One of my good friends is a native of the beautiful country Argentina. I was astonished a few years ago when she told me of the daily use of the antioxidant powerhouse Yerba Mate and how’s it’s so integrated into the fabric of their culture.
At the time I was already a huge fan of Yerba Mate, and frequently recommending it to my clients as a means to increase focus and energy, as well as being a health-giving alternative to coffee.
Yerba Mate is a delicious way to start your day, and it has the ability to kick-start your energy and metabolism on par with (and often BETTER than) coffee and green tea could ever dream of.
Mate is not a “tea” in the common sense of the word. It’s actually from the leaves of the Holly Tree that grow in the rain forest of South America.
How Yerba Mate surpasses coffee is that, not only does it contain the stimulants you’re looking for, but it also contains a HUGE array of nutrients that blow coffee out of the water!
Yerba Mate contains:
*15 Amino Acids (protein building blocks)
*11 Polyphenols (including Rutin and Quercetin)
*24 Vitamins & minerals (including vitamin B3 [niacin], calcium, and selenium)
*2 Times the antioxidant power of green tea
*Chlorophyll, flavonoids, and essential fatty acids!
As you can see, Yerba Mate is top notch. It’s more recognized as being a complete food than a simple isolated stimulant. Let’s face it… Caffeine jitters are not cool. Yerba Mate helps you to avoid that unbalanced feeling by providing you its stimulation through a compound called mateine.
Mateine is a close relative of caffeine, but its chemical structure and the way that it interacts with your body is completely different. Studies show that it actually helps to regulate sleep patterns rather than throw them off, it doesn’t have the common “crash” that is very familiar to coffee drinkers, plus it stimulates AND nourishes the body due to its wide array of nutrients and phytonutrients.
Mate also features the alkaloid energy boosters theophylline (like the stimulant found in green tea) and theobromine (like the stimulant found in chocolate [cacao]).
Yerba mate has been used traditionally to help improve digestion, eliminate toxins from the body, improve energy levels, and strengthen the immune system. It’s known as an immunomodulator because of its innate intelligence to boost immune function when needed and calm-down an overactive immune system when it needs that as well. This is the benefit of having timeless treasures like these in our hands.
To really draw out the most chlorophyll from the Mate Leaves (I LOVE the way this looks and feels when I drink it) I’m going to share with you one of my preferred ways of making Yerba Mate Tea. This is an excerpt from my book The Key to Quantum Health:
“Teas like Yerba Maté are extremely high in antioxidants and other incredible vital nutrients that can be damaged in the heating process. So what I do is take the particular tea leaves (or if you are using teabags, that’s okay too), add the desired amount of water and warm the tea over very low heat for a longer period of time.
For example: If I want to make 32 oz. of tea to have some for later, I’ll take 4 tbsp of tea, add the water, put a lid on the pot, and warm it over very low heat for about 20-30 min (low enough that I can still put my finger in it after it is done brewing, but still hot enough to extract the goodies from the tea leaves). Then I’ll simply let it sit for about an hour or so. I’ll just bottle it up and refrigerate it to use as a base for making some incredible Superfood Elixirs, Chocolate Milks, or whatever else I may want. If I want to have a warm tea drink, like a “Hot Chocolate” then I’ll simply use it while it’s warm, put it in the blender with all of my other SuperFoods, and then blend my way to bliss. It’s so simple! You will always find bottles of fresh SuperTeas in my refrigerator, just waiting to become the next SuperFood Elixir.“
If you haven’t tried drinking Yerba Mate instead of that standard, old coffee, then what are you waiting for? The best way to get started is to simply make a tall mug of hot Yerba Mate as you would any other tea, add a bit of organic raw honey and power through your day with energy to burn!
Have you ever tried Yerba Mate tea? Leave your comment below and let me know what you think about it.
Great post. Love Yerba Mate! Just out of curiosity has anyone tried adding a grass fed butter, MCT oil or making some type of latte this way to get some of those healthy fats in?
I’m a very early riser, and have been trying to switch my body to utilizing fats and have fallen in love with bulletproof coffee to fuel my first few hours of the day. (and that Onnit MCT oil tho…!)
Anyways, I don’t think it’s the caffeine I need, it’s the fats. Just wondering if you’ve tried yerba mate in this way at all, and if it was effective?
I can’t agree with you more. I myself was a coffee addict, love coffee still, really didn’t like how it caused jitters and that anxiety accompanying productivity was something I wished was gone. Add that a cold office temperature, and all of a sudden it’s a miserable office.
Then yerba mate came to my life. Coffee is something I need rarely now – just when I want that extra extra kick. The greater part of my morning routine is pleasantly starting out with a cup of yerba mate. Mmmmmm.
When it’s hot, it’s terere. Iced yerba mate. It’s its own world, especially with lemon. I almost want it to be hot everyday so I can make an excuse to sip on the chilled bombilla.
Anyways, long story short I decided to see if anyone is interested in getting started with yerba mate right – with a local South American brand! And a modern silicon gourd + bombilla! So I set up a shop.
Since I love how this post is written, I decided to let everyone know that if you guys live in the US, check us out. We’ll send you a different local brand every month!
I’ve heard that daily use can be a carcinogen. Is this true?
I keep hearing that Yerba Mate may cause cancer. I’ve tried doing some research on my own but can’t seem to figure out if this is true or not. What do you think of this?
I used to drink Yerba matte on a daily basis until I read in several places that it’s been linked to esophageal cancer. Do you have further insights on this finding?
I’m having my first delicious cup of Yerbe Mate right now as I’m watching the Super bowl. I’ve been drinking too much coffee lately IMO. I’m also a big fan of green tea but this tastes better than green tea. Thanks for the tip!
Where can I find Yerba Mate
You can find it at pretty much any health food store, but if you don’t have one near you it’s easily found online. This is my favorite source: Organic Yerba Mate All the best!
Never tried it. I’ll have to give it a shot. Thanks for the tip!