Why I love Yerba Mate
The ancient South American super tea
Mate is a highly delicious tea like drink. It is actually made of a sub tropical evergreen. It is best enjoyed hot or cold and the leaves readily send their pungent flavor into hot (not boiling) water. The 'tea' is wonderful hot or cold and can also be brewed in the sun.
I love the slightly minty tinge it gives on the palate and its delightful after taste. A very small sprinkle of sugar gives a large amount of change to the succulent drink.
The South Americans use Mate for many health benefits it provides. My favorite benefit is that the tea will gently cleanse the body of toxins in a short amount of time. It is a great reliever of constipation while providing lots of vitamins and minerals. Since the tea is best steeped in hot water (approx 140-170 degrees)it can be steeped for a very long period of time without bitterness or alteration of flavor in a negative way. Energy from its caffeine also makes one feel great and get a much desired mental stimulation without any jitters or anxiety other caffeine drinks cause.
The caffeine type agent in Yerba Mate is wonderfully mild, and for me is consumable in the evening without any effects on sleeping.
The best thing about Mate is that it is really inexpensive. I get it for about one dollar fifty cents per pound and a pound will brew forty to fifty cups or more. Cruz De Malta from Argentina is my favorite brand and is common; most Mexican grocers carry Mate. Argentina (among other South American countries) prides itself as a major producer and consumer of the famed shrub/tree as well as reverencing Mate as its national drink.
Somehow I lived a quarter of a century, visited Colombia and never encountered this cherished drink until an Argentine neighbor shared a bombilla (a small gourd with a metal straw for consuming mate) with me. Then they sent me home with about a half pound of the sweet green leaves. Now I enjoy a cup or two per week on ice in summer and hot in winter. I also enjoy a hot cup whenever I am sick and it seems to make me feel much better. A loyal Argentine would probably swear by the health benefits of Mate.. as for me; I am beginning to believe!
Mate is a highly delicious tea like drink. It is actually made of a sub tropical evergreen. It is best enjoyed hot or cold and the leaves readily send their pungent flavor into hot (not boiling) water. The 'tea' is wonderful hot or cold and can also be brewed in the sun.
I love the slightly minty tinge it gives on the palate and its delightful after taste. A very small sprinkle of sugar gives a large amount of change to the succulent drink.
The South Americans use Mate for many health benefits it provides. My favorite benefit is that the tea will gently cleanse the body of toxins in a short amount of time. It is a great reliever of constipation while providing lots of vitamins and minerals. Since the tea is best steeped in hot water (approx 140-170 degrees)it can be steeped for a very long period of time without bitterness or alteration of flavor in a negative way. Energy from its caffeine also makes one feel great and get a much desired mental stimulation without any jitters or anxiety other caffeine drinks cause.
The caffeine type agent in Yerba Mate is wonderfully mild, and for me is consumable in the evening without any effects on sleeping.
The best thing about Mate is that it is really inexpensive. I get it for about one dollar fifty cents per pound and a pound will brew forty to fifty cups or more. Cruz De Malta from Argentina is my favorite brand and is common; most Mexican grocers carry Mate. Argentina (among other South American countries) prides itself as a major producer and consumer of the famed shrub/tree as well as reverencing Mate as its national drink.
Somehow I lived a quarter of a century, visited Colombia and never encountered this cherished drink until an Argentine neighbor shared a bombilla (a small gourd with a metal straw for consuming mate) with me. Then they sent me home with about a half pound of the sweet green leaves. Now I enjoy a cup or two per week on ice in summer and hot in winter. I also enjoy a hot cup whenever I am sick and it seems to make me feel much better. A loyal Argentine would probably swear by the health benefits of Mate.. as for me; I am beginning to believe!
posted by The Builder II at
8:37 AM
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