Yerba Mate

I'd like a gourd and bombilla.

But I'm lazy and cheap.


Ehh they SAY it has antioxidants.... it's also smoked, which is like, cancer-imbued.

All the other benefits are just those of caffeine..... you can get a nice clean high off a cup of proper espresso, or green tea....

People often have weak-ass piss-water coffee, and then wonder why it hardly wakes them up and they're just groggy.... it's because they're drinking piss-water, duh. Proper coffee should have almost exactly the same effect as mate or tea.

 

I drink yerba too, you can get it flavoured too if having it normal doesn't please you. Also you can buy it in little bags just like tea bags, so you don't have to do that ritual the argentines do of making it with loose leaves and passing it around.

 

I think the ritual is a part of it too. It takes some time but it's really relaxing

I used mate tea bags once and it just didn't feel the same. I missed the bombilla and the taste was less intense (probably should have used more tea bags )

 

The cancer issue covers more than inhaling the smoke from burning leaves.

The PAH chemicals in yerba mate and other teas are an area of interest. It may be a result of the way the leaves are dried, such as using burning wood to dry them. Smoked foods are known to have similar issues with carcinogens and an increased risk of esophageal cancer.

http://cebp.aacrjournals.org/content/17/5/1262.full

"If further studies prove that the PAH content of mate is a main factor responsible for its carcinogenicity, then certain public health measures can be considered. Variation in the PAH content among the different brands measured in this study, such as the difference shown between brands 5 and 8 and the other brands, shows that it is possible to produce mate with a lower PAH content. One potential way to reduce the PAH content of mate is to modify processing methods. Studies have shown that the major source of PAHs in black tea is the air in the drying houses; the concentration of PAHs in the air inside the drying houses is up to 100 times higher than in the air outside the drying houses (45), and the PAH content of processed black tea is >70-fold higher than that of fresh tea leaves (45)."