Amount:  2oz $4.99 makes about 12 mugs 4oz $8.99 makes about 25 mugs 8oz $15.99 makes about 50 mugs 1lb $28.99 makes about 100 mugs

Description

This is green Yerba Mate (Ilex Paraguariensis), from Brazil. One of the greatest drinking herbs! It contains unique type of caffeine that works as a brain stimulant, yet does not cause side effects as regular caffeine: jitters or anxiety for example. Traditionally drunk from Calabash Gourd through Bombilla - metal straw/strainer. You can steep it just as any other tea in the infuser or french press. Water 170-180 degrees, for 5-7 min. If you find this bitter to your taste, try steeping in cooler water and/or useing less yerba mate. Flavored blends are also available in our store and on this website. Try adding lemon or mint. Sugar and milk is not recommended.

Greenish and vegetative. Mate is rich in caffeine and was used as a caffeine beverage in Latin America before the advent of coffee.

Luxury Ingredients: Green Mate

Small Batch Blended and Packed in: Canada

Tea(s) From: Brazil

Region(s): Parana

Antioxidant Level: Very High

Caffeine Content: Medium

Shelf Life: 2 years.

Long Description

GREEN YERBA MATE (Herbal Tea)

Country of Origin: Brazil

Region: Southern Brazil - state of Parana and Mato Grosso

Altitude: Below 1000’ ft.

Shipping Port: Porto Alegre

Grade: Unroasted

Altitude: below 1000 feet

Cup Characteristics: Greenish and vegetative. Mate is rich in caffeine and was used as a caffeine beverage in Latin America before the advent of coffee.

Infusion: Tending light and yellowish

Ingredients: Luxury green mate.

Information: Also known as Paraguay tea and yerba mate; mate is an herb prepared from the leaves of a South America evergreen shrub, Illex paraguayensis, a relative of the common holly. The leaves are oval and about 6 inches long. Flowers of the plant are small and white. The fruit appears in small clusters of tiny red berries growing close to the stems of the plant. Like guarana and yopo, mate is rich in caffeine and was used as a caffeine beverage source by the native population of Latin America centuries before the European settlers arrived to establish coffee plantations.

Yerba Matte is called “The drink of the gods” by many of the indigenous people of South America who have brewed it for centuries. It was however, a people who believed in a different God that are responsible for the first commercial Yerba Matte plantations – Jesuit missionaries. Upon arriving in the new world, the Jesuits quickly adopted the native practice of drinking Yerba Matte as a tea. At the time, Yerba Matte leaves were only being harvested from wild stands of trees. Owing to its widespread popularity, the Jesuits realized the large economic potential of the plant and founded the first Yerba Matte plantations during the mid 1600’s.

Mate leaves are processed somewhat like tealeaves. The tips of the branches are cut just before the leaves reach full growth and the leaves are steamed and dried (in fired mate the leaves are dried over fires) The dried leaves are sifted and allowed to age in order to enhance the flavor of the mate. The caffeine content of mate is comparable to that of mild arabica coffee.

Hot tea brewing Method: Use 1 teaspoon per one cup of boiling water. Pour boiling water into pot and let it steep for 5-7 minutes. Pour into your cup and savour a South American tradition. You might like to add mint or lemon but we do not recommend milk or sugar. Over steeping or using too much yerba mate can make a bitter cup.

Traditional tea brewing Method: The tea is prepared from the dried leaves, using one teaspoon of dried leaves per cup of boiling water. The aroma and flavor are of vegetative green leaves (there is also a toasted mate - which tastes quite toasty and is an acquired taste). The traditional native procedure involves making a cold water infusion in a small bowl and inserting a hollow tube or straw into the bowl, through which the tea is sipped. Some of the tubes are made of silver with a perforated strainer at the bottom to prevent the mate leaf particles from being sucked up through the tube. The bowl, called a cuya, and the tube, the bombilla are used in ceremonies at which participants take turns sipping mate through the silver straw.

FOOD SAFETY ADVISORY:
We strongly recommend using filtered or freshly drawn cold water brought to a rolling boil when brewing all types of tea. Today‟s water has been known to carry viruses, parasites and bacteria. Boiling the water will kill these elements and reduce the potential incidence of water-borne illnesses.

Ideal Brewing Temperature: 100ºC/212ºF. Minimum Brewing Temperature: 90ºC/194ºF