Paraguayan yerba mate tea Selecta Elaborada – review
It is said that Paraguayan yerba mate brands provide strong and smoky mate tea full of dust and twigs. It has lots of fans but many beginners avoid it. Try it and see for yourself!
First impression!
Selecta Elaborada is yerba mate tea well-known on the European market. The style and graphics of the packet are persistent - the packet is green and orange with a big picture of a lady carrying a guampa and a jug of water. The packet shows the same information on both sides - a country of origin, weight, and the type of product - yerba mate elaborada (with twigs).
When you want to check the contents, you will come across a small obstacle - cardboard that protects the product from the top. This piece is not something that we want to write about. However, it’s worth mentioning as some people use it to pour mate tea into the gourd. It is to help them measure the right amount of the product. What is more, there is information on the cardboard including the website address aldeasinfantiles.org.py - even if you don’t speak Spanish you can easily find out that this website belongs to the fond that helps children. If you are interested, check this website.
How does it taste?
Let’s focus on mate tea which aroma is not very surprising. It’s pleasant and classic. It reminds of hay, delicate smoky aroma can also be felt. After pouring it with water it becomes a bit different and mate becomes much more intense. This product contains many little leaves, dust, and twigs. The first sips are light and refreshing but after some time the bitterness becomes much stronger. Nevertheless, it may turn out to be good for beginners as opposed to Pajarito. Of course for those who want to feel a bit of different taste than fruity yerba mate.
The bitterness is not very intense yet it’s pleasant. It may be too bitter and too strong for many beginners, though, especially when poured with hot water. If you haven’t tried traditional products of Selecta, it’s high time you did it. The bitterness is on a different level than in Pajarito yet the flavour, aroma and strength are classic. The pleasure of drinking this kind of infusions may be even bigger if you are advanced and a fan of traditional mate tea. In this case, your palate is probably used to stronger flavours.
Additional information
Selecta Elaborada is yerba mate seasoned for 12 months and, such as in case of Selecta Premium, we can find the information about the international certificate ISO 9001-2008 on the packet.
