Blondes have more fun!
La Rubia is manufactured by a small company run by Eugen Junghanns, with just twenty employees. It is made each year as a limited seasonal production, so it can be difficult to find. The artful packaging is worth a mention. “La Rubia†means “the blonde†and the understated label displays a young blonde woman with golden eyes on a plain maroon background in beautiful retro style.
Appearance of leaves: really an ideal mix of leaf and stem and powder for the bombilla, variegated yellow-green color of aged mate.
Dry aroma: green tea, mildly sour Paraguayan profile, mesquite wood smoke, dried chile peppers, lemon peel, cherry blossoms.
Wet aroma: strawberry tree, chocolate covered cherries, brown sugar and cinnamon toast, freesia blossoms, cloves.
Cup: cloudy, muddy, clay-like
Color of tea: dark honeyed amber mate
Texture: Smooth, soft, velvety on the palate.
Flavor: Virtually no astringency; similar to many Paraguayan mates in this regard. Clearly well aged and without a greenish complexion. Shockingly but broodingly smoky, dark bitter chocolate, cherry pie, tobacco leaf, mace, spice cake, sweet paprika, lemon zest, mossy river stones, dandelion leaf, nasturtiums, myrrh.
Overall: La Rubia is truly unique and is really in a separate class from other yerba mates. It varies from batch to batch but this allows La Rubia to escape the homogenization other larger brands may experience. Its depth of complexity is unmatched, with flavor profiles that continue to unfold and delight. Most of this will be lost on the novitiate to yerba mate or to those who drink mate more for its stimulant properties than for its flavor. However, for the experienced cebador, this subtle and refined mate can stoke a jaded palate. Well worth seeking out.
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Reviewed by: (Verified Buyer) Adrian B. from n/a on 3/6/2016
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