Yerba Mate

[kl.Gray Owl]

I've become interested in Yerba Mate recently because it has a bit less caffeine plus it has theobromine in it--chocolate gives me migraines, or at least it used to and I haven't been eager to find out, so there goes the major source of theobromine.  I mention mate here because it seems to have a similar social, communal aspect to it like kava and a bit of a ritual, found this great site with a sort of howto with pictures:
http://yerbamatedrinker.com/how_to_prepare_the_mate.html
I figured I'd start out easy before I shell out for the expensive loose leaf stuff, this one gets good reviews and is inexpensive.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0042V7I6C/ref=oh_details_o03_s00_i00
I was surprised to discover that you can get Mate de Coca, which contains powdered coca leaves, seems like it should be illegal but apparently it isn't.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000J4EPGW/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i00

 

[kavalover]

I love yerba mate - I alternate between it and coffee throughout my week. What's cool about yerba mate as opposed to coffee is that with coffee, I can drink maybe 2 - 3 cups and crash out 4 hours later, and then any added coffee will not affect me. However with the yerba mate I can drink a few refills out of my gourd (I use loose leaf taragui brand in a gourd and bombilla I got from guayaki) and be good for 3 - 5 hours of sustained energy and then drink some more later in the day to continue on the buzz. I suppose this could be due to the lower caffeine content and theobromine, but regardless, I find it really great for getting through a day when I know coffee won't cut it.



consider this buying guide, some good info in here



http://ma-tea.com/pages/Buying-Guide.html

 

[Ozzyfan121]

I would highly reccomend trying it. After drinking mate, all other sources of caffeine just no longer suit me. The properties of the drink are physically rejuvenating, and the communal aspect you mentioned is mentally rejuvenating, at least for me. Also, the energy is, for lack of a better term, purer than many other caffeine-laden beverages. In fact, it's been rumored to have a mentally calming and cleansing effect, which is something to which I can attest.

 

[Kojo Douglas]

I also really like Yerba Mate. Can't get it in Ghana, but it is great stuff. Don't buy Guayaki, buy Rosamante or other mainstream Argentinian brands. Guayaki is pseudo-environmental-organic bullshit. They like to champion themselves on being sustainable, but the truth is that Yerba Mate is consumed by millions of Argentinians every day and is nothing new. I drink coffee because I live in West Africa, but back in the US I drank Yerba Mate throughout the day.

 

[kl.new2kava]

I was surprised to discover that you can get Mate de Coca, which contains powdered coca leaves, seems like it should be illegal but apparently it isn't.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000J4EPGW/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i00

Coca leaves are a schedule I controlled substance and are in the same legal catagory as cocaine and any mixture of coca leaves and anything else would just be charged as pocession of coca by weight and would carry felony charges. If the stuff was imported than it would carry federal importation charges as well. I've seen some blatently illegal things for sale on amazon and ebay. It's good to check the legality of these things before landing yourself in a world of trouble.

On another note yerba mate sounds interesting. I only drink green tea and this sounds like something I may like.

 

[kl.stevev]

I read the reviews for various coca teas on amazon, apparently they has no effect. I'm pretty sure it's still illegal if it's sold as coca though.



How intoxicating is Yerba Mate? I'm envisioning Mate as comparable to black tea (almost no effects).

 

[kavalover]

It definitely packs a punch, but it isn't intoxicating in the slightest. It's more of the kind of stimulating "buzz" of a few cups of coffee, just toned down to a more gentle and soothing level. If that makes any sense.

 

[kl.stevev]

Thanks,

Ordered 1.1lb CBSe brand and a bombilla.

