TeaChat

i've found that it makes me very very tired several hours later, ideal for going to sleep

I only tried ecoteas but found this YouTube review:

Yerba Mate Guayaki vs Eco Teas Best Tea Review an…: http://youtu.be/4MUu0gleO44

Also I just use ikeas teapot to brew my mate http://m.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/art/90150071/

I need to say this: i'm argentinian and i really dont like most of the yerba tea blends

if you want something traditional i think you have to check the way we drink it. we use the "mate" or "porongo" is like a glass of wood and a metal straw (our "bombilla"). water is around 85ºC and you pour it, drink it, and pour water again.



if you want to do a blend, the best is to try with lemon, orange peel or mint leafs. There is people, like my grandma, that use herbs that make you pee or something for health and mix them with the mate. I never try because i'm lazy for that.

mate+citric or mate+mint are the bests for me, but always drinking with mate and bombilla <3

I went through a Yerba Mate kick awhile back and this was my go to vendor. http://www.goyerbamate.com/ Rick is a good guy and has pretty good prices. His ultimate bombillia is awesome!

If you want a jolt: get Canarias! Great mate. Lots of tiny fannings, beware if you are not using a FINE strainer.
Regular drinking mate: Cruz de Malta was good. Not a lot of fannings, all around good mate.
Fruity mate?: CBSe is good in some flavors... orange and lemon were probably the best but taste more like the rinds.

Good luck!

orange for me is unbeatable.
This site has tons of different mate:
http://ma-tea.com/categories/Yerba-Mate/

I remember you just can use some aniseed for extra flavour.

i love cruz de malta <3.

If you live in South American go to your local supermarket, they will have a ton of options, both loose leaf and tea bags. If you are in Europe a good bet is to go to Carrefour, they carry yerba mate. In the United States both Whole Foods & New Seasons usually have a couple brands available (but they are very overpriced). The best option in the U.S. is to buy through Amazon. Many of the top S.A. brands sell their yerba via Amazon. Here is a good write-up on 5 of the top Yerba Mate brands that are currently available via Amazon: http://www.planetyerbamate.com/5-best-y ... leaf-teas/

Enjoy!

bulletheas wrote:Hello, I've been recently into a tea kick, I have had yerba mate before but it was a mass market lemon flavored iced tea kind of drink I bought at a convenience store.

Question, I would like to try yerba mate, more traditionally. I would prefer an easy way to make it, like from a tea bag or something. Does anyone recommend any brands? I just came back from the local supermarket and they had none in their tea isle, also the nearest health food store near me closed awhile back. So I'm looking for online sources.

Thanks a lot if anyone has any recommendations.

Here are 5 good brands to start with ( http://www.planetyerbamate.com/yerba-ma ... n-legends/) There are more traditional options on the list that feature a bit of a stronger taste. I would recommend trying something lighter to start - maybe Mate Leao? Also keep in mind that tea bags will have less concentration than the more traditional Gourd & Bombilla.
Good luck amigo!

Check Latin markets near you in the US. Some carry yerba at good prices. I can buy Canarias, Rosamonte, Taragui, etc. for less than $8 per kilo in Waltham, MA.

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I mean, I'm clearly biased given my source of employment, but I really like Adagio's maté: http://www.adagio.com/herbal/yerba_mate.html

We source from Triunfo in Brazil: http://triunfodobrasil.com/?lang=en

Poseidon wrote:I went through a Yerba Mate kick awhile back and this was my go to vendor. http://www.goyerbamate.com/ Rick is a good guy and has pretty good prices. His ultimate bombillia is awesome!

If you want a jolt: get Canarias! Great mate. Lots of tiny fannings, beware if you are not using a FINE strainer.
Regular drinking mate: Cruz de Malta was good. Not a lot of fannings, all around good mate.
Fruity mate?: CBSe is good in some flavors... orange and lemon were probably the best but taste more like the rinds.

Good luck!

I also use goyerbamate and the owner is very nice.

Do you happen to know if Canarias brand is smoked or unsmoked? I asked Rick but he did not answer so I am not sure if he knows or not?

Poohblah wrote:Interesting - I found that mate tends to affect me less than other sources of caffeine. I have to drink a pretty heavy dose of mate to feel the buzz.

