Yerba Mate Information Library

 What is Yerba Mate?

Yerba Mate is an amazingly healthy herb for those seeking nutrients. It is a sought after source of difficult to find nutrients: Vitamins B-1, B-2, A, riboflavin, carotene, colin, pantothenic acid, inositol and 15 types of amino acids (F. Alikaridis 1987). It also contains significant quantities of the all important iron, potassium, and magnesium minerals, something Green Tea lacks. As noted by The Pasteur Institute and the Paris Scientific Society, " It is difficult to find a plant in any area of the world equal to Mate in nutritional value.”

Beyond all the health benefits, it produces an energy like coffee and teas, but without the muscle tension, so that one is able to stay relaxed yet alert. Students, musicians, athletes, and others enjoy the benefits of a focused energy that lacks tension.

 Yerba Mate: Plant Description

 Yerba Mate Growth Patterns

• Tropical or subtropical plant.
• Needing high temperatures, high humidity.
• Needing up to 1500 mm of annual rain.
• Requires about 25 years to reach maturity.
• Grows up to 50 feet tall.
• Flowers between the months of October and December.

There is still no exhaustive modern picture that explains in biological terms the infraspecific variability of this species, which is widely dispersed geographically in South America (J.E. Hernándo Bermejo and J. León ). Each brand of Yerba Mate has its own unique growing and distribution methodology. La Esquina's yerba mate, for example, is a certified organic, non-GMO product that is produced by a cooperative of small family farms. Others, like Las Marias who make Taragui and Union, put greater focus on consistency of production from year to year, as they are the largest Yerba Mate producer in the world. Many brands are born of different regions, different countries, different histories, and different loves. Country of origin and other available farming details can be found by examining each products description.

Still, it can be said that the Yerba Mate farming industry is generally good for both the farmer and the sustainablity of farm land. As noted in Agroforestry Systems, February 2000: "In Misiones, in the northeast of Argentina, agroforestry systems of timber trees and perennial cash crops are becoming increasingly common. We evaluated the productivity of Ilex paraguariensis St Hill (South American holly or yerba mate, Aquifoliaceae) in association with indigenous trees: Enterolobium contortisiliquum (Vellozo) Morong. (timbó, Leguminosae, a N2-fixing tree), and two timber species, Balfourodendron riedelianum (Engler) Engler (guatambú, Rutaceae) and Tabebuia heptaphylla (Vellozo) Toledo (lapacho negro, Bignoniaceae). Five years after planting, the tree species were 2.7 to 5.0 m high and 3 to 7 cm in diameter at breast height, and the yerba mate produced its first harvest. Additionally, the production of associated crops of subsistence covered the annual needs of the farmer. These systems are promising for sustainable use of deforested lands in the region."

 Yerba Mate Stimulant Properties

 How to drink Yerba Mate

The plentiful nutrients are extracted in a unique way. The traditional way is to use a special gourd and straw; they combine to create a "reverse french press" in which a large amount of nutrients can be extracted with very little water. There is historical and contemporary evidence to suggest that Yerba Mate, when combined with the special way of drinking it, brings about the most health benefits of any single plant.