I believe this is my second yerba mate? Now, right off the bat, I messed up the preparation. Turns out I was supposed to treat it like a green, but I read the instructions too late. So my water was too hot. Therefore, my review of this might be a little skewed. (And I don’t have another sachet to try again with.)
The tea smells lightly smoky and spicy. Almost like cinnamon, but different. It’s the only thing I can compare it to. The flavor reminds me of something outside. It’s very vegetal, kind of reminding me of collard greens. There’s also a note of green beans. And leather. I know, this sounds really weird. But it was a freebie and after a night of drinking, I needed something to wake me up.
As far as the buzz goes, I can definitely feel something. It doesn’t seem as strong as a cup of coffee, and it comes on a little slower, but there’s certainly something there.