Yerba máte seems to be becoming popular, but I am having trouble untangling
just what it is. From what I have read, it is a South American herbal tea
drunk communally - i.e., hot water is added to the herb as it is passed
around a group, gradually getting weaker and smoother. However:

Some sites claim there is no caffeine in yerba mate, others claim the
naturally occuring "elements" are so similar in chemical content that to
consider it anything else than caffeine is, to quote, "fooling yourself."

Moreover, some sites say the "caffeine-like" content is significantly
stronger than that of caffeine in black coffee. (Though it is mitigated
over time by the addition of the above mentioned water.) Others say that it
has less "caffeine-like" content and is no different than drinking weak
coffee or strong tea. I have also seen the term "yerba extract" mentioned
on weight loss/body building sites and want to stay far away from that sort
of thing.

Lastly, I live in an isolated rural area without access to any real tea
stores. Anything I should look (or look out) for if I want to try some of
this mail order? Should I try to find it "pure" or flavored with lemon? (I
understand Tazo sells it with lemon; Celestial Seasons sells it as part of
its morning awake tea) Is yerba mate the same as "green yerba mate" tea
mentioned at the stashtea.com site?

Thanks for any clarification of this subject - I only recently stumbled on
this group and apologize if the subject has been talked to death.

On 21 Oct 2003, pgluth1 posted the following to
rec.food.drink.tea:

> Yerba máte seems to be becoming popular, but I am having trouble
> untangling just what it is. From what I have read, it is a South
> American herbal tea drunk communally - i.e., hot water is added
> to the herb as it is passed around a group, gradually getting
> weaker and smoother. However:
>
> Some sites claim there is no caffeine in yerba mate, others
> claim the naturally occuring "elements" are so similar in
> chemical content that to consider it anything else than caffeine
> is, to quote, "fooling yourself."
>
> Moreover, some sites say the "caffeine-like" content is
> significantly stronger than that of caffeine in black coffee.
> (Though it is mitigated over time by the addition of the above
> mentioned water.) Others say that it has less "caffeine-like"
> content and is no different than drinking weak coffee or strong
> tea. I have also seen the term "yerba extract" mentioned on
> weight loss/body building sites and want to stay far away from
> that sort of thing.
>
> Lastly, I live in an isolated rural area without access to any
> real tea stores. Anything I should look (or look out) for if I
> want to try some of this mail order? Should I try to find it
> "pure" or flavored with lemon? (I understand Tazo sells it with
> lemon; Celestial Seasons sells it as part of its morning awake
> tea) Is yerba mate the same as "green yerba mate" tea mentioned
> at the stashtea.com site?
>
> Thanks for any clarification of this subject - I only recently
> stumbled on this group and apologize if the subject has been
> talked to death.

There has been a lot of conversation on the topic, but that works
to your advantage. The following link takes you to Google's archive
and searches on the word "yerba". Be sure to read through the
threads and not just the individual articles. Some threads appear
to focus only on where to find it but also include discussions of
caffiene content.

http://makeashorterlink.com/?A20E16A46


Derek

--

Does it seem strange to anyone else that grass roots promotion of
"Take Back Your Time Day" encourages people to give up more of that
precious 'time' to which the day supposedly is dedicated?

Thank you for your quick response to my query - it answered my questions.

However, let me thank you again for showing me the way to search google for
more answers - "teach a man to fish..."

It was a dark and stormy night when pgluth1 stepped out of the
alley onto "rec.food.drink.tea" and cried out:

> Thank you for your quick response to my query - it answered my
> questions.

No problem. I figured others have answered it far better than I
could, and I wasn't going to do them a disservice by doing a
hackjob on their posts.

> However, let me thank you again for showing me the way to search
> google for more answers - "teach a man to fish..."

Fish? Somebody went fishing and didn't tell me? Dang it. I would've
bought the beer.

Google's "Groups" archive is a good thing that many people don't
seem to know about. Glad to have helped point the way.

Not that I'm opposed to questions being repeated in the newsgroup -
I just remembered that we'd had this particular discussion recently
and knew where to find a record of it.

Derek

--

It's not "free" speech when I have to pay for the privilege
of listening to a message that I don't want to hear.

On 2003-10-22, pgluth1 > wrote:
> Thank you for your quick response to my query - it answered my questions.
>
> However, let me thank you again for showing me the way to search google for
> more answers - "teach a man to fish..."

This is so ironic. I just came to this thread because I was browsing
Google Groups for Yerba Mate.

