T-ShirtDynasty

Yerba. What the hell, right? I heard about it years ago, but there was nobody in the US selling it, and it was expensive as hell to import from Argentina or Uruguay. Then a little while back I came across this massive thread at bodybuilding.com and found that a dude in Georgia was importing it and selling it on his site : http://www.yerbamatecafe.biz So I finally ordered some Yerba along with a traditional Mate (the gourd) and bombilla (the straw).

Wow. I've replaced coffee and cigarettes with this stuff and have never felt better in my life. It's an acquired taste, but the "Salante" brand, which has a lower stem content, roasted almonds to mellow the taste, Stevia leaves (a natural calorie free sweetner) and additional natural flavoring is very, very easy to get used to, especially with a little Splenda in it.

Very strange stuff. Really hot water burns it and makes it bitter, you start the steeping with cold water, then add sub-boiling water to it as you drink it. Lasts a long time.... the small gourd I have going right now, I made this morning and I'm on my second thermos of hot water going through it... you just sip, sip, sip, refill and repeat, no need to change the leaves.

It's not caffeine free, but has a very low content... but that doesn't mean it doesn't have a kick. It really, really... REALLY does. Very clean energy boost. Mild MAO Inhibitor effect as well, which is where the mood enhancing comes from I think. A few gourds of this, and I'm in a great mood, with great energy, and a real desire to DO stuff.

The wife and I have about 10 different flavors in the cupboard now. I still don't care for the traditional stuff... very strong heavy flavor, but with more of a kick.

Highly recommend for people who like trying new things. I'm wild about this stuff. Sippin' on an Elderberry flavored one now.

Tunescribe

Is it like tea and does it come in tea bags, or is it a powder you mix with water? And which variety is the strongest?

T-ShirtDynasty

It's not really like tea, but that's what most people compare it to. It does come in tea bags and an 'instant' powder, but the reviews on them were kind of hit or miss, so I decided if I was going to try it, I was going to try the real stuff. And now, I even enjoy the pain in the arse preparation of the traditional method of drinking it.

It's a rough-cut tea-looking stuff... traditionally with stems and leaves in it, though some brands have fewer stems, and some have none at all. You dump a pile of it in a gourd (the Mate'), stick the special filtered straw (the bombilla) into the stuff, wet it with a little cold or luke warm water, and let it sit like that for a few minutes (this is when I nuke a travel mug full of water, then transfer the water to a thermos to keep it hot). Then you top off the gourd with the hot water (not boiling) and sip the mixture directly through the filtered straw.

The gourd doesn't hold much, and at first I didn't like that, but I understand the reason behind it now. The longer it steeps in water, the stronger it gets... so in a huge travel mug, by the time you get to the end, it's pretty damn strong. Too strong for me. In the little gourd, it never has a chance to get too strong... probably about 10 or 15 sips, and it's ready to be refilled again. The small size keeps the turnover of liquid more frequent and keeps the mixture fresh. I'll have to take a picture of my set-up. But really, you can use the same pile of Yerba all day, it doesn't loose it's power or flavor for many many refills.

As far as strength.. I hear that the traditional brands like Rosamonte and Taragui are very strong. I'm not sure, I have some Rosamonte, but it's very strong tasting and I just don't care for it. The Mahtay brand is enhanced with extra yerba concentrate and ginger plus guarana (which is a natural caffeine) and is advertised as having "twice the kick" as regular Yerbas, and I think that's just about right. I love the Mahtay peppermint and fruit flavors, and they do have bigger kick than my other favorite brand, Salante.

Oh.. and a lot of people who don't like the traditional method, make it in a french coffee press, and that works pretty well too, as long as you don't let it actively steep too long. But it ain't nearly as cool as the silver straw and silver rimmed gourd.

Edit: the Mahtay Mint is very powerful with the mint taste. I LOVE it, but it's too minty for my wife, when she has the mint she mixes it 50/50 with the white chocolate flavor, and that's damn tasty.

Tunescribe

Interesting. I might try it out. Once the yerba is mixed with water and used, do you throw it out or can you "reboot" with more water the next day? How long does one helping last?

ClevTrev

Ok, you've got my interest. Is it a nervous energy like caffeine or is it something different?

T-ShirtDynasty

I've heard of people going into the next day on the same Yerba, but to me, it gets fairly weak after the second thermos-full of water through it... it still has taste and kick on the third thermos, but noticeably less of it. I wouldn't know about more than three... I think going into four thermoses would send me to the moon. Two back to back pretty much jacks me up for the whole day, and gets me through my evening workout too. (I guess for all that to make any sense we need to know how much water my thermos holds I'll have to check on that)

I throw it out at the end of the day... rinse my mate', and stick the empty mate' in the fridge (a gourd is after all organic and I don't wanna deal with mold or anything). Sometimes I'll toss it and get new Yerba in the middle of the day, but that usually just because I feel like a flavor switch, or just want fresh stuff.

