Taking Yerba Mate is one of the healthiest habits you can have. This herbal tea comes from a plant named Ilex paraguariensis. The leaves and sticks of this plant are dried and then consumed in a gourd called Mate and sipped with a metal straw (bombilla).
Ilex paraguariensis has antioxidants and nutrients providing tons of energy, helping the circulatory system and mental focus.
Besides, there is a whole culture around this tradition to be recognized as a sign of friendship and bonding.
In this guide, we will get deep in the reasons for cultivating this habit. Read on!
Yerba Mate contains at least 4 healthy components which stimulate the functioning of your body. Also, help prevent the risk of many diseases.
Xanthines also found in coffee, tea and chocolate, is a general stimulant, known typically as caffeine.
Saponins are anti-inflammatory compounds that also help to control cholesterol levels.
Polyphenols represent a large number of antioxidants helpful to avoid the risk of diseases.
Caffeoyl also found in the tea, is the main health-promoting antioxidant.
Besides, contains lots of vitamins (group B) and minerals like Potassium, which helps the heart functioning and Magnesium, which helps to synthesize proteins.
As we mentioned before, Yerba Mate contains caffeine, a natural stimulant which affects the brain and central nervous system, helping you stay alert and prevent tiredness. In small amounts, caffeine can be a great energy booster while helping with mental focus. If we compare Yerba Mate with coffee, the first beverage contains less caffeine than the second one but more than tea.
Usually, experts materos drink Yerba Mate at work which helps them keep a high level of mental focus, improving working relationships, but unfortunately won’t decrease the number of visits to the loo since Yerba Mate acts as a diuretic as well.
If you are a coffee-maniac, after some time you probably have noticed some intolerance to drinking more than one coffee at a day. You added some milk, tried smaller cups but at the same time don’t want to resign the cool sensation of having that coffee. Well, Yerba Mate could be the solution you’ve been looking for. It has practically the same effect, really cool flavour without the consequences of having coffee regularly.
The Mate is meant to be shared with friends, family, work colleagues, you name it. Once we have water at 75°, we poured it into our thermos, gourd filled with your favourite Yerba Mate, some snacks, the Ronda (round) starts.
The person who has the thermos will be the head of this ceremony. It’s called the cebador. He or She will be pouring water into the mate gourd and giving it to the first participant to drink it, once finished, it will be returned to the cebadorand so on. This ritual basically consists of sharing the Mate together. Extensive chats might come with it but be careful, not to talk too much and forget to drink your Mate. Other participants will be waiting also to have their turn, they might accuse you of using the Mate as a “microphone”.
Furthermore, if it happens to you to be the cebador take in to account that you have to keep the order of the participants. Otherwise, they might accuse you of skipping someone, biased order if someone is getting more mates than others, water too cold or too hot, in a nutshell, great power comes with responsibilities.
If you found this Benefits of drinking Yerba Mate guide useful, let us know on the comments section below your experience with Yerba Mate and don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and Instagram to have daily updates. Buenos Mates!
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