Better Libations | Healthy Drink Reviews

I have decided to venture back into the jungle and review another maté tea, as I have become an avid drinker of maté, including one of my new favorites, Sol Maté.  Bombilla is another company centered on organic, fair-trade products, created by a couple of white guys who fell in love with maté while in Argentina.  Within a few short years their products went national, and now I have brought it you, our faithful readers.

Peach is not my favorite tea flavor, it usually tastes too sour and over-peachy to me.  While the scent speaks rather fluently of the fruit, the taste of this beverage is more mild-mannered and subtle, managing to let the maté have a say.  At first, I found it a little weak, but as I continued to swill the mildly sweet liquid, the flavors came out a little more.  Maté is a taste that needs to be sipped and savored to truly be enjoyed, like any good tea.  Only 20 oz of sugar in 16 oz, and full of antioxidants and vitamins.

Bombilla has satisfied many of the things I look for in a drink and a company, providing a healthy, sustainable product that tastes good and leaves out the calories and bad karma.  It’s available at Whole Foods everywhere, or check their handy locater to find it.

Score: 4.5 out of 5. Tasty peach tea, but it didn’t thrill me.

– WiseGuise

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4-Star Reviews, Bombilla drink reviews, independent company, organic, Yerba Mate

Yay for media kits!

There is a growing genre of drinks that I am coming across more often, that of the ‘organic/healthy energy drink/soda.’  Drinks like EVO and Jones GABA have been our most recent encounters.  Although the consensus so far has been positive, someone is bound to come along and screw it up.  In the meantime, I have found another company that hasn’t yet.  Sol Maté, created by a collection of three small Canadian companies, has harnessed the local popularity of the South American yerba maté plant, which, similar to tea, has been brewed into a similarly slightly bitter herbal beverage for centuries.

Sol Maté comes in an interesting ribbed bottle, with a simple, cool design.  It is certified USDA organic, has 60 mg of caffeine and 21 g of sugar per 10 oz bottle.  There is a sweet, herby smell emanating from the ribbed neck, something like-but also quite different from-tea.  The taste is altogether original, at least for the (American) palette not familiar with maté.  This is much smoother and not as strong as other drinks based on yerba maté, which can be a turn off.  The sweetness mingles with the natural bitterness and distinct taste of the maté, creating an experience both new and enjoyable.

I have reviewed maté before, but never carbonated. It added a different edge to the drink, and joins my list of South American flavorings like guarana, sangria and tamarind that are a welcome departure from kola and citrus flavors.  If you want to find this to try, look in your local Whole Foods store or check their website for additional locations.

Score: 4.5 out of 5. An entirely new soda experience for many.

– WiseGuise

User Ratings: (1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
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4-Star Reviews, Sol Maté drink reviews, independent company, Yerba Mate

Yay for media kits!

There is a growing genre of drinks that I am coming across more often, that of the ‘organic/healthy energy drink/soda.’  Drinks like EVO and Jones GABA have been our most recent encounters.  Although the consensus so far has been positive, someone is bound to come along and screw it up.  In the meantime, I have found another company that hasn’t yet.  Sol Maté, created by a collection of three small Canadian companies, has harnessed the local popularity of the South American yerba maté plant, which, similar to tea, has been brewed into a similarly slightly bitter herbal beverage for centuries.

Sol Maté comes in an interesting ribbed bottle, with a simple, cool design.  It is certified USDA organic, has 60 mg of caffeine and 21 g of sugar per 10 oz bottle.  The lemon-lime flavor serves as more of a backdrop to the maté, the sweetness wrestles with the sour for dominance, and in the end leaves a tea-like dryness on your tongue.  The beverage has a very distinct maté scent, with a hint of the lemon and lime.  This drink does pep me right up, natural caffeine seems to work much better for me than when it’s added.

Overall, in my opinion the unique flavor of the yerba maté doesn’t quite mix with the familiar citrus duo, which is why I enjoy the original flavor a bit more, it stands alone just fine.  If you want to find this to try, look in your local Whole Foods store or check their website for additional locations.

Score: 4 out or 5. Interesting combo, but the mixture falls short of the original.

– WiseGuise

User Ratings: (1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
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4-Star Reviews, Sol Maté drink reviews, independent company, organic, Yerba Mate

Residing in the lush verdure of San Diego

I haven’t done a review on any yerba mate (ma-tay) beverage in quite a while, so I figured it was about time, and I just so happened to stumble upon this while browsing in Vons down in SD.

My last experience with mate was mixed, although it leaned toward the positive.  Guayaki is an environmentally responsible company, which I fully support, and it’s supposed to be good for you too. Dig it.

This drink has the distinct scent of the mate, herb-y and tea-like, with the sweet overtone of pomegranate.  The tastes mix well, the pomegranate doesn’t cover up the mate, and it has a pleasantly dry, minty finish.  Yup, it has a hint of mint in the bottle.  I really liked this one.  Very flavorful.

Purified water, organic cane juice, organic pomegranate fruit juice concentrate, organic manioc root starch, organic pomegranate natural flavor, citric acid, and a list of herbals make up this fine beverage.

For someone seeking the same benefits of tea but doesn’t like it, this is a simple and interesting alternative.  You can even order online.  Do I sound like a commercial for this beverage yet?

Score: 4.5 out of 5.

– WiseGuise

User reviews – (1 votes, average: 3.00 out of 5)
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4-Star Reviews, Guayakí drink reviews, Yerba Mate