Your original post is dated October 21, and that happens to have been
the day my much-awaited first shipment made it here (Florida) from
Oregon via UPS.

It's my third evening drinking mate, and my first with my gourd (which
has to be seasoned for a couple of days, according to the instructions
which accompanied it).

I wasn't so sure the first night, but by now I can say I really like it.
It's probably still a little early to be singing its praises, but it
seems to make me feel good, so up and yet "clear". No jitters at all.

I'm drinking it using the bombilla (filter straw). I just used a coffee
cup the first two nights (in lieu of the gourd). I got the bamboo
straw, but I went ahead and ordered a "traditional spoon-shaped" metal
bombilla earlier this evening--along with more mate. I guess you could
say I like it :O)

I can't particularly plug the company I got it from; I'm so new with it.
It could be I can get it cheaper at a health-food store around town.
Having said that, I *did* do a little site-shopping before I ordered,
and I wound up buying from www.yerbamate.com, just because I was kind of
impressed with their information and their apparent ethics.

I bought the "La Tierra Gift Pack", which is the least expensive, the
bamboo bombilla, a half-pound of loose yerba mate, and a plain (pretty
small) gourd. Twelve bucks US, and seven more for shipping. You can
probably do better, but I can say they shipped it out right away and
didn't rip me off (it took nine days to get here, though... but it seems
to have been worth the wait).

Wherever you get it, do try it. Apparently it's not for everyone (one
person reported getting eye tics after a week's use), but I can't wait
to share it with my friends (I've already offered to a couple, but they
passed <g>). Which reminds me--one of them wants to try it, but she's
having surgery tomorrow, and so needs to be cautious. And I'm glad she
did wait, because she's *very* sensitive to ginseng--and I don't know
but that she might be to mate, too. So my advice is, just try a little
at first, to make sure you're not allergic or anything (good advice for
trying anything new, and probably something I didn't need to tell you).

Er--I don't usually write this much. Can't be the mate, can it? ;O)
--
fD

It was a dark and stormy night when fLameDogg stepped out of the
alley onto "rec.food.drink.tea" and cried out:

> Er--I don't usually write this much. Can't be the mate, can it?
> ;O)

No, if the mate were affecting your writing, it'd be incoherent and
lack a logical flow.

Kind of like term papers written at 2:00 in the morning with the
"benefit" of Jolt Cola.

Derek

--

It's not "free" speech when I have to pay for the privilege
of listening to a message that I don't want to hear.

Derek > wrote in :

> It was a dark and stormy night when fLameDogg stepped out of the
> alley onto "rec.food.drink.tea" and cried out:
>
>> Er--I don't usually write this much. Can't be the mate, can it?
>> ;O)
>
> No, if the mate were affecting your writing, it'd be incoherent and
> lack a logical flow.

Okay, well, thanks for that :O)

> Kind of like term papers written at 2:00 in the morning with the
> "benefit" of Jolt Cola.

Hehe :O)

--
fD

Just got my first order of yerba mate from stash.com. Can't comment on the
quality because I have nothing to compare it too. I have not purchased the
proper equipment and have made a few pots in a french press. My order was
processed quickly and it was 3.5 days from the time I ordered the tea and
when it arrived on my doorstep.

I drink more than my share of caffeinated beverages in the course of a day
- strong African coffees, rich Asian teas, tempered with the occasional
rooibos or green tea. Frankly, I do not notice any caffeine-like effects,
probably because my tolerance is so high. Pleasant, leafy flavor, but with
the cooler water brewing, it is also quite smooth in texture. I can say it
falls into that "acquired taste" category and I will report back after I
have had some more experience.

pgluth1 > wrote in
:

> Just got my first order of yerba mate from stash.com. Can't comment on
> the quality because I have nothing to compare it too. I have not
> purchased the proper equipment and have made a few pots in a french
> press. My order was processed quickly and it was 3.5 days from the
> time I ordered the tea and when it arrived on my doorstep.

Like you, I've only tried it from one place. I found some for a better
price elsewhere, so I'll probably buy some and compare.

I've only done the infusion/bombilla thing, but I am looking at a small
French press for myself.

> I drink more than my share of caffeinated beverages in the course of a
> day - strong African coffees, rich Asian teas, tempered with the
> occasional rooibos or green tea. Frankly, I do not notice any
> caffeine-like effects, probably because my tolerance is so high.
> Pleasant, leafy flavor, but with the cooler water brewing, it is also
> quite smooth in texture. I can say it falls into that "acquired taste"
> category and I will report back after I have had some more experience.

