Yerba mate, pronounced “yerba mahtay”, is the latest in drinks to reach the American market, even though it’s been around for centuries.
This drink claims many health benefits such as energizing the body, stimulating mental awareness, aids in weight loss, cleanses and detoxes, accelerates the healing process, relieves stress, control allergies, strengthens the immune system and increases longevity.
Yerba mate is prepared by steeping dry leaves and twigs in hot water and is traditionally drunk with a group of friends from a shared hollow gourd, called mate in Spanish, with a metal straw. This is an extremely popular social practice in Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Chile, Bolivia, Brazil, Syria and Lebanon.
Yerba mate is very much like herbal tea, but cannot be steeped in boiling water because it will become very bitter. It’s slightly less potent than coffee and gentler on the stomach.
Studies show that the Yerba Maté has the following components: water, cellulose, gums, dextrin, mucilage, glucose, pentose, fat substances, aromatic resin, legumin, albumin, xanthine, theophylline, caffearin, folic acid, caffeic acid, viridic acid, chlorophyll, cholesterin and essence oil. Ashes contain great amounts of potassium, lithium, folic, sulfuric, carbon, chloric and citric acids, beside magnesium, manganese, iron, aluminum and arsenic traces.
You can find organic, rain forest-grown, fair traded yerba mate at guayaki.com.
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