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Lose weight? Fight cancer and aging? Drink to your health with sustainably-harvested, organic mate.

COCKTAIL FACT

In Uruguay, where mate consumption is huge, public buses have signs that say, "Forbidden to drink mate."

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home › tip library › Organic Yerba Mate

Does the caffeine in coffee give you the jitters?

The Bite

No biggie - fulfill your need for speed with uber-healthy maté (say it "mah-tay"). Chock full of antioxidants, have a cup for a great buzz - without the side effects of coffee.

The Benefits

Healthy stimulation. Maté does contain caffeine, but has fewer negative effects than coffee - it actually has a relaxing effect on heart and muscle tissues.
Sleep tight. Maté drinkers say they don't have trouble falling asleep.
The taste is usually nice and earthy, but some companies have formulated mate that tastes fruity or latte-like.
Like tea, maté may help you lose weight, since it has 0 calories and revs up your metabolism.
Antioxidants up the whazoo. Maté has almost twice the free radical-combating ability of black and green teas.
Fights cancer? A 2005 University of Illinois study found maté inhibited mouth cancer cells from spreading.

Personally Speaking

It took about 6 months and a lot of support from her sponsor Toshio, but Sara's kicked the coffee habit in favor of Pixie Maté. Meanwhile, during Heather's semi-annual detox regimes she drinks maté instead of coffee - but when the detox is over, she reunites with strong coffee like a bee to honey.

Wanna Try?

Pixie Mate - all-organic, the dark roast blend tastes like coffee ($5-9).
Guayaki Gift Pack - this fair trade gift comes with 6 oz of maté and the must-have accoutrements for every maté drinker - including a sweet-looking fair trade gourd and bombilla ($30).
Choice Organic Yerba Mate- easy-brew maté in tea bags ($23).

Oct 04,2006

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All editorial suggestions in this tip are the result of testing and a preference for the tip topic. No advertiser has paid to have its company referenced in the tip. For more information, please read our Editorial Policy.

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Mate’ & ManBoys

So about 4 years ago I went to the Bioneers conference in Marin (seriously WELL worth it if you can go or attend one of the satellite conferences; it's coming up!). There I had the good fortune of meeting the Guayaki brothers. These two cute, hippy-ish man-boys that were doing a phenominal job of bringing this good tasting yerba mate' to market, and doing it in this amazing sustainable way.

So happy to see they have really started to get "out there" and appeal to more people than just the 20K or so at the conference that were all vibing on the stuff.

They were nice enough to give me about 40 sample packets of the stuff, so I have tried most flavors, and tend to go for the less-intense, more girly stuff. But as a coffee-junkie, I was surprised my taste buds responded so favorably to the stuff.

It is a bit of an acquired taste though... don't get me wrong. I feel like only the truly acquired can sport the mate mugs that are made of ceramic or gourds and have a silver built in filter / straw.

So if you are feeling the need to try something different but are a bit of a girly-girl, start with the premixed stuff from Pixie, and then see if you can reach the acquired state of being with the gourd.

Off to mix up more girly Pixie stuff until I see Dave and Steven Karr and get 40 more packets - Jen

Biter Comments...

Great post - I LOVE mate. I posted about this on DC FUD's website too - http://dcfud.smorgasblog.com/archives/002648.html I am trying to spread the good word around this area, and have actually had two people switch over. I'm excited to check out your links! Thanks!

Posted by: MappyB | October 04, 2006 at 06:24 AM

I was so happy to see this post this morning. I just read about the Guayaki folks in Plenty magazine this month - it has great pics of their gorgeous farm in British Columbia. I love mate and am glad it's finally catching on. It's such a healthy little drink. When I started buying it, I would mix a little soymilk and some sugar or stevia into it, and it was delicious. Now I drink it straight because Guayaki already adds stevia in it as a sweetener. Anyway I really enjoy the "chocolate" flavor that comes in teabags... everyone must try!

Posted by: JB (the second) | October 04, 2006 at 06:36 AM

My parents came back from South America with mate metal straws and mata coconut cups. I have never tried mata and probably should give it a go, especially if it is organic. My problem on kicking the coffee habit is that coffee is one of my favorite flavors. Not the kick it gives because I have organic decaf a lot of the time. But I just love, love, love the flavor especially ice cream. Thanks for the Pixie link. I'll see what this taste like.

Posted by: Selena | October 04, 2006 at 09:10 AM

The Mate for the Tea lover: ROOIBOS Rooibos (“redbush”) is from South Africa, hard to get, and fiendishly tasty. Picture if you will, a steaming cup of black tea without any bitterness because it lacks tannins. Now, toss in a vanilla bean (it has vanillin compounds) and then tell the drinker there’s no caffeine whatsoever, and polyphenol antioxidents http://www.herbalgram.org/herbalgram/articleview.asp?a=2550 for the easiest-to-access skinny on rooibos. Medical studies are intriguing, but I wish to heck they'd clarify that "animal study" because that's something I'd REALLY like to know more about!!!

Posted by: Marcia | October 04, 2006 at 09:23 AM

Hey - great tip today! I am totally in love with the mate - and this is from a long time coffee drinker. One more fact about the mate: Its much better for your digestion. I found mate through a friend who had to stop drinking coffee for health reasons. She was told mate is basically the healthiest coffee subsitute you can find and is far less harsh on your body as it is processed. I personal love it with a little local honey - which has the added benefit of lessening my allergies. Now I'm a mate fiend- including making a thermos every morning to take to work!

Posted by: Felicity | October 04, 2006 at 09:52 AM

I've tried mate before, but Pixie Mate is the first one I've tried that doesn't taste like grass. I like coffee, but it gets me all jittery after a while. The Pixie tea bags are great, because they brew just like tea, and I'll even chill it after brewing to fill my Nalgene bottle when I hike. Good stuff, and not like it matters, but the Pixie logo is pretty sweet.

Posted by: Ralph | October 04, 2006 at 01:48 PM

I am a BIG fan of Pixie Mate! I was drinking way too much coffee and then I was introduced to mate and just love the stuff. It gives me a great boost like coffee, but without the jitters. I make the tea bags in the morning and then I love the mate lattes for a boost in the afternoon. I'm totally hooked!

Posted by: Amy | October 04, 2006 at 02:51 PM

I just discovered Mate and I love it. My favorite is Wisdom brand's Yerba Mate Royale, which comes sweetened with Stevia - pretty much all you taste is sweet, yet it's calorie free. One warning, though - if I drink a large mug of it right before bedtime, it does keep me awake. Any other time it's great!

Posted by: Amber | October 04, 2006 at 08:42 PM

Hi! Great info on mate. My husband was born Uruguay so we had a little giggle over the "cocktail fact." The only pet peeve is that Americans always say mah-tay (accent on the "e" & an exaggerated one at that). The correct way to say (and spell) it is with the accent on the "a" (MAH-teh) - sorry I can't do the spelling correctly here.

Posted by: blackbird | August 15, 2007 at 10:58 AM

blackbird where are you from? http://www.onlinemeetingblog.com

Posted by: Online meeting | May 20, 2008 at 10:21 AM