Yep, all of that is consonant with what I've found. Though I've read that
some people pooh-pooh the difference between "mateine" and caffiene, I
really loaded up on it last night, and noticed only a clear, light buzz at
most--no jitters whatsoever.
--
fD

--

fD

fLameDogg wrote:
> pgluth1 > wrote in
> :
>
>
>>Just got my first order of yerba mate from stash.com. Can't comment on
>>the quality because I have nothing to compare it too. I have not
>>purchased the proper equipment and have made a few pots in a french
>>press. My order was processed quickly and it was 3.5 days from the
>>time I ordered the tea and when it arrived on my doorstep.
>
>
> Like you, I've only tried it from one place. I found some for a better
> price elsewhere, so I'll probably buy some and compare.
>
> I've only done the infusion/bombilla thing, but I am looking at a small
> French press for myself.
>
>
>>I drink more than my share of caffeinated beverages in the course of a
>>day - strong African coffees, rich Asian teas, tempered with the
>>occasional rooibos or green tea. Frankly, I do not notice any
>>caffeine-like effects, probably because my tolerance is so high.
>>Pleasant, leafy flavor, but with the cooler water brewing, it is also
>>quite smooth in texture. I can say it falls into that "acquired taste"
>>category and I will report back after I have had some more experience.
>
>
> Yep, all of that is consonant with what I've found. Though I've read that
> some people pooh-pooh the difference between "mateine" and caffiene, I
> really loaded up on it last night, and noticed only a clear, light buzz at
> most--no jitters whatsoever.

I have to admit curiosity as to Mate. I've tried Celestial Seasonings
"Rolling Thunder" which contains Yerba Mate, but can't handle it at all.
It makes me intensely sick to my stomach. On the other hand, I can
drink coffee on top of No-Doze (don't ask...it was a *very* bad day at
work once!) without any stomach upset at all. I tried the CS version
twice, the first time on an empty stomach and then tried it (after I got
my nerve back up) again after having eaten with the same effect. So, a
sensitivity to Mate, to something else in their blend (I can't recall
off the top of my head what else was in there) or....???

B. Kildow

On 2003-10-26, B. Kildow > wrote:
> fLameDogg wrote:
>> pgluth1 > wrote in
>> :

<snip>

>>>I drink more than my share of caffeinated beverages in the course of a
>>>day - strong African coffees, rich Asian teas, tempered with the
>>>occasional rooibos or green tea. Frankly, I do not notice any
>>>caffeine-like effects, probably because my tolerance is so high.
>>>Pleasant, leafy flavor, but with the cooler water brewing, it is also
>>>quite smooth in texture. I can say it falls into that "acquired taste"
>>>category and I will report back after I have had some more experience.
>>
>> Yep, all of that is consonant with what I've found. Though I've read that
>> some people pooh-pooh the difference between "mateine" and caffiene, I
>> really loaded up on it last night, and noticed only a clear, light buzz at
>> most--no jitters whatsoever.
>
> I have to admit curiosity as to Mate. I've tried Celestial Seasonings
> "Rolling Thunder" which contains Yerba Mate, but can't handle it at
> all. It makes me intensely sick to my stomach. On the other hand, I
> can drink coffee on top of No-Doze (don't ask...it was a *very* bad
> day at work once!) without any stomach upset at all.

Yow! That's a pretty strong stomach, it seems to me. I would be very
cautious myself. Like my friend who can't tolerate ginseng at all, I
have a couple of food allergies. One of them is fairly mild, but the
other could possibly be lethal--I've only brushed up against that
substance once, and it's fortunately not common. The one that only
causes discomfort is peanuts, and it's hard not to encounter them from
time to time. I'm lucky the situation isn't reversed--I only found out
a couple of years ago that some people are indeed allergic enough to
peanuts that it could kill them.

Not saying what you have is an allergy, but it's the thing to watch out
for, I think.

> I tried the CS version twice, the first time on an empty stomach and
> then tried it (after I got my nerve back up) again after having eaten
> with the same effect. So, a sensitivity to Mate, to something else in
> their blend (I can't recall off the top of my head what else was in
> there) or....???

I'm guessing you're referring to CS "Morning Thunder". According to
their Web site, it only contains "Roasted maté and black tea." I'd say
beware. Of course, the acid test would be to obtain a small amount of
mate and try just a tiny bit by itself, but based on the above, I'm not
sure it would be worth it to you.

I guess you could have also gotten a bad batch of tea.
--
fD