What is Yerba Mate?
Introduction to Yerba Mate
Yerba Mate is a member of the holly family and has been consumed for centuries in South America. Originating from the leaves and twigs of the holly bush, Mate is dried over fire and later steeped in hot water. It has recently gained popularity throughout the U.S. due to its many excellent health benefits, including fighting disease, weight loss, energy-boosting, and more!
Mate is praised for being as strong as coffee, healthy as tea, and enjoyable as chocolate. With a perfect balance between its energy and nutritional properties, Yerba Mate is a wonderful all-around tea with numerous health benefits.
Yerba Mate can be found dotting the countryside of South American countries such as Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina. Mate is the national drink of these countries. This particular tea has become increasingly popular here in the States due to its many health benefits. At Full Leaf Tea Co., we take pride in creating inspired wholesome loose leaf tea blends by hand.
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Yerba mate health benefits
Yerba Mate packs quite the healthy punch! Made from the naturally caffeinated leaves of a holly tree found in South America, it provides those who partake of this tasty brew with a veritable host of benefits. The Yerba Mate benefits are far-reaching and can help you on your journey towards a healthier lifestyle.
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Loaded with Antioxidants
First, Yerba Mate is packed with antioxidants, which help your body fight off free radicals naturally. Free radicals are single oxygen atoms that can damage cells by reacting with other molecules.
While free radicals can be a little hard to understand, the basics that you should know are that an abundance of free radicals in your body can lead to any number of diseases and lead to undesirable side effects like wrinkles. So, antioxidants help keep you healthy on the inside, but they also work to keep your skin radiant.
Goodbye bad cholesterol!
When it comes to lowering cholesterol, Yerba Mate does a pretty outstanding job. Yerba Mate contains saponins, which are naturally occurring compounds that have anti-inflammatory and cholesterol-lowering properties. These properties allow you to help lower your bad cholesterol while simultaneously supporting your heart health.
What about weight loss?
Mate can help lower cholesterol and improve heart health and assist consumers with their weight loss goals. By helping your body increase fat oxidation during exercise, Yerba Mate may help you reach your weight loss goal faster than you anticipated.
Immunity boosting superfood
If you’re looking for an immune-boosting tea, then you’ve come to the right place. The same saponins that help lower cholesterol partnered with the polyphenols found in Yerba Mate can give your immune system a much-needed boost.
Yerba mate and cancer
Didn’t think you’d find “fights cancer” among the list of benefits while reading about tea? Along with anti-inflammatory capabilities, research shows Yerba Mate can fight and prevent cancerous cells with its natural ursolic acid, rutin, tannin, chlorogenic acid, and chlorophyll compounds.
Coffee or tea? – caffeine without the crash
Yerba Mate is known for its energy-boosting properties. The caffeine in Yerba Mate is unique in that it can both smooth and energize. Most report being able to enjoy multiple cups of their Yerba Mate Tea without the jittery feeling they would traditionally get from drinking the same amount of coffee.
What does yerba mate taste like?
Full Leaf's Yerba Mate has a mild, smooth, and nutty flavor that is excellent hot or cold. Its soft flavor profile makes an ideal base for all USDA Organic blends made with herbs and no added flavoring.
Of course, if you want to add additional flavoring through sweeteners or creamers, we won't judge. Like coffee, Yerba Mate has a slightly sharp bitter taste that can take a little while to get used too. But just like coffee, once you've found your ideal Yerba Mate brew, you won't be able to remember what life was like before it!
Does yerba mate have caffeine?
Yerba Mate has a moderate level of caffeine. Depending on how strong it is prepared, there can be 85mg of caffeine per 8 oz cup. The average cup of coffee can have around 100mg of caffeine.
Where can I buy yerba mate?
Yerba mate can be found online! Shameless plug: but as of writing this, we sell 6 different types of yerba mate teas. We’re USDA certified organic, and our products are vegan and free of GMO’s. To top it all off, we have over 10,000 positive reviews, so feel free to try us out! However, if you’re more of an in-store person (we totally get that), you can find loose leaf yerba mate at any organic or wellness store such as Whole Foods.
Shop Yerba Mate →How do you steep yerba mate?
Add 1 TBSP of your loose Mate into a tea bag or infuser. Next, let the tea steep for 2 to 4 minutes in 8 oz of almost boiling (simmering around 170ºF) filtered water. After the tea has finished steeping, remove the tea leaves from the liquid, and enjoy it!
