.
It's high quality for what it is, and has a very earthy flavor that would pair well when brewed with spices. I do not personally enjoy it.
I love plain blends like this mate. It educates me on the flavor profile of a single ingredient. Nice cup of tea!
I think this tea requires a bit more finesse to steep than what I did (just following the packet). Steeping at 150 makes for a tepid tea. Not sure what it would do to steep it at a higher temp, but I just can't do this one. It's gotta be hot or chilled. The middle ground just doesn't work for me.
I enjoyed this roasted yerba mate. It has a nice, rich nutty flavor. I like that there isn't any bitterness and I didn't get the jitters.
I love mate and this is delicious. It has a rich, toasty, earthy, nutty flavor with a hint of herbal sweetness on the finish.
Not a huge fan of anything with this much caffeine, but the taste isn't horrible, just not my favorite.
This was very unique tea and absolutely worth a try. The leaves themselves did not have much smell. The brewed tea smell reminded me a lot of the wood and earthly flavor. The taste was very distinct as well with a woody flavor. The toasted flavor was what I think I enjoyed most.
Dry tea smells a bit like bell peppers. After brewing, the resulting cup is a deep brown with more of a nutty scent. Since it is brewed at a lower temperature, there isn't a change in taste for the tea, which is a bit of a nutty but leaf-y flavor. The tea is full-bodied, but not too overwhelming. I notice a bit of a tobacco-like flavor in the beginning of the sip that mellows out into the nuttiness. I like that the mate is almost immediately drinkable without scalding your mouth! Brewed at 150 for 5 minutes (enough room temperature water to dampen the dry leaves, topped off with 165 water to bring to 150).
This tastes remarkably like chicory coffee! I added a little milk and sugar as the description indicated, and it was a good choice. I suspect if I drank this plain I would've liked it about as much as I like black coffee--which is to say, not at all. But with the milk and sugar added, it gives the same toasty, nutty depth of chicory coffee, and I am 100% here for it.
This is my first time having mate. In the CommuniTEA packet, herbal, toasty. I like the comforting smell. Once brewed, it's not pleasant for me. Slightly bitter, one dimensional flavor. A more herbal black tea. Not a fan. I prefer tea that's flavorful on its own, without milk and sugar, and I can't imagine anyone enjoying this without milk and sugar. Sadly, not a win for me.
This one is hard for me to rate. It’s got ever changing flavors to it. I brewed it according to Jim’s directions…. At first, I tasted a slight chocolate flavor. Later I got a Smokey taste- like kissing someone after they’ve had a smoke. Then there was a woodsy taste. And then, after you’ve finished drinking, a cinnamon like flavor lingers on the tongue. I really do not understand how the flavor varies so much from person to person, cup to cup, and sip to sip. It’s kind of cool, to experience so many flavors in one cup…. But it also makes it hard for me to decide if I liked it. Sometimes I did, sometimes I didn’t. On a side note, my first step was for 5 minutes… I found that to be too weak. Second steep was closer to 8 minutes and was better, in my opinion.
If you are a coffee drinker and enjoy some tea, be warned this is gonna make you think: is this coffee? is this tea? The answer is: well, what does your tongue think? Because my tongue felt this tasted like watered down lukewarm burnt 'coffee' from a college library coffee shop at 7:55pm before they closed, cuz you know they brewed it that morning and left it sitting there all day, and you don't have a car to drive anywhere for a good cup of coffee so you gotta settle for it and you know it tastes terrible but it has that caffeine you need so you slam it down anyway to get through the night. ...Okay, maybe a little dramatic!
I didn't really enjoy it, but I can see how others would. It's very complicated. I admit I went back for several sips before ultimately deciding I did not like it. Each sip tasted different than the next. At the end, I added some sweetener and milk to see if it helped, and it only helped somewhat. It's the fundamental flavor that didn't sit well with me.
If you want to try something new and exciting, grab a sample, see if you like it - looking at reviews, seems like you either love it or hate it, and I guess I'm in the latter. But maybe that's because my brain compares it to coffee, which it cannot compare to - it's not coffee!
I accidentally used water that was too hot, so I decided to steep for a bit less time to make up for it. Towards the end, I just kinda eyeballed it to make sure it had steeped fully.
I can definitely taste the toastiness. Pretty good!
I might come back for more of this someday. 😊
Mate is a lesson in patience. Carefully prepared, it will reward you! I awakened the tea with some cool water as I waited for the kettle to heat to 150°. Pouring the hot water over the awakened tea it steeped for 5 minutes. The resulting tea had an almost nutty, menthol flavor. Sweetened with sugar and cream, there was no bitterness. I prefer my mate in blends (Adagio’s Mocha Nut Mate is delicious!) but plain tasted pretty good!
I actually like the toasty, nutty, and chicory flavors for this tea. The color is as dark as black coffee. No sugar or creamer needed for this one! This is the first time I've had this tea by itself. I previously had it in a fandom blend I like to drink in Fall.
Nope! Not for me, it tasted like coffee rebrewed from old grounds. In a blend, I like mate, but not on its own.
The nutty undercurrent to this mate is one of my favorite things about it. I find that yerba mate has such a wonderfully light and bright flavor and the toasted mate is a slightly earthier taste. I'm always thrilled when either one shows up in the CommuniTEA offers.
CommuniTEA Sample: I'm not sure what didn't resonate with me on this one, but it just didn't click. I don't dislike mate at all, but this one was just 'meh'. A bit of toastiness, a bit of nuttiness, and a bit of herbal taste. I steeped it at the short end of the time limit, so maybe need to try again with a longer steep time.