 

[Nihilist]

I think I'm going to order some. Anyone know anything about this kind? It's costly but the bark in it sounds interesting.
Nonehttp://www.yerbamate.us/Itapua-La-Potente-Organic-p/m.it.lp.htm

If not that probably this. Low price and claims to be potent.
http://ma-tea.com/2-2-lb-taragui-yerba-mate-tea/
http://ma-tea.com/1-1-lb-taragui-energia-yerba-mate-tea/

 

[kl.Gray Owl]

I think I'm going to order some. Anyone know anything about this kind? It's costly but the bark in it sounds interesting.
Nonehttp://www.yerbamate.us/Itapua-La-Potente-Organic-p/m.it.lp.htm

If not that probably this. Low price and claims to be potent.
http://ma-tea.com/2-2-lb-taragui-yerba-mate-tea/
http://ma-tea.com/1-1-lb-taragui-energia-yerba-mate-tea/

Just FYI La Potente refers to sexual potency, not the strength of the mate it contains Catuaba, which is supposed to increase virility.

I ordered some La Rubia Special and 50g samples of Pajarito Special Selection, Romance Yerba Mate, Rosamonte Traditional, and Union Yerba Mate, from that same website.  Taragui seems like a pretty solid brand, I have some of the Taragui cocido tea bags and have been putting those in an empty iced tea bottle and just adding warm water to drink throughout the day.  I also ordered the stainless steel sport bottle figuring that I'll make terere.  They have a pretty good YouTube channel with some helpful videos.
http://www.youtube.com/user/rkwiman/videos

 

[kl.Gray Owl]

I also really like Yerba Mate. Can't get it in Ghana, but it is great stuff. Don't buy Guayaki, buy Rosamante or other mainstream Argentinian brands. Guayaki is pseudo-environmental-organic bullshit. They like to champion themselves on being sustainable, but the truth is that Yerba Mate is consumed by millions of Argentinians every day and is nothing new. I drink coffee because I live in West Africa, but back in the US I drank Yerba Mate throughout the day.

I was watching this review and noticed the bag of Cruz de Malta yerba mate in the background.
http://kavasseur.blogspot.com/2011/02/new-kavasseur-podcast.html

 

[kl.Gray Owl]

I read the reviews for various coca teas on amazon, apparently they has no effect. I'm pretty sure it's still illegal if it's sold as coca though.



How intoxicating is Yerba Mate? I'm envisioning Mate as comparable to black tea (almost no effects).

It's a stimulant, it contains more theobromine than coffee or tea, which makes it a bit more like chocolate, it's like the same level of energy as coffee but smoother, without the jitters or other side effects of just strong caffeine.  Some people claim that the stronger mates give them a bit of a body buzz.

 

[Nihilist]

Thanks for the info Gray Owl.

 

[kl.Gray Owl]

Hmm, I thought mate de coca was mate with some coca leaves in it, but it seems it's all coca leaves. If the leaves are decocainized they are legal for import, but I somehow doubt they would go to the trouble and expense. The amount of cocaine in a cup of mate de coca is miniscule like a few milligrams, but enough to get a positive result on a drug test according to this book about drug testing, see page 106, apparently some people have run afoul of random drug testing due to being ignorant about mate de coca, and it's mentioned that it is easy to import or obtain in this country.



http://books.google.com/b...nepage&q&f=false



Stepan Company is the only legal importer of coca leaves, they extract the cocaine and produce a cocaine-free extract that is used in Coca Cola. Enough coca leaves to produce about 333 kilos, mind you, that seems kind of crazy. It seems to me that it could be used as a starting place for other drugs like procaine, but that can be synthesized fairly easily from benzocaine, although I'm not sure how that is synthesized. I imagine that it probably goes to a certain "other" government agency basically for use as currency and not the one mentioned in the article. Medical use seems to be limited to eye and nose surgery.



http://www.naturalnews.co...8_Coca-Cola_cocaine.html
PS for what it's worth the tea seems pretty weak, I don't even notice any numbing.  Another possibility is that it could be another Erythroxylum species that doesn't have cocaine in it, there are about 200 species and only a handful that have cocaine.

 

[Nihilist]

My yerba got here yesterday.



I was wondering if it's safe to drink the small particles of it? I order a spoon bombilla which may have been a bad choice. I didn't have the money for a gourd. I'm using a large cup and making like I have read on different sites.

