Yerba Mate

Jose Luis Borghes Quote of the Day:
"The original is unfaithful to the translation..."
Stupid me, but I hadn't realized Yerba Mate came from Argentina. I figured it to be a Native American thing, which it is, and it turns out the Native Americans who traditionally drink it are the indigenous people of Argentina. I discovered this stuff a few years back cause I have friends who are hippies & yogis & health food freaks & vegan fanatics, all of whom are uber-conscious about what they're putting into their bodies, and when one of my semi-enlightened healthy buddies recommends I try drinking something, I'll usually do it... although I did draw the line recently when my friend Brandon (Baseshot Scenario) showed me the kombucha culture he was growing in his house... that's where I draw the line, with living things floating around in plastic bag... thankfully, Yerba Mate is a much less complicated proposition than Kobucha, although funneling this murky looking stuff into your mouth can be equally intimidating...

I didn't think much of Yerba Mate the first time I had it, because it tasted like bitter loose tea... In essence, that's what it is, a loose tea swimming in hot water, but the traditions surrounding it, its medicinal qualities, and the culture it derives from are unique, and quite a departure from the kind of teas I'm used to drinking. I grew up in a very anglocentric Bengali family, and the teas we'd all grown accustomed to over generations are the tame blends of black tea the British brought to India. It's definitely not the same plant they're making Yerba Mate from...i think...

There's a great blog post i found here, that encaspulates a much more comprehensive take on Yerba Mate than I have time to scribble here... Ya gotta love the Blogosphere... it's a glorious echo chamber of sorts, with a million different versions of the same set of facts...
Here's what Bethany has to say about Yerba Mate on her blog:
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From Bethany: "I have been drawn into the mate society. There is not really an official one, so maybe that is not really accurate...but when someone begins to drink mate they will carry their little gourd around with them wherever they go and thus belonging to something...but I am not sure what.

Yerba Mate is a type of tea, some compare it in taste to something between green tea and coffee. The traditional way to drink it (with the gourd and straw or "bombilla") is said to be the best way for the nutrients to be released and absorbed. I mainly do it this way because it is so fun. I love the little gourd containers and different bombillas that you can use, some are insanely elaborate.

According to Mate for life : "Yerba mate is a tea-like beverage consumed widely throughout South America. Is is made from the dried leaves of the "IlexParaguariensis" – an indigenous holly plant.

The native people of Paraguay, the Guarani Indians, refer to it as "the drink of the gods." Since pre-Colombian times, the Guarani have gathered the leaves to use them in their folk remedies and as a stimulant and restorative tonic.

It was first introduced to European settlers when the Jesuits brought Christianity to Paraguay in the 17th Century. They quickly adopted the local custom and yerba mate became known as "Jesuit Tea."

All my live I have not been able to take the effects of caffeine. It is hard on my stomach, but the main reason is that the stimulants are to harsh on my mental state. hahah! Yes, drinking a caffeine loaded late or mocha have not really been an option for me, so I always have to make sure (multiple times) that the coffee Batista knows that I did order decaf.

This yerba is amazing! I can drink it throughout the day, even right before bed and it does keep me alert and gets my mind activate but I dose off immediately once I get to bed. This is because, "mate contains xanthines, which are alkaloids in the same family as caffeine, theophylline, and theobromine, well-known stimulants also found in coffee and chocolate. Mate also contains elements such as potassium, magnesium and manganese." (according to Wikipedia).

As for evidence:
"Researchers at the Free Hygienic Institute of Homburg, Germany, concluded that even if there were caffeine in mate', the amount would be so tiny that it would take 100 tea bags of mate' in a six ounce cup of water to equal the caffeine in a six ounce serving of regular coffee".