Looking for a way to get off the juice but still have a small burst of caffeine to power you through your work morning? Enter Yerba Mate, a natural alternative for a severe coffee addiction.
I only recently discovered this South American rain forest plant myself and now consider myself thoroughly addicted. Why? Well after you read the stats of this miracle tea you will be too!
For decades, the dried leaves and stems of the Yerba Mate tree have been consumed by millions of South Americans as an alternative to coffee. The tea contains a whopping 24 vitamins and minerals, 15 amino acids, abundant antioxidants as well as naturally occurring caffeine to give you a little jolt. Personally, coffee gives me too much of a jolt (to the point I get jittery!) and Mate does the opposite. It makes your eyes open a little wider, makes you think a little faster, but doesn't cause your hands to shake as you hold papers at your desk. Not so much. Yerba Mate is not an herbal, black or green tea, but rather stands on it's own in terms of classification. In terms of healthfullness, Mate is considered to be healthier than green tea, with 196 active compounds (green tea only has 144). Yerba Mate also has more polyphenols and antioxidants than any other tea, thus living up to its name in the rainforest as "drink of the gods".
There's many different types of Yerba Mate out there. As you can see, I recently picked up a box from Whole Foods that combined green tea and peppermint leaves in with the Mate for a slightly different taste. I love to drink it plain but adding some agave or stevia would make for a sweeter cup. I've also had Yerba Mate "lattes", which are absolutely delicious.
Cheers!
This article appears in May 20-26, 2009.