Organic Guayusa Loose Leaf Tea by RUNA, 1 Pound (16oz) | Packed with Natural Caffeine for Clean Energy | Alternative to Yerba Mate, Coffee, and Green Tea

I used to drink coffee every day from a french press, then I switched to sencha green tea from Japan and really enjoyed it, but a little over three years ago, I discovered this Runa Guayusa. When I first started drinking it, I thought it had an unusual flavor that I wasn't sure I would get into, but within a week it really grew on me and now I love the taste. I use way more than the package suggests -- four tablespoons in my 20oz cup and I let it brew for about 20-30 minutes because I like a robust taste. So I've been ordering a bag about every other month since 2016 and the quality is really good. If I likened it to green tea, it's like the sencha equivalent in quality versus the store-bought green tea in bags. When I open the bag there are deep green flakes inside. Runa was unavailable this last winter and so I tried a different popular brand, and the quality wasn't as good. The other brand was more finely cut, didn't have the aroma that Runa has, and didn't feel the same. I used to get jittery from coffee sometimes, but I had kind of enjoyed that affect at the time. Green tea didn't make me as jittery and helped me feel alert. Guayusa is quite different. I've never gotten jittery from it and every single day for about 40-60 minutes after it kicks in, I get a feeling of bliss that comes over me like everything is right with the world. I've looked all over the internet to see if anyone else has experienced this, but I haven't seen anything. I wonder if it's because people don't tend to use as much as I do. It was when I was doing this research that I saw these more recent negative reviews on here about Runa like about how it's moldy or not as good as it used to be. This is not my experience at all. Like I said, I've been ordering these bags consistently over the past several years, and I just opened up a fresh bag today and poured it into the one I just finished so that I could inspect to see if there was any mold or degradation in quality from my last order. I'm happy to say that it's the same high quality as always, and I'm enjoying a cup right now. Like others have said, it's a good, clean energy. My heart doesn't race and I have relaxed awareness and alertness. There is no crash and I have no idea how long it lasts because I've never felt it wearing off. I have a detail oriented job where I have to be on-the-ball, and I really think this has helped. Like green tea, it must have l-theanine in it which is what takes the jitters away from the caffeine while bringing alertness and sharpness of mind (research supplements if you're interested-- they work). When Runa was unavailable this past winter, it really made me realize how much my life has improved since drinking it and how much I would miss it. That may sound a little over the top, but I sincerely love this product.

I don't like warm beverages, so I try to brew and drink things cold. I also like caffeine. So my drink reviews are based around these two axes, as well as flavor. Runa - Brewed Cold: Brew Method (Four out of Five - it's easy to do and to clean) : From what I've read, guayusa is, in general, about 3% caffeine by dry weight, which is higher than yerba mate. I generally aim for about 30 grams of dry tea to about 4 cups of water. I brew it with the classy method of putting a metal strainer in a 1 quart measuring cup, using a scale to weigh out the tea, and then filling this arrangement with water. I cover it with a plate to keep bugs out. I then let it sit overnight. It does not seem to matter whether I leave it for 8 or 12 hours, I tend to get roughly the same taste and energy out of it. I have to sleep at work, so when I'm there I'll eyeball about 30grams and I use a french press to hold it overnight - this is more of a hassle to clean, but easier to set up. Either way, I transfer it to a mason jar and carry it around all day. Subjective Caffeine Experience (Five out of Five, if coffee is a One): Clean, easy energy. With coffee, you can get the experience that all your neurons are running and your thoughts get disorganized or unstable if you have too much, but with guayusa it tends to stay even keeled and clear throughout the day. It eases off so you don't find yourself needing another as much as you start to notice an occasional yawn, which means you don't feel 'hooked' on the beverage to get through the day. I sip throughout the day (typically after a morning coffee, mind you). Even if I finish after 5pm, I can still go to sleep easy (between 9pm and 11pm), which is not true for me with yerba mate, coffee, or caffeine pills/energy drinks (which get their caffeine from, as I understand it, the leftover caffeine from decaffeinated coffee). Flavor (Five out of Five): As you'll see elsewhere, it's pretty mild, moreso when brewed cold. Like less bitter green tea (which I also used to cold brew - but developed a bad reaction to). It's also difficult to overbrew, meaning I've left it out for 24 and it's still palatable, but not as smooth or tasty. I have, once, gotten sick of this, and tried a couple of other things out (yerba, for example), and I was able to come back to guayusa after about a month. This stuff also tastes the best out of the different brands of guayusa I've tried from Amazon. You can also throw in herbal tea bags to mix it up, and that's a different process of trial and error, but anything fruity seems to work for me. Summary: Five out of Five - Mellow taste, easy to brew, and the best energy profile of anything I've used for a caffeine-source. Doesn't screw with you at all. I drink it whenever during the day and still go to sleep fine.