I understand why some like mate but I've never really understood the appeal. Maybe it's because I also don't like coffee? Perhaps. I don't hate this brew, but I wouldn't reach for it. It also has high caffeine, which doesn't work for me. It's flavor is nutty and rich overall but I can sometimes get the minty zing of the camphor notes that some mention. It's a great 'experiment' tea and one I'm glad I've tried! Happy Sipping!
Mate needs some help
She cannot make up her mind
About her flavor
Coffee or toffee?
Smoking pipe or something ripe?
Earthy or Minty?
Changes every steep
If not each time you sip it
Adventurous tea!
(Haiku review)
I do not like mate -- not in a blend nor alone. It is a distinctive taste that i simply do not enjoy
Yuk, this just tastes like brown-colored water to me. I get very little taste at all. Next time I'll try doubling the amount to see if I can get a better/stronger taste. EDIT 9/8/21 CommuniTea: This is the second time I've tried to drink this. I'm still not getting any flavor aside from a mild woody bitterness (5+ minutes @ 150). The pack that I got had a good 3.5 actual teaspoons of mate which is 3X more than I originally used. COVID screwed up my taste and smell, so I don't always trust my nose. Is this just really mild flavor, or what?
Today's packet opened and had a very light smell like toasted fall leaves. As my kettle didn't have a button for 150°F, I decided to use the green tea button to get the water up to 165°F. Then, I just waited until my temperature probe read 150°F to pour the water over the leaves into the maté gourd. A quick 30-40 second pre-soak with a small amount of water helped to reduce the amount of floating leaves and to enhance water absorption. Pouring more water to fill the gourd and steeping at 150°F for 4 minutes produced a medium translucent amber brew.
After the 4 minutes, luckily the water had reached a drinkable temperature, and I didn't get scalded while drinking through the bombilla straw.
Toasty chestnut and malty chicory flavors dominated each sip. None of the fresh straw flavors like an un-toasted maté might have were present. Instead, this was a full-bodied and high-octane toasted brew with subtle hints of maté leaf flavor. I can see why coffee lovers would love this as a cleaner alternative with full caffeine levels.
A second and third steeping kept pumping out the flavor, yet ever so slightly diminishing each time However, extending the steep time each re-steep helped bring it back up to full strength. Now I see why this method of long steeps in a gourd with many refills is popular among maté drinkers. In total, the small sample packet made about 5 cup-sized gourd refills.
The caffeine levels are high, but smooth and 'clean' feeling. I felt alert but not overstimulated. There wasn't as much of a caffeine crash afterwards either. Hooray for this coffee alternative!
I cold-brewed this, and I definitely get the coffee vibes from it, but not as intense and without the bad aftertaste - This tea is amazing, and I'm honestly blown away. So glad to try this one, and adding it to the wishlist.
Update: I got a second cup out of the sample, and I have to say - this reminds me of barley tea quite a lot. It's very nice.
A delicious alternative to tea. It started out a little smoky with a strong, toasted aroma. That quickly diminished into a very smooth, slightly nutty, chestnut flavor. It has a full mouthfeel but leaves a very clean finish.
7 Sep 2020 review, correcting steeping information & grammar: Since yerba mate is a favorite of mine, I knew I would enjoy this toasted version from the start of opening my communiTEA packet. So this will be a fun review.
Steps I used to prepare a 12 oz cup of plain or toasted mate in my inginuiTEA steeper: 1 - Add two teaspoons of mate. 2 - Add 2 Tablespoons of cool steeping water on top of the mate to prepare it for the forthcoming hot water. 3 - Add enough 160ºF steep water on top of the cool water, for a 12 oz total. This will bring the temperature down to the 150ºF goal. 4 - 1st steep for 5 minutes, subsequent steeps for 3 minutes. 5 - Indulge! No sugar needed.
This toasted version is definitely nutty flavored. To me, it doesn’t taste like caffeinated coffee as others have noted. It does leave a zing on the palate, though. It still has the earthy and Pu’erh straw tastes like its Yerba cousin. Smokey tobacco and camphor-like flavors were also noted. Most folks won’t like this on first taste. All these flavors hang in your mouth for quite some time. The process repeats itself with every sip.
You MUST sip and not gulp this one! Each sip produces different tastes. That’s what makes mate a fun and mysterious drink! Your mileage may vary. It’s good for at least three steeps. It’s definitely an acquired taste, just like its Yerba cousin! Love It!!
I've had this as part of blends before and loved them. Nice to try it in it's own!
I really like this tea, it has a smoky flavor and it’s good both cold brewed and hot (with creamer).
This is SO much better than regular matte in my opinion. It has an earthy and less green flavor than traditional maté. Somewhat evocative of coffee but in a great way.
Delicious and soothing. I love this tea and it’s a go to when I can’t pick a blend. Great aroma :)
This was a complete surprise, I have never tasted anything quite like it. And I loved it! First sip was spicy, then changed to a coffee taste, then went to almost chocolate but still like a smooth coffee, not bitter. With a splash of milk, it was simply delicious. It came as a sample with a previous order so I just received my order and am really looking forward to a cup tomorrow.
I really love the simplicity of the flavor from the toasted Brazilian mate. Adds a great caffeine boost to the day, isn t overly herbal compared to some mates, and overall is just a fast and easy cup to enjoy.