Yerba Maté - Best Coffee Alternative?

Have you ever felt like you’ve reached a stage when coffee is doing you more harm than good? This is the way I felt a few weeks ago, when I just kept being hit by this wave of fatigue and exhaustion in the afternoon, despite having several cups of coffee per day. It just didn’t do the trick anymore, and it’s really the worst feeling when you’re trying to be productive.

I had heard some great things about yerba mate, but never managed to get hold of it, because you can seldom find it in the shops in the UK. From the first sip, I was simply amazed! My experience from drinking it can be described as the strength of coffee, the health benefits of tea, and the euphoria of chocolate all in one beverage.

Yerba mate (yer-bah mah-tay) is made from the naturally caffeinated and nourishing leaves and stemlets of the celebrated South American rainforest holly tree (Ilex paraguariensis), native to the subtropical highlands of Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina. It was introduced to colonizing and modern civilizations by the Guarani Indians of these regions. Yerba Maté is known as the national drink of these countries, and is consumed by millions of South Americans as a healthy alternative to coffee.

This stimulating herbal beverage has the unique ability to wake up the mind without the nervousness and jitters associated with coffee. Deemed “The Drink of the Gods” by many indigenous groups in South America, and known as “the green gold of the Indios” by folks in Europe, yerba maté possesses a multitude of health benefits. The chemical components of yerba maté are similar to those found in green tea; however, yerba maté may be even more nutritious. People worldwide refer to this herbal infusion as a “whole body tonic”.

Benefits of Yerba Mate

After a bit of research, these are the benefits I came across - many of them based on clinical studies:

- Induces Mental Clarity. Yerba maté has the ability to quicken the mind and increase mental alertness and acuity.

- Sustains Energy Levels / Reduces Fatigue. Yerba maté is a central nervous system stimulant. The metabolic effects of maté appear to include the ability to maintain aerobic breakdown of carbohydrates during exercise for long periods of time. As a result, more  calories are burned, thereby increasing cardiac efficiency and delaying the build-up of lactic acid.

- Boosts The Immune System. The yerba maté plant contains a number of powerful known saponins - phytochemicals that have been found to specifically stimulate the immune system and aid the body in protecting against disease.

- Helps Relieve Allergies. Shown to reduce the severity of some allergies and hay fever, yerba maté works by stimulating the adrenal glands to produce corticosteroids, which help suppress the inflammation and immune response due to allergies.

- Aids Weight Loss. Several studies have concluded that yerba mate can promote weight loss, increase metabolism and improve insulin sensitivity.

- Improves Digestion. The Indians of South America traditionally use yerba maté to treat gastrointestinal disorders as eupeptic and choleretic agent. Research conducted by a team at Catedra de Farmacologia in Buenos Aires, Argentina found that yerba maté does in fact induce an increase in bile flow and enhance intestinal transit.

- Fights Bad Breath. Polyphenols found in tea and yerba maté have been shown to prevent both the growth of bacteria responsible for bad breath and the bacteria’s production of odorous compounds.

How Do You Drink It?

The term “mate” in Spanish or "cuia" in Portuguese, derives from the Guaraní term "matí" for the gourd made from the dry and hollowed kalabash fruit in which the beverage is prepared. These gourds vary in size throughout the region ranging from 7 to 12 cm in diameter and have an approximate volume of 150-250 ml. The hole at the top allows the "mate" to be filled with the dry leaves. Once this is done, water that is heated to 80-90°C is added to the gourd and a straw like metal tube (bombilla) is inserted into the "tea". Bombilla contains a filter in the lower end to separate the mate infusion from leaves and stems. Once it is is drunk, hot water is poured into the gourd again and the process is repeated till the yerba mate is "washed out" after a few rounds.

As Europeans often meet at a coffee shop, drinking mate is the impetus for gathering with friends in Argentina, southern Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. Sharing mate is ritualistic and has its own set of rules. Usually, one person, the host or whoever brought the mate, prepares the drink and refills the gourd with water. The gourd is passed around, often in a circle, and each person finishes the gourd before giving it back to the brewer. The gourd (also called a mate) is passed in a clockwise order. Since mate can be rebrewed many times, the gourd is passed until the water runs out. When persons no longer want to take mate, they say gracias (thank you) to the brewer when returning the gourd to signify they do not want any more.

All I can say that I’m totally hooked :) In regards to both the taste, and how it makes me feel, yerba mate has become my favourite hot beverage.