Yerba Mate Tea Information

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This tea seriously kicks ass. The first time you drink it you're not sure what to think. It tastes rather bitter but then you crave a second drink as if your body knows its good for you. After a few sips you get acquainted with the taste and it actually tastes good.

Now, I'm not sure if I drank too much coke as a kid or what, but coffee generally has no noticeable effect on me. The only coffee I've actually felt cause any difference in my state was the Red-Eye Espresso from Second Cup.

Generally one cup of mate will wake me the hell up out of any possible drowsiness I may be experiencing. The brilliance that is yerba mate is that it doesn't cause the jittery alertness that large doses of coffee does.

There's lots of debate whether the chemical in mate is the same as caffeine in coffee, or some other form called mateine. Personally I couldn't care less. I know it works for me. Even if it's just placebo effect--I'm fine with that as well.

Yerba Mate History

Yerba Mate (pronounced yer-bah mah-tay in most areas) is basically a tea. You can drink it hot or cold. Lots of people drink it in Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Southern Brazil and even in Middle-Eastern countries. Mate and yerba translate directly into 'cup' and 'herb' respectively. So yerba mate is basically 'herbs in a cup'.

Traditionally, yerba mate is sipped from a hollowed out gourd through a metal straw called a bombilla (bom-bee-ya). Personally I use a coffee press to filter out the tea leaves and leave all the yerby goodness!

There's a great writeup on Wikipedia about yerba mate if you'd like to read more about it.

So Where Can You Buy Yerba Mate Tea?

I've had luck finding yerba mate in local Spanish and middle eastern stores. I live in Mississauga, Ontario so we have a lot of cultural stores around here. Depending on where you live, you might be lucky enough to find it in a local store as well. If not you can also try ordering online, though I can't vouch for any sites as I've yet to try them myself.

Health Benefits and Side Effects

Coming Soon.

Yerba Mate in the News