Organic Guayusa Loose Leaf Waykana is a perfect coffee alternative 1 Pound (16oz)| 40mg of caffeine per serving| Smooth, jitter-free, energy drink, alternative yerba mate, matcha, and green tea.

This is my second purchase of Waykana's guayusa tea in the bulk 1-lb bag. I've also tried a different, more "popular" brand (several times), but Waykana is clearly a better IMHO.Bottom Line: As long as Waykana and its farmers/sources keep doing whatever it is they do (to make a high-quality product like this), then I'll keep buying it. This is great stuff.I think I'm going to stick with Waykana for a while, for three reasons.(1) The Waykana bulk guayusa tea has a bold, non-bitter taste. It's just really good. Whereas, the last couple of bulk bags of "Brand R's" tea had a somewhat bitter, almost "medicinal" taste to it. The "Brand R" tea was not bitter with my first two purchases, so it could have just been that the source or processing of Brand R's tea in their latter two bags was "off" for some reason. Regardless if I prepare my guayusa tea using hot water, or just by "soaking" to make iced tea, the last couple of bags of Brand R tea have been consistently, noticeably more "bitter" than the Waykana. That's why, as I was almost finished with my last bag of Brand R a couple of months ago, I randomly picked another, highly-rated organic guayusa ... which happened to be this Waykana brand. I've been very pleased thus far!!(2) I like to make iced guayusa tea, a pitcher at a time. After soaking the guayusa leaves for about 3 or 4 hours, I strain out the leaves and keep the tea in a glass pitcher in the fridge. It's a very noticeable difference in taste. That could be due to the next area I mention...(3) See the attached photo. Waykana's tea leaves are chopped a little "finer" / smaller than Brand R's, and the flavor of the Waykana is just more "bold" and appealing to me, than when I previously used the Brand R tea. Overall, Waykana tea also appears to be more "green" (i.e., perhaps is "less oxidated" ?) than the Brand R tea, because Brand R's tea is noticeably darker and browner. After making iced tea with the Waykana, I immediately noticed several, small vibrant bright green fleks in the tea (almost like glitter). I hadn't noticed that with Brand R. Then again, Brand R's tea leaves are just darker, for some reason.BTW, I do like Brand R's flavored bottled teas (available in grocery stores), and will sometimes get that when I'm out, and want a healthier alternative to the myriad brands of mass-market bottled, "so-called" black teas and green teas ... the mass-market stuff usually has way more sugar, citric acid, or other things on their ingredient labels before you see the word "tea."

I was looking for an alternative to coffee. Coffee was starting to turn my stomach into a hot mess, leading me to seek out toilets shortly after drinking it. I moved to tea and just could not find one that gave me the energy boost that coffee did. Lo and behold, this bad boy shows up. Not only do I get the boost of energy; I don't get the jitters. So, I can have my 2 cups a day and it nobody but me is the wiser. Now, the bad part. Since this is looseleaf (cut small pieces), you have to have something to make your tea. It is not so convenient in the office. I did find, however, a tea steeper that works perfectly. I bought it because my office has one of those fancy coffee machines that will dispense boiling hot water too, so this works perfectly (HandyBrew Loose Leaf Tea Steeper Tea Brewer Tea Maker Loose Tea Strainer Tea Infuser, Safe BPA-Free Plastic Hassle-Free Ways Make Tea, 17 Fl Oz.). I put a few scoops of tea in the bottom, let the water flow, steep it for 3-5 minutes and done. Yes, cleaning it afterwards is a bit of a pain, but once you do it a few times, you realize just how easy it is to clean. This tea is on my regular rotation and will be as long as Amazon sells it.

I’ve tried a couple different brands when Waykana was out of stock, but they weren’t as good. So glad I was able t get some again. I switched from Coffee to Tea and then switched to Yerba Mate and finally found Guayusa. It’s so much better than the crash I would get from coffee.

So I've been drinking Runa for maybe 5 years, I just looked back in my order history and I've gone through 11 pounds of it. I've tried two other brands of the loose leaf on Amazon as well; Wild Guayusa and Davidsons. I'd say Waykana is my second favorite, but it doesn't mean I don't like it. It's smoother. I just compared it to Runa, and Runa's leaves are darker and the taste is a little more bold, Waykana leaves are greener. I don't really notice much difference between the effects of the two. I feel like my first bag of Runa in 2014 was really rich, and tasted like Fall and dead leaves and a little dirty, partially fermented maybe... I LOVED it. Kinda like Pu-erh but more alive, yet dirty (in a good way). I've been chasing the dragon ever since, and their Guayusa doesn't taste like that so much anymore but I wished it did. So that's what I'm looking for when I try new Guayusa brands. Waykana is not like that at all, but it's very smooth and pleasant tasting and gets the job done. I think if you are looking for something smoother, you may like this one better than Runa.

UPDATE: My go-to method of brewing is now to just boil a heaping tablespoon of leaves in ½ cup water for about five minutes. This makes a much stronger cup than just steeping in hot water. And amazingly (or perhaps expectedly, since Guayusa doesn't contain tannins), there's nooo bitterness whatsoever. Still a mellow flavor reminiscent of matcha tea. I've never been one to feel any effects of caffeine, so can't really comment on the energy it does or does not give me. But the taste is superb and I love that it's packed with so many anti-oxidants and other beneficial compounds.This was my first time tasting guayusa. I steeped two teaspoons in a mix of ½ cup soy milk and ½ cup of water. The best way I can describe the taste is like a weak version of matcha tea. Slightly green but really tasty and enjoyable. Not too green or earthy at all. Really going to enjoy this new discovery 😬