I would guess that if you were only to run as much water as one of my thermoses through it and had enough, you could fill it with water, stick it in the fridge, and continue on with the same stuff the next day. Oh... and cold, it's awesome. One of the things that make it nicer than tea to me, if you like iced tea, you have to brew it hot and then cool it off... with yerba, it steeps in cold water just fine. You can skip the hot water altogether and just go with straight cold water, even throw in some ice (that works better with the travel mug and 'ultimate bombilla' set up).

It's very different. I tried to explain it to my dad on the phone one night after the last snow storm. I was dead tired and trying to keep up with the heavy snow... I was beat, went in to get a beer, and figured I'd shovel another 15 minutes and save the rest for the morning. Once I got inside, I noticed my travel mug full of yerba wasn't rinsed out yet.... I figured what the hell, grabbed the mug and beer and went back outside. Poured the beer right in the mug full of yerba which had already had a thermos full of water run through it earlier in the day. It foamed like a bastard, so I would just pour, sip, shovel, pour, sip, shovel, etc. An hour later my entire driveway was clear, the walkway was clear, the roof was raked, the snow I raked off the roof was shoveled out of the way, and I was thinking about hitting my nextdoor neighbor's driveway. I had energy to spare. Yet an hour later, I was able to shut off and sleep like a baby.

Dad called after I was back inside, and the best analogy I could come up with was.... caffeine is like blowing on a fire, but yerba is like adding a few more logs to a fire. Caffeine is like an accelerant but yerba is like an actual fuel. Coincidentally, I think it's why it doesn't seem to interfere with sleep when used at night, which I've only done a few times.

Do you get "jittery" energy off it like caffeine? Yeah, but only LONG after you get the regular pure energy boost. It's hard to explain... one thermos full gets me really pumped, but an outsider wouldn't notice anything different about me. Two gets me talking a little faster and acting a little more hyper, almost manic. But I don't get the real physical signs of a typical stimulant, like hand shakes or nervousness until well into the third thermos of water in one sitting (again, I need to find out how much water my thermos holds).

And it's not just the energy... it's the effect on the mood. It's great to suddenly have enough energy to finish shoveling the driveway, but it's even better to be put in such a good mood that you actually enjoy the biting cold, the driving wind, the snow pelting you in the face, and the physical exertion at the same time. The stuff just flat out makes me feel good, and caffeine (and most other common stimulants, with the exception of Rhodiola Rosea) do not.

Terry Glenn is a cowgirl

So what is the benefits compared to coffee????

Terry Glenn is a cowgirl

So, is it a good fat burner?

Does it make you sweat alot?

T-ShirtDynasty

Bahaa! Just so you don't think my snow shoveling story is bull*****... I remembered that since I had so much extra energy after shoveling, but decided against shoveling my neighbor's driveway, I went in and grabbed my camera to goof around with when I was done. These are dated March 2nd at 11:47 pm... apparently I had enough energy to snap some shots and then download them to the PC when I was done.

Driveway after Yerba:



Yerba after driveway:


Nothing special about that travel mug, had it for years... just so happened that the 'ultimate bombilla' that came free with my yerba order fit perfectly in it.

Many, I think. I still have a cup of coffee every morning, but because I want it, not because I prefer it over Yerba. Coffee has some unique antioxidant properties that I think are of value.. but most of the time I'm eager to finish my one cup of coffee and get to my yerba as soon as possible. Yerba just makes me feel better. They both have MAOI actions, but yerba has a bit more I believe. Yerba also has a much 'cleaner' stimulant effect, as I talked about above, more energy without the shakes and nerves. Yerba slows down gastric emptying, which aids in digestion and makes you less hungry through the day, which in part leads to weight loss, at the same time it increases metabolism more than caffeine... similar to, but more mild than ephedrine, which again helps with weight management. I remember there was a bunch of studies I looked at with interest, all of which escapes me now. The bottom line for me is, it just makes me feel good, with no downside that I can tell, either by personal experience or research (other than killing appetite).

I friggin' love this stuff.

T-ShirtDynasty

Honestly, I don't think anything touches ECA (Ephedrine/Caffeine/Aspirin) for fat burning. The dude that started that thread on bodybuilding.com that I linked in my first post was really over-hyping the fat "burning" qualities IMHO. I get no sweats or increased body heat (thermogenic effect) on it like I did with ECA.

My wife is losing weight on it, but I think that has more to do with the mild metabolism boost and the gastric emptying effect than any kind of thermogenic effect like you get with ephedra. Man, you drink enough of this stuff and it just kills your appetite. That's a plus for my wife, a minus for me... I struggle to eat enough to build muscle as it is. Now that I've been eating clean for almost a year and a couple of months of using ECA a while back got me from 21% body fat to 11% I don't need to lose any more fat, I need to pack on some muscle. This helps me rip through my workouts with some serious energy, but the appetite suppressing qualities are a bit of a downside for me.