Thursday, October 14, 2010

Ever heard of Guayusa tea?

Guayusa. It's pronounced "why-you-suh." Stash Tea asked if I wanted to try this new herbal tea, and of course I said yes. How could you *not* want to try a tea whose name ends in "USA," after all!

But this tea isn't from the USA. It's from Ecuador and is a naturally caffeinated herbal tea. The tea itself looks a bit like fish food flakes. The first of the Guayusas I tried was the Guayusa and Green Tea, and I loved it! It has a rich, thick, brothy taste, and I've learned I prefer my green teas "thick" rather than "thin" tasting.

Next I tried the Pure Guayusa Tea. It, too, had a nice rich taste, and it reminded me just a bit of yerba maté but without the aftertaste you sometimes get with that. Stash's samples came with a kind of paper tea infuser bag I've been meaning to try. You fill the bag and then flip the flap securely *over* to the other side. It reminds me of custom pillowcases used with those insertable pillow forms you can buy.

And I was very happy to see this teabag system WORKS. As you can see, no stray flakes are doing the backstroke through my teacup, and that's a good thing!

Finally, saving the best for last, I tried the Guayusa and Chocolate Tea. It's really more of a "hint" of chocolate, but I liked it and raised a cup to the Chilean miners and rescuers last night! So, I give two thumbs up to the new Guayusa teas and am quite happy to have enjoyed a new "herbal tea" experience. If you'd like to try these teas for yourself, or simply learn more about Guayusa tea, check out the Stash website for more information.

8 comments:

  1. Very interesting. I thought they only grew coffee in South America! Thanks for the review!

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  2. I haven't ever tried Guayusa but I've heard about it; it fascinates me because it's in the Ilex (holly) genus...and here in the U.S. we don't think of Holly as a food or drink plant, just as a pretty ornamental tree. But there are at least three caffeine-containing hollies...Guayusa, Yerba Mate (also a holly), and Yaupon (the only caffeine-containing plant native to North America?).

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  3. How interesting, Angela - I am going to try this tea, especially the one with chocolate! Thank you for the review, Joanie

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  4. I've never heard of it. Thanks for bringing it to our attention.

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  5. I hadn't heard of this tea. Thanks for the review.

    Your leaf shaped tea scoop is pretty.

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  6. More and more tea companies are coming out with herbals. I hadn't heard of this one.

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  7. I have been hearing a lot about guayusa since reading this blogpost so I decided to try it for myself. I researched companies that are currently selling guayusa and decided to buy from Runa because I felt compelled by their mission to protect the Amazon and preserve the indigenous peoples way of life. I bought the peppermint guayusa and was really surprised how nicely the two flavors blended. My mouth was instantly enveloped in a crisp and refreshing minty taste. The guayusa was smooth and not at all bitter. Thank you for bringing cutting edge info to us back in Oct.!

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