Tea Notes: David's Tea: Pumpkin Maté

This is a rather tasty maté with pumpkin seeds and a touch of spice.  I was in the mood for a strong cup of caffeine and maté fits that bill. It was very good with a few pieces of rock sugar and I have no complaints. I would absolutely get this tea again, perhaps when autumn comes back around as it reminds me of sitting by the window watching the falling leaves. It doesn't taste like a pile of leaves, of course, but it has a definite taste of fall to it (of course it does... pumpkin!). I'll keep this one on my list for sure. If you like maté, pumpkin, and a bit of spice, you'll enjoy this tea. I'm not sure how it would be unsweetened, but it was very good with the rock sugar (regular sugar would work too, of course). 

To make this tea, heat the water to 185 degrees Fahrenheit and steep for 4-7 minutes. I went closer to 7 and used a scoop and a half for 16 oz. of water. 

Bonus Product Review: Cheeky: 16oz. hot cup with lid and sleeve from Target: 

As I was running some errands today, I decided to use a paper to-go cup. The latest batch of cups is from Cheeky. You get 10 cups for about $4 and a portion of the sale goes to help combat hunger in the USA through Feeding America.  I like the cups because they're relatively large (16 ounces is pretty sweet for a paper cup) and they come with sleeves and lids. The manufacturer of these cups is Solo... I'm not really sure that I've had a to go cup like this that wasn't by Solo.

I have discovered that hotter teas don't always work as well in this kind of cup because the sleeve doesn't provided a lot of protection from the heat. However, for a tea steeped at 185 degrees Fahrenheit, the sleeve was perfect. I like the pretty color of the cup and the easy cleanup. While I don't normally use disposable drinks are, occasionally I do and this is a nice product to work with. I also liked that my tea cooled faster than it does in my thermos. I'm not a fan of piping hot beverages and the last time I used the thermos, I had finished my entire day of shopping and getting lunch before it was remotely drinkable.  That isn't necessarily a bad thing, of course.  It just depends on preferences and/or moods.    I would purchase the cups again and recommend them to a friend if the friend was looking for a similar product.