There's something immensely comforting to me about the smell of this tea bag, even though I've never tried it before. It reminds me of the modern language building at Franklin and Marshall College, Keiper hall, a place I spent a lot of time as a kid. It also reminds me a little of Celestial Seasonings' Tension Tamer. The aroma is similar, especially with the prevalance of cinnamon.

The flavor is very different from any of these blends. Tastes crisper than I'd expect, with a deep earthy and fruity aroma that emerges upon sipping.

The blend of spices is quite distinct from what I usually encounter in masala chai (spiced tea) blends, which I think is a good thing because yerba mate is very different from tea, and I think the spices in this blend are much better for blending with mate. The total effect is very different from a typical tea-based masala chai, but very enjoyable.

This blend contains stevia, which I don't like. I wish they labelled it prominently as such on the front. But thankfully, there's only a hint of stevia--and as yerba mate is naturally a little sweet, as is cinnamon, this blend didn't strike me as overwhelmingly sweeter than expected from a cinnamon/mate combination. I would still prefer it without the stevia, I think. The stevia does leave an aftertaste that I find unpleasant.

I also noticed quite a caffeine kick from this, which surprised me, because Guayaki's website reports only 20mg of caffeine in this. It seemed to be to me more stimulating though than a typical cup of black tea. Perhaps there is some effect of the other ingredients.

Very enjoyable, minus the stevia. I'd recommend it, except it's a little on the pricey side, perhaps not so much if you consider that it's organic, but still, $7 is more than I'd like to pay for 15 tea bags.

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