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A neighbor told me about this brewed herbal drink that is a very popular social drink in South America. I looked it up and I thought it was too good to be true; as much "caffeine" as coffee without the crashing and anxiety, antioxidants, digestion regularity, immunity strengthening compounds, natural appetite suppressant, possible weight loss benefits, and a nice herbal taste. I like it with cream and cane sugar like coffee, and locally they also sell a tasty yerba mate soda, although I try to avoid it due to the sugar. I just started brewing it like loose leaf tea and it has a nice taste to it, and you can buy blends at places like Teavana with a more coffee-like taste (for "transitioning" to tea) although solo it tastes kind of like a cross between green tea and coffee. Also it gets me up in the morning like coffee but I don't crash later in the morning like I used to. Not sure about the immunity benefits though, I'm sick right now .
Any other mate drinkers around here? I would love to drink it the traditional way some time; in a gourd with the "bombilla" (Sp?) straw.
Last edited by compelled to reply; 01-21-2008 at 02:24 PM..
My husband started drinking yerba mate by Guyaki after we tried it at the Green Festival in DC. He loves it and has stopped drinking coffee and drinks mate daily. He has a couple of gourds and buys bags of the loose leaf tea from the Guyaki website. I love their bottled drinks, my favorite is the mint / mate one. It is very good without being too sweet. He also makes us mate latte's, by adding soy milk or soy creamer and whipping it all up and topping it off with a little chocolate powder. I am very sensitive to coffee caffeine and this is much better, no jitters or upset stomach. And it does surpress appetite! I love it :-)
He also makes us mate latte's, by adding soy milk or soy creamer and whipping it all up and topping it off with a little chocolate powder.
I can't wait to try this. I'm going to have to talk to my neighbor around other things I can do with Mate. He told me they have "Mate Coffeeshops" in South America where you can go get a latte/etc and hang out just like a coffeeship.
I don't drink beverages with caffeine any more, but have had mate countless hundreds of times in the past. In many parts of northern and central Argentina, southern Brazil, and all of Uruguay and Paraguay mate is available almost anywhere and consumed very often, especially in rural areas. The mate leaves are typically simply added to a gourd with hot water, and let to brew for a bit and then you drink with a silver filter straw (yes, the bombilla) that keeps the particles out of your mouth. Among groups of friends or family, especially in rural areas, it is common to take a mate break a few times a day. Sometimes they share one large gourd of mate and each person takes a swig of mate (from the same straw) and passes it around to the next. This is usually accompanied by lots of story telling, jokes or some songs, with a good time had by all. I think that has a lot to do with it's therapeutic benefits.
I love it but I'm still searching for a gourd and bombilla. I like the idea of drinking it throughout the day, which is what many of my Argentinean friends do (just keep pouring more water in). I have to make it in a tea ball now, which isn't bad either.
It's not like I'm a coffee addict or anything. I only drink two cups a day. But, over the years, various friends concerned with my health or karma, have suggested that I stop drinking coffee altogether.
Yerba Mate is what they always suggest. The main argument is that it has as much caffeine as coffee. If it was caffeine I was after, I could drink a Pepsi, or one of those "Energy Drinks" that are all the rage.
The anti-caffeine crowd usually suggest that I drink this weird stuff from Switzerland called Pero.
Pero reminds me of the Ovaltine I used to make my mother buy when I was a kid. I hated it, but drank it anyway because Captain Midnight sold it on his radio show and I could get prizes by saving the labels.
I always referred to Yerba Mate as "Tent Tea" because it tasted like it was brewed from an old piece of canvas. I would imagine that drinking it out of a gourd would only make things worse.
Sometimes my last thought of the day, before I fall asleep, is about how much I will enjoy my morning cup of coffee. But, I suppose there are also Argentinians who fall asleep thinking about their first bombilla of Mate.
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