Yerba Mate Vana - Teavana

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Nov 21st, '05, 10:21

Yerba Mate Vana - Teavana

by Stacey » Nov 21st, '05, 10:21

Hello Tea Friends,
I love a tea at Teavana called Mate Vana. It is caffiene-free, but has a stimulant in it that wakes you up (i can't have caffiene for medical reasons). This tea has a chocolaty taste and is very different...but it needs quite a bit of sweetner in my opionon. I've switched over for all my other teas to Adagio - and prefer to do this with Mate Vana too. The ladies at Teavana said that the Mate Vana was the number one seller by far at the store, so people must be warming up to the taste. It will never replace my other herbal teas, but is a nice addition.

Thanks,
Stacey

Nov 21st, '05, 14:54

by Guest » Nov 21st, '05, 14:54

Stacey, I really like that blend too, and it's one of the few Teavana teas that actually tastes somewhat fresh to me.

That said, I recently read an article (I'd post the link if I could remember it) on the stimulant in mate, and make no mistake, the mateine in it is chemically similar enough to caffeine to be labeled as such. In other words, if you shouldn't be drinking caffeine, you should definitely ask your doctor if this is okay, or maybe even do some more research on your own for the sake of your health.

Like the caffeine in tea, the stimulant in mate is a slow release, surrounded by other "good for you" substances, but I'd still check with your doctor. Hope this helps!

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Nov 21st, '05, 15:22
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by chris » Nov 21st, '05, 15:22

Here's the article I believe you're referring to!

Nov 26th, '05, 23:13

Mate Vana/ Teavana Teas

by Nicole Friedman » Nov 26th, '05, 23:13

I have to respectfully disagree with a previous post- I LOVE all of my teavana teas- I only so far use agiago for "holiday teas" that teavana doesn't offer- chestnut, pumpkin and gingerbread.
Getting back to the mate vana, however- it is used in South America as an alternative to coffee and I agree with a previous post that it definitely resembles coffee more than tea. I'd have to say that the taste is "interesting"- it's one of those few things in life that when I taste it, I can't decide if I like it or hate it! :}

Jan 21st, '06, 17:15

by ceterisparibus » Jan 21st, '06, 17:15

While I really really enjoy Maté Vana (especially w/ Aztec Fire) it doesn't really taste like "real" Yerba Maté. A good analogy would be Maté Vana is the Earl Grey of the Maté world (versus Silver Needle, Dragonwell, Ti Kuan Yin, or something on that order).

I'd suggest Maté Lemon Blast (Maté w/ Lemongrass) if you're interested in a more authentic taste. I don't mean that in an elitist way - I've got a bunch of both at work.

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Jan 23rd, '06, 20:39
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by TeaFanatic » Jan 23rd, '06, 20:39

if you really want to try true Argentinian/Brazilian mate, I would check out aviva's site (www.yerba-mate.com). They offer high quality mate at low prices and they have blends that are more suited to american palates (spearmint, passion berry, etc).

If you are up to it though, I would recommend the traditional method with gourd and bombilla (straw). The mate is strong but good once you get used to it. Some of my favorite mate brands are cruz de malta and rosamonte. Both can be found at www.gauchogourmet.com.
"Make tea not war"

Favorites: Sencha, Dragonwell, White Monkey, Silver Needle, Gyokuro, Kukicha, Darjeeling

Dec 5th, '08, 01:56
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What is the other tea...?

by Unsweetened_Please » Dec 5th, '08, 01:56

Does anyone know what tea Teavana mixes Mate Vana with when they give out free samples at the door?

Also, could someone tell me if the "natural stimulant" Mate Vana has in it is known to have any the same side effects as caffeine? Does it cause you to crash, get awful headaches if you stop drinking it, or absorb calcium? The girl behind the counter really couldn't tell me much besides that it was "gentler" than caffeine.

Thank you!

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Dec 5th, '08, 02:36
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by omegapd » Dec 5th, '08, 02:36

I don't know about the health issues of the caffeine-like stuff in Yerba, but it affects me stronger than normal caffeine with keeping me awake and getting me motivated. It's a different feeling for me than drinking tea or coffee...hard to describe.

Jan 4th, '09, 11:44
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by Intuit » Jan 4th, '09, 11:44

News to me that mate doesn't have caffeine!

From Wikipedia: "Mate contains xanthines, which are alkaloids in the same family as caffeine, theophylline, and theobromine, well-known stimulants also found in coffee and chocolate.

Caffeine content varies between 0.3% and 1.7% by dry weight, when compared to 2.5–4.5% for tea leaves, and 1.5% for ground coffee."

http://www.econsultant.com/articles/caf ... offee.html

A 10g aliquot does not a serving make (unless you are purchasing it from clever vendors that both dilute it with flavorings and peddle it in a teabag to maximize profit), so the caffeine content is greater than tea and on par or greater than coffee - but, it has a nice dose of antioxidants to go along with the metabolic stimulants, to offset the negative effects.

