Yerba Mate – the alternative to coffee

My struggle to give up coffee has been well documented here.  Hard as I try, I am just not able to give up the delicious energy nectar. My coffee intake has been reduced, but I am just fooling myself if I say that I can give it up entirely. It’s just not possible. Even if it puts me in financial ruin. I am down to about 1.5 largish cups of coffee a day – pretty good for me.

However, I am still really tired all the time, I am in a definite need of a pick me up these days. Tiredness is contagious, and when you work in an office…you can quickly “infect” your co-workers with malaise. Thats how dynamic I am…I can actually put people to sleep. Enough of that!

Anyway, my acupuncturist has been singing the praises of Yerba Mate tea for the past month. He insists that it will be “energizing” and it is a much more natural way to get caffeine into my body. I finally broke down last night, and bought some. Will let you know if he is correct.

In my research of Yerba Mate tea, this is what I have uncovered (via wikipedia)

The flavor of brewed yerba mate is strongly vegetal, herbal, and grassy, reminiscent of some varieties of green tea. Many consider the flavor to be very agreeable, but it is generally bitter if steeped in boiling water, so is made using hot but not boiling water. Unlike most teas, it does not become bitter and astringent when steeped for extended periods, and the leaves may be infused several times. Additionally, one can purchase flavored mate in many varieties.

It is slightly less potent stimulant than coffee and much gentler on the stomach. Drinking mate with friends from a shared hollow gourd with a metal straw is an extremely common social practice in Argentina.

I love that its such a social activity! I love tea time, and now I actually have an excuse to drink a good for me tea (sans scones). Why does sipping yerba mate tea through a metal straw make me think of opium and hookah?