I am beginning to believe that our continuing search for the perfect, uplifting cuppa is getting out of control. Have you taken a serious look at the tea aisle lately?

            Are we so fickle that merely a few flavours of teas and tisanes (herbal infusions) can’t satisfy us? Apparently, the beverage industry thinks we are. Every few months, a new beverage, generally promoted as organic, caffeine-free, grown on some small family farm in a developing country (they sometimes even give you the family name) and artfully packaged, makes its way onto the shelves. That’s why I was pleasantly surprised to discover a “new-to-us” tisane that actually has naturally occurring caffeine. Unlike many other tea-drinkers, I actually prefer my “uplifting” beverages of choice to contain stimulants.

            Now that I spend most of my days at home, either cleaning in preparation for our move, or working at my desk, I find myself needing a variety of distractions to keep me out of the peanut butter cupboard. It was while looking for something new and distracting that I came across the brightly coloured packages of Yerba Maté. They were sitting next to some incredibly horrible sounding Chai mixtures that I had actually considered buying. I was ready to try just about anything (except that Chai) and bought a package of Yerba Maté tea bags.

Yerba Maté is a tisane made from the leaves of a member of the holly family indigenous to South America. It is actually considered to be the national drink of Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina. It is also now grown in other tropical countries, and is popular in Europe and India.

Even if you flunked highschool Spanish, you will probably realize that the word yerba means “herb.” The word maté is Spanish for “gourd,” and refers to the small gourd that is traditionally used as a cup for the tea.  In South America, the beverage is generally taken with burnt sugar, lemon and milk.  Maté bars are the South American equivalent of Starbucks.

            Not only is this drink a stimulant due to its caffeine content (a cup of Yerba Maté contains almost as much caffeine as some coffees) but it also has many other proven medicinal properties. One of its primary uses in Europe is for weight loss but it is also used to improve mental and physical fatigue and help cure nervous depression. Additionally, it is also said to help cure rheumatic pain, constipation, headaches, and stimulate the immune system. Maybe I have found the perfect beverage to keep me away from the peanut butter after all.

            Finding a new product that can claim this many health benefits and that is so popular in South America makes me wonder why I have never heard of it before. There has to be a reason that in North America, our caffeine beverages of choice are coffee and tea, not Yerba Maté. Well, I can’t explain it. Perhaps coffee is a more profitable commodity, more easily cultivated in mass quantities or maybe the early explorers liked the taste of it better.

            I have tried Yerba Maté both with honey and without. I like it both ways. The brand I purchased says that the leaves have been roasted over cedar fires, and you can taste that smoky quality. On top of enjoying the flavour, I think that I can now type more than a hundred words a minute! Just kidding.

            Maybe for once, I have purchased something new that will actually get used-up, and not end up in my pantry graveyard for mistakes and wasted money.