Yerba Mate – Why It’s Unique and Medicinal
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Tea drinkers come from all over the world and a good number of them are from Japan, China and India. In these countries, the most popular tea drinks are green tea and chai.
There is one form of tea, though, that not many have heard of not even in countries where majority of the population are known to be avid tea drinkers. In South America, the Yerba Mate tops as the number one health drink. It is a form of herbal tea that is largely found in countries like Paraguay and Argentina.
The Yerba Mate is both unique and medicinal. It is technically a medicinal tea that is brewed from the leaves and small twigs of the tree Ilex paraguarensis. It is regarded as an energizing drink with the ability to activate the mind and increase mental alertness and acuity. The energy from Yerba Mate comes from its complex combination of xanthine alkaloids and caffeine. However, don’t worry if you’re caffeine-sensitive because the caffeine content in Yerba Mate is not similar with coffee.
Yerba Mate is also known to contain 24 vitamins and minerals, 15 amino acids, 11 polyphenols and high in antioxidants. With all these health elements present, Yerba Tea is regarded as nature’s most balanced stimulant. Being a stimulant in the nervous system, it can quickly breakdown carbohydrates and burn more calories during an exercise routine.
Another amazing medicinal benefit from Yerba Mate is that it is being used by the people of South America as a remedy for gastrointestinal disorders by increasing the flow of bile. The polyhenols present also prevent the growth of bacteria that causes bad breath.
What makes the Yerba Mate a totally unique variety of tea is the way that it’s customarily prepared and served. While most teas are served using teapots and cups, the Yerba Mate is completely different. To serve it, you would need a gourd—it is the hard-shelled fruit of any variety of plant specifically designed as a drinking utensil. You would also need a bombilla or a metal straw that you will use to drink from the gourd.
The gourd plays two important roles and these are to compress the tea to create suction and enhance flavor by reducing some of the bitterness of the tea. There are several types of gourd. It can be made out of wood that is stable and flat and one that doesn’t need to be cured and can be used right away. Or it can be a natural gourd which is better than any other type of gourd but has to be cured first so that its flavor doesn’t overpower the Yerba Mate.
To cure a gourd, simply pour some Yerba Mate into it and fill it with water. Let it sit for a day or two to allow the gourd to penetrate the water and absorb the flavor of the Yerba Mate. Clean the inside with boiling water after. Finally, dry it out in window light or any dry condition for another day or two. The gourd will constrict and tighten as it dries up and releases moisture. The idea for curing the gourd is that it will not anymore allow water to penetrate and alter the flavor of the Yerba Mate.
To prepare your Yerba Mate with a gourd, fill a cup of gourd with about three-fourths of the herb and add in hot water until the herbs are submerged in the water. Wait a few minutes to allow the herbs to fully absorb the water and then add more hot water to keep it liquid. When done and you think you’ve prepared it to suit your taste, bind the bombilla into the wet herbs to filter it down. It is now ready for serving using the straw to sip the drink. A tip for drinkers with a more sensitive taste, you can add more hot water for repeated infusions until it has that particular taste that you prefer. Otherwise, you can buy it in bag like other conventional teas.
Yerba Mate is health’s new nickname. If you are a coffee drinker, switch to Yerba Mate. It is a uniquely refreshing drink that can expand one’s health-and-beverage horizon.
Ann Trenton has been writing Internet articles on different health subjects for the past several years. She is a registered nurse who began writing stories as a little girl. She enjoys writing articles and blog posts about tea and tea time.
