Yerba Mate

I present for your consideration a Yerba Mate extract supp. This is one of the greatest stimulants known to mankind IMHO. I believe it would make a good addition to Spike, or even a stand alone.

As an aside, for anyone that is interested, this stuff is CHEAP, and loaded with vitamins and minerals.

For the MA, DC, NOVA folks it can be had at a little store across the street from the Arlington Whole Foods called El Chapperal for about 5$ a kilo.

The only problem is that it has to be brewed like tea and can stain everything green if spilled. That’s what would be cool about an extract.

Yerba Mate is better than some other sources of caffeine because the buzz that it gives is not “jittery”. This is based on my own experience. Later on I learned that other people came independently to the same conclusion.

However, you will very often encounter the opinion that it’s not different from coffee or regular tea - but I’ve found that this kind of opinion is often based on theoretical considerations, not on actual experience.

There must be something else in yerba mate that works with caffeine, reducing the jitters but not reducing the stimulating properties.

I keep a bag of yerba in my kitchen, for those times when I need a cleaner buzz than regular caffeine.

Today I actually brewed it with coffee. It cuts the bitterness of black coffee which is good for dieting when you don’t want to take milk and sugar.

Morning Thunder is a commonly found tea that has yerba matte and black tea in the bag.

[quote]florin wrote:
Yerba Mate is better than some other sources of caffeine because the buzz that it gives is not “jittery”. This is based on my own experience. Later on I learned that other people came independently to the same conclusion.

However, you will very often encounter the opinion that it’s not different from coffee or regular tea - but I’ve found that this kind of opinion is often based on theoretical considerations, not on actual experience.

There must be something else in yerba mate that works with caffeine, reducing the jitters but not reducing the stimulating properties.

I keep a bag of yerba in my kitchen, for those times when I need a cleaner buzz than regular caffeine.[/quote]

It could be the high potassium and magnesium content that takes care of the jitters. The reason being that muscles need those nutrients to function properly. So when they become stimulated from something like coffee, it’s possible that the body uses them up too fast.

Don’t really know though.

Man I tried it and never really got a thing out of it even extended use. Nothing above and beyond coffee/tea but hey I can see possibly the health benefits being a reason to make it a staple.

Just my 2 cc,
Phill

I don’t find the stimulant effect it has to be much different from tea (which I do find different than coffee). I felt this way before I even knew yerba mate had caffeine.

[quote]Phill wrote:
Man I tried it and never really got a thing out of it even extended use. Nothing above and beyond coffee/tea but hey I can see possibly the health benefits being a reason to make it a staple.

Just my 2 cc,
Phill[/quote]

I followed the instructions that someone gave me and filled the cup up 3/4 and man I was wired.

mateine, teaine(sp?), and caffeine are all the same compound (trimethylxanthine), also termed guaninine in Guarana.
1,3,7-trimethylxanthine is achiral so there are no stereoisomers.

The ratios of theophylline and theobromine to caffeine may vary in all of the above compounds which may effect the stimulating effects.

Adding Mateine to spike wouldn’t do much, because it already contains its ingredients(maybe not identical ratios).

[quote]beebuddy wrote:
I followed the instructions that someone gave me and filled the cup up 3/4 and man I was wired.[/quote]

I thought this was supposed to be tea-like? Your cup looks like its filled with herb mixed with a tiny bit of water. Do you chew all that down?

Gross… effective or not, I’d rather just swallow a Spike.

[quote]hardwork wrote:
beebuddy wrote:
I followed the instructions that someone gave me and filled the cup up 3/4 and man I was wired.

I thought this was supposed to be tea-like? Your cup looks like its filled with herb mixed with a tiny bit of water. Do you chew all that down?

Gross… effective or not, I’d rather just swallow a Spike.
[/quote]

Well by all means do what you like. But allow me to explain… The photo above is a picture of the straw that is used to drink it. It’s called a bombilla I think and it has a filter at the end of it. It keeps the leaves out of your mouth. That is the traditional way to drink it. I just use a coffee maker, that first pic is from the web.