So if you prepare it in the traditional way - packed in a gourd, you are getting a LOT of stimulant.

One of the more interesting aspects of these alkaloid stimulants is that they encourage release of dopamine. As you may recall from my previous posts, low dopamine is associated with depression.

A 2005 patent claims that Yerbe Mate is a monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOi), a class of anti-depressants. It appears to interfere with MAOi-type drugs, so one might want to be careful if you are taking this form of antidepressant.

For the curious reader, the rationale is this:

Your body synthesizes the related monoamine neurotransmitters serotonin, dopamine and epinephrine, in a pathway, such that the most excitatory, epinephrine is produced and stored under very controlled conditions.

You don't want to be pumping out epinephrine (adrenaline) constantly. Thats the 'fight or flight' hormone behind various nervous disorders.

So MAOi drugs reduce the potential for making and storing epinephrine and therefore act in a backward control loop to help reduce hypersensitivity to it by oversecretion.

Wikipedia authors obviously don't know their biochemistry. Oh well. They comment on the antianxiety effect of yerba mate consumption without understanding why.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yerba

The magnesium and potassium ion content of yerba mate counter the stimulant effect, that is, to induce release of calcium ions (a second messenger ion that acts like a hormone within central nervous and secretory systems). So you get a definite buzz, but a relaxed type, not the anxiety, jaw-clenching, heart palpitation, and intestinal motility effects of caffeine in susceptible folks.

Bolus doses of caffeine induce insulin release in the pancreas. Yet another reason to avoid caffeine if you are a smoker, are overweight or are a slug (sedentary).

Jan 4th, '09, 12:01
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by Intuit » Jan 4th, '09, 12:01

If you want to purchase yerba mate produced under sustainable conditions at fair market value, try www.guayaki.com

They make the ramon nut flavored 'Java Nut' version that I drink in place of coffee and as an alternative to strong, malty Assam in the morning.

Some mate' lovers claim that Guayaki yerba mate is crap. *shrug* They grind it using the industrial cut-tear-curl method. It makes it steep faster and more thoroughly, so you can use less, and it's more dense (easier to store). It's also more expensive than buying bulk yerba mate (which can be as low as $5/lb before shipping from Argentina).

If you sign up for the Guayaki newsletter, you will get a coupon eventually that will give you an extra 10 percent off, and they were offering free shipping for larger orders, enough to pay for shipping from SoCAL if you buy it in bulk, the last time I ordered from them, in November.

I recommend you try the Dark Roast.

The company also makes tea bag style mate, in about a dozen flavors.

Republic of Tea makes a very nice mate' coffee alternative called 'Mate Latte'. They doctor it with herbs to make it taste like coffee, but they sell it at an absurd price ($28/lb). I've warned them that they won't be making much profit on such an expensive product (that is CHEAP to produce), but they don't appear to care.

Feb 3rd, '09, 21:47
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by Psyc.rose » Feb 3rd, '09, 21:47

rofl holy crap! Another freakin healthy ass drink with stimulant like effects. Try not to laugh, but I always assumed that this Yerba Mate crap was a brand of "Tea", like Tazo or something :oops:

Im totally curious now. How long do gourds last? Is this stuff worth it? Amazing

Feb 4th, '09, 11:10
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by silvermage2000 » Feb 4th, '09, 11:10

I have never had yerba mate. But,It seems like something I might like. Considering I like a flavored coffee once and a while. And this might be something simular. So I might eventually check I't out.

I think specialtea's has a mate to.
My name i's ashley I am a female and 21 years old.

Feb 27th, '09, 09:30
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Re: What is the other tea...?

by Nosferatuia » Feb 27th, '09, 09:30

Unsweetened_Please wrote:Does anyone know what tea Teavana mixes Mate Vana with when they give out free samples at the door?

Also, could someone tell me if the "natural stimulant" Mate Vana has in it is known to have any the same side effects as caffeine? Does it cause you to crash, get awful headaches if you stop drinking it, or absorb calcium? The girl behind the counter really couldn't tell me much besides that it was "gentler" than caffeine.

Thank you!
The Teavana that I go to mixes Mate Vana with Rooibos Chai and gives out samples, it makes for a pretty good tasting blend, hope that helps some :D.

Sep 5th, '10, 22:42
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Re: Yerba Mate Vana - Teavana

by ssams92 » Sep 5th, '10, 22:42

I drink this tea myself.They mix Matevana with rooibos chai.with a little raw sweetener it's yummy:).I believe this is the tea they give as samples at the door.

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