Sometimes I lead with the negatives. Maybe that's a fault, but instead I'd like to think it prepares the taster for the experience, letting them look past the bad to the delightful. In that spirit, the bags smell like stale herbs and there's no individual wrapping. As someone that likes to sniff teabags as well as someone who appreciates freshness in something portable like an individual tea bag, it's hard for me to look past those petty things.

The brewed mate itself is tasty, especially with a little sweetener. The carob is subtle and the yerba mate provides littles more than body, so one is left mostly with peppermint, but if you enjoy peppermint tea, I could easily see this becoming a daily staple. If you're more interested in the mocha, I'd look elsewhere.

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Alex Zorach wrote: on May 14th, 2015

I actually tend to prefer when people give me the negative / critical comments first, because then they can end on a positive note, so the whole review seems to read as more positive and balanced than if it ends on a negative note.

But I also agree with your remarks about the experience. If I'm going into any experience (whether drinking tea or doing anything else out in the world), it helps me to know about any negatives up-front. Then when I'm expecting them, I'm much more likely to keep an open mind, I can think--"oh yeah, it's this thing that I knew about, but...it's okay and I can keep going."

I've also had some teas that didn't smell particularly good before brewing, but then ended up being really pleasant to drink. This has especially been true of some large-leaf black teas, ones with thick, tough leaves...I think they don't tend to give off as much of their flavor in the air, but they can really come alive once brewed.

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