Yerba Mate Journey

It is funny how Yerba Mate magickally came into my life at the right time. In 1999 I got a job at Sacramento Natural Health Food Co-op. One day a woman from the health and beauty aids department offered me a cup of yerba mate. It was very dark like coffee. I liked it very much. So I bought some and have been drinking it ever since.

A friend of mine went to Chile back in 2003 to visit family and friends. He told me about how they drink it all day in this gourd like cup and a this metal straw. He brought us back a 5lb. bag of it and a gourd and straw. We tried it the authentic way but it was way too strong consuming it that way for me. So I just fill up a tea bag with mate and steep in in teapot. I drink it just about everyday. And when I don't I do feel the difference.

Because both me and myself drink it so much we decided to buy it from the company called EcoTeas. It is alot more cost effective to buy in bulk for us. They have good prices there.

I know that they sell it in smoked or unsmoked and I prefer the unsmoked version. I gave up on coffee about 5months ago and now I only drink yerba mate,ocassionally earl grey and sometimes chai tea with almond milk but Yerba Mate is consumed all day for me.

I call it a magickal journey because I have tried many other exotic teas like Rooibos(African Red Tea)tea and others I can't remember the name of but Yerba Mate seems to be a permanent fixture in my tea drinking regime. I do like trying new ones but at the moment to make the Yerba Mate interesting sometimes I add vanilla flavored almond milk,or spearmint, pepperment. I make a medicine tea with it during the cold and flu season. I use Yerba mate as the primary herb and add sage,peppermint,licorice root,marshmallow,mullein,and ginger.

It is such a versatile herb and it is so cool that more and more people are discovering! Well gotta go and refill my cup with some steaming hot Yerba Mate!

Oh, and P.S. I like to drink my Yerba Mate with lemon and honey too. It tastes great on ice as well!