Hello all,

I have heard of Yerba Mate tea and the method of drinking it for years but until recently have never tried it. The tea is traditionally steeped loosely with warm, not hot water, in a hollowed out decorative gourd and then sipped through an ornate nickel straw(called a bombilla) that has a filter on the end to prevent loose tea particles from getting in your mouth. The leaves of the tea comes from the Yerba Mate shrub which is a type of holly, which grows in South America.

The practice of drinking Mate tea can also be social in nature. The gourd is filled with tea and water, drank and then passed on to the next person where the process starts all over.

I recently found the mate tea and all the accessories at a local whole foods market and decided to experience it first-hand. The tea was fantastic. As a former smoker, I always enjoyed the smell of cigarettes and tobacco. The smell and taste of mate tea is reminiscent of tobacco. It has a very smooth flavor and a light bodied taste. The tea can be found mixed with other herbs and even roasted with barley and chicory to replace coffee.

Here is the down side though, as I was doing some research on the web I came across a few sites which correlate the drinking of mate tea to certain types of oral and lung cancers. I thought this interesting, as the bag of the mate tea states that it is filled with wonderful antioxidants. I guess not all antioxidants are good for you. Also, like all things, you have to take it in moderation. One study suggests that the method of drinking the tea through a nickel plated straw could be the culprit.

Has anyone ever experienced negative effects from mate tea? Is the research a sham? Any thoughts?

Thanks,

Kyle