Maté Chai

A sweet, scintillating chai blend with a rich, roasted Matè base.  Ginger, cinnamon, cardamom and vanilla are the perfect complement to the bittersweet flavor and stimulating properties of Yerba Matè, a popular herb indigenous to South America. Matè Chai works well first thing in the morning when you need that eye-opening dose of caffeine.  Try pairing it with fresh baked cinnamon rolls.

Yerba Matè is known for its robust flavor, high caffeine content and numerous health benefits.  It is not technically a tea since it does not contain any portion of the tea plant.  Instead, Matè is made from the leaf of a South American species of holly and is most commonly found in two forms: roasted and unroasted (the unroasted version is also known as”green” Matè).  Unroasted, it has a gentle grassy flavor. The roasted version is considerably earthier and has a mellow toasted note.

Matè is incredibly popular among the Argentinians, often consumed in a hollowed out gourd with a straw that doubles as a strainer called a bombilla.

There are many internet sites that claim that Matè does not contain caffeine, but a stereoisomer of caffeine called meteine that provides Matè with its stimulating, yet less jolting, properties.  Most scientists disagree, claiming that there is no scientific evidence to support the existence of a  separate compound called meteine.  Rather, meteine is simply another word for caffeine.  Most scientists agree that it is the presence of other alkaloids within Matè that modulates the effects of caffeine on the body.

We recommend steeping Matè Chai for 5 minutes at 208°.

Ingredients: Roasted Argentinian Maté, ginger root, cinnamon, green cardamom, flavoring.