Guayaki – Organic Yerba Mate Tea – (Guayaki.com)
I really only drink two things – water and tea. And I’m pretty fussy about the quality of each. Since I gave up the sauce (caffeine that is), I’ve been enjoying Yerba Mate as my new primary tea source. Guayaki sent me some samples to review for the magazine and I am now addicted to their Organic Yerba Mate. Not an awful addiction as addictions go. The company is a cool triple bottom line, fairtrade, responsible and sustainable company.
I prefer my yerba mate in beer form — it’s called Mateveza, and it’s deeelish.
Like you, I only drink water and tea and I am interested in yerba mate – and whether I should try to include it regularly. Do you know what kind of nutritional benefits it has (i.e. antioxidants like green tea)? Also, yerba mate is supposed to have a similar effect to caffeine but does it make you jittery at all? I found that the one brand I once tried (literally a sample size at Wholefoods from the company’s rep) gave me a huge jolt. Thanks for your post.
I really don’t know the benefits, but some claim many, including the whole antioxidant thing. I am told that the molecular structure of yerba mate is a mirror image of caffiene. Why that should inhibit the negative effects of caffiene, I do not know, but it does give me energy without the edgy side effects, which is a good thing!
A friend of mine swears by the stuff and just brought me a bag to sample. I’m still breast feeding my 4 month old, is it safe? I’ve been off of caffeine for almost 2 years now and would love a natural remedy as I am not a coffee drinker either.