Shaking it to get the finer stuff to the top. Then making a hill mound thing out of it. Adding water slowing to the bottom and letting it soak it up. Putting the bombilla in then adding hot water but not flooding it.

But I'm still getting a lot of stuff come through.

 

[Ozzyfan121]

Nihilist, the particles shouldn't harm you. When using a bombilla, ingesting small pieces of leaf seems to be par for course. I've actually consumed the leaves whole as a salad topping, and, even though it wasn't particularly tasty, I had no indigestion or any other expected symptom.

 

[Nihilist]

O thanks for the information. Drinking some right now. Kinda getting used to it. It tastes good; a little bit like green tea. This blend I'm drinking now has guarana in it too.

 

[kl.new2kava]

Hmm, I thought mate de coca was mate with some coca leaves in it, but it seems it's all coca leaves. If the leaves are decocainized they are legal for import, but I somehow doubt they would go to the trouble and expense. The amount of cocaine in a cup of mate de coca is miniscule like a few milligrams, but enough to get a positive result on a drug test according to this book about drug testing, see page 106, apparently some people have run afoul of random drug testing due to being ignorant about mate de coca, and it's mentioned that it is easy to import or obtain in this country.



http://books.google.com/b...nepage&q&f=false



Stepan Company is the only legal importer of coca leaves, they extract the cocaine and produce a cocaine-free extract that is used in Coca Cola. Enough coca leaves to produce about 333 kilos, mind you, that seems kind of crazy. It seems to me that it could be used as a starting place for other drugs like procaine, but that can be synthesized fairly easily from benzocaine, although I'm not sure how that is synthesized. I imagine that it probably goes to a certain "other" government agency basically for use as currency and not the one mentioned in the article. Medical use seems to be limited to eye and nose surgery.



http://www.naturalnews.co...8_Coca-Cola_cocaine.html
PS for what it's worth the tea seems pretty weak, I don't even notice any numbing.  Another possibility is that it could be another Erythroxylum species that doesn't have cocaine in it, there are about 200 species and only a handful that have cocaine.

   I looked into this myself as I was pretty curious as I have seen coca leaf tea for sale on ebay and have always suspected either it was a scam or someone selling something blatently illegal in the US from another country. It appears as though it is totally legal, though likely contains enough cocaine alkaloids to make one fail a drug test. Definately interesting, I am curious about the other alkaloids. I wonder if they are isomers of cocaine, but this would bring them under the analog act. They may be likely have a more beneficial and therapeutic value than cocaine without the addictive qualities.

As coffee can be decaffeinated, the coca tea can also be decocainized. Just
like "decaf" coffee does retain a minute quantity of caffeine, "Decocainized"
coca tea will still contain a minute quantity of the drug. When the cocaine is
removed, the amount of cocaine is small enough for the product to legally sell
in the USA according to the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs.
Some of our coca products are produced under processes that controls the
amount of illegal alkaloids leaving behind only the beneficial alkaloids. Coca
leaves contain more than a dozen alkaloids that are completely legal worldwide,
some of which help increase energy, reduce appetite, help control craving,
increase metabolism and decrease fat consumption, fight fatigue, promote
feeling  of well being, be healthy and safe.

http://www.mysteriousbolivian.com/servlet/StoreFront

 

[Kojo Douglas]

I did some research in Peru back in 2005 on a high-elevation archaeological site (15,000 feet!) and coca actually allowed me to perform my work. Of course, we chewed the raw leaves with ash as the locals did. I brought some coca tea back with me and it was quite similar. Definitely an upper and it definitely suppresses your appetite.

 

[Kojo Douglas]

I read the reviews for various coca teas on amazon, apparently they has no effect. I'm pretty sure it's still illegal if it's sold as coca though.



How intoxicating is Yerba Mate? I'm envisioning Mate as comparable to black tea (almost no effects).

Why is that you want it to fuck you up? It is just tea, for goodness sake. It's like a more sustainable form of coffee (in terms of energy).