Same here. I usually start in the morning with ~50g in the gourd on an empty stomach and don't get much of a buzz, if at all, no matter what yerba. OTOH 5g of the average Dayi stuff give me the jitters in no time.

ClarG wrote:

Poseidon wrote:I went through a Yerba Mate kick awhile back and this was my go to vendor. http://www.goyerbamate.com/ Rick is a good guy and has pretty good prices. His ultimate bombillia is awesome!

If you want a jolt: get Canarias! Great mate. Lots of tiny fannings, beware if you are not using a FINE strainer.
Regular drinking mate: Cruz de Malta was good. Not a lot of fannings, all around good mate.
Fruity mate?: CBSe is good in some flavors... orange and lemon were probably the best but taste more like the rinds.

Good luck!

I also use goyerbamate and the owner is very nice.

Do you happen to know if Canarias brand is smoked or unsmoked? I asked Rick but he did not answer so I am not sure if he knows or not?

Canarias tradicional is dried with wood fire and so picks up some smoke during the process, like other yerbas and some few teas but compared to other yerbas I don't find Canarias trad. particularly smoky - YMMV.
If you want to try some really smoky yerba check out something like "La Merced Barbacuá', one of my favorites but most certainly not the healthiest yerba. For a mate without any smoke get some 'Kraus'.

kuánglóng wrote:

ClarG wrote:

Poseidon wrote:I went through a Yerba Mate kick awhile back and this was my go to vendor. http://www.goyerbamate.com/ Rick is a good guy and has pretty good prices. His ultimate bombillia is awesome!

If you want a jolt: get Canarias! Great mate. Lots of tiny fannings, beware if you are not using a FINE strainer.
Regular drinking mate: Cruz de Malta was good. Not a lot of fannings, all around good mate.
Fruity mate?: CBSe is good in some flavors... orange and lemon were probably the best but taste more like the rinds.

Good luck!

I also use goyerbamate and the owner is very nice.

Do you happen to know if Canarias brand is smoked or unsmoked? I asked Rick but he did not answer so I am not sure if he knows or not?

Canarias tradicional is dried with wood fire and so picks up some smoke during the process, like other yerbas and some few teas but compared to other yerbas I don't find Canarias trad. particularly smoky - YMMV.
If you want to try some really smoky yerba check out something like "La Merced Barbacuá', one of my favorites but most certainly not the healthiest yerba. For a mate without any smoke get some 'Kraus'.

My favourite brand is Guayaki (San Mateo) 100% air dried Yerba, bar none. Great for newcomers. The flavour is herbaceous, unique and robust. I tried a few South American brands, but didn't like any of them. They all tasted like wood chips to me, too smokey. To each their own.

I also strongly recommend getting a Gourd and Bombilla. I use a Calabash. The Gourd absorbs the flavor over time and tastes better the more you use it, but you must dry it properly or you run the risk of bacteria growth and molding. I tried many different methods of brewing, and personally enjoy this way much more.

It's the best for flavour, effect and health. With the Gourd, it starts off strong, then levels out, and once the flavour becomes washed out you're done. Whats great about this method is it keeps you super hydrated as well. I usually run about 1-2 litres of hot water through one Gourd of Yerba! Its also the best way to extract the most nutrients and quite simply, was an interesting change from the usual brewing techniques and vessels for most teas.

A basic set can be bought for very cheap, and the "Mate Mateo" is great place to start for beginners and offers a more modern, user friendly approach to the traditional method. It is made of Silicone, and a Bombilla is included. Unlike most Gourds, it doesn't absorb the flavour which is good if you haven't found a brand you enjoy yet, or enjoy drinking different varieties. It is also dishwasher safe and much easier to clean.

Hope this helps.

Also.. If anyone is concerned about the Yerba Mate-Cancer link, like I was, it is because the majority of the South American companies traditionally smoke dry their product over burning wood, which drastically increases the presence of PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) in the Yerba.

As I mentioned before, I drink organic Guayaki Yerba Mate, a North American company, and their San Mateo Yerba is 100% air dried. The taste difference between air and smoke dried is night and day. I personally enjoy air dried MUCH more, as the smoked ones literally tasted like wood to me.