[GoldHawkStar]

I've been drinking loose leaf green tea for a couple years now.

Since I'm up to about five cups a day now, I figured I'd make absolute sure the kind I'm using is as legit as can be.

It's the Davidson's Gunpowder Green Tea - Only $10 per pound.

The low price and caffeine raises red flags for me. Does the low price mean the quality is bad? And since I'm drinking about five a day, should I switch to decaf?

I'm not entirely sure if caffeine is actually that bad for you or if it's just commonly associated with soda and sugared coffee. And I remember hearing somewhere that Gunpowder Tea has more caffeine than regular.

[Cr33pin]

I was a green tea drinking pretty much all my life. But a year and some change ago when I was in Colombia I started drinking a cup a black coffee every morning. I really liked coffee and have continued drinking my daily cup until a few weeks ago. For whatever reason I stopped drinking coffee and have picked my green tea habit back up. Coffee is great and all but it just seems like a slippery slope when you meet people who drink 6 cups a day and can't function without it. I've never met a green tea tweaker....

[Matt3B]

Do any of you lads drink maté tea? It's like a step up from green tea.

I'm on the train right now and can't really post much information about it but it's definitely worth doing some research for any tea drinkers that want the health benefits of green tea. I'll drop some data in the next few days about it.

The only downside to it is that it's not that easy to cart around with you compared to a tea bag. You can drink it from a standard cup or you can drink it from a natural gourd, which is a cup fashioned out of the dried hollow fruit of the calabash plant. I do this, and as it's natural, you need to take care of it but it's pretty low maintenance. I do have a porcelain mug as well for convenience.

You drink through a metal straw called a bombilla and it makes the experience a lot more "fun". If you're in public too, you will get curious looks. Any latin people you come across will know of this stuff. They love it.

The health benefits are vast, and the South Americans swear by it. As I said, I'll post some more information at a later point but I'm interested in seeing if anyone has tried it or thought about it.

[churros]

(03-05-2012 08:00 PM)thegmanifesto Wrote:  

3. It clears your head up, with a quickness. I can down 20 cocktails the night before, power down a cup of Green Tea, and my head is clear as a bell. Get on the phone and make $20,000 (did this today, What up fool!). The sh*t is magic on the mic.

This guy was such a bullshitter.

[Celestial]

Recently switched to decaf green tea from coffee. Transition at first was hard due to lack of caffeine, hard to focus, groggy, always tired, irritated. Things are better now, and some of the benefits are :

- Does not stain your teeth nearly as much as coffee, useful if you want white teeth.
- No dependence on caffeine.
- Antioxidants which are apparently really good for you, don't notice but I'm assuming this is helping in some way.
- Clears my mind and allows me to calmly focus.
- Good for your stomach, recently had an ulcer and the anti-inflammatory properties really help this. This is good if you take ibuprofen, drink coffee and soda a lot, that can really mess with your stomach and green tea can relieve the symptoms.

Also been trying as an excuse to get girls over, i.e. come back and have a cup of tea, it's really good. Seems to be working somewhat.

[Matt3B]

Okay, as mentioned before, here's a little bit more information on mate tea for anybody that's interested.

Mate tea is usually shared in a group environment similar to passing a joint around. I drink mine alone in the solitude of my apartment, and I do it for the numerous health benefits. I like to think of it as green tea on steroids.

First thing worth mentioning, as I wrote before, is that you drink it out of a gourd. The natural gourd, made from the hollowed fruit of the calabash plant looks like this:



You need to treat it as it's a natural, breathing material. The gourd itself is porous and upon buying one, you need to cure it for 24 hours before use.

The curing process not only prevents the gourd from splitting, but it also adds to the flavour of the brew, and lengthens the life of the gourd. You can expect the gourd to last for years.

I can provide details on curing the gourd should anyone take any of the information I'm providing and be interested in drinking mate tea. Essentially, it is a case of filling the gourd of tea and water, and leaving it for 24 hours.

One of the most important things to remember with the gourd is not to leave it soaking in water, or over drying it (putting it on the radiator or leaving it in the sun) because it will split or damage the gourd.

The main reason I opted for the natural gourd is for the added flavour. It seemed a no brainer for me to do this, though I do have a ceramic gourd too. Essentially, over time, the gourd will absorb more and more flavour of the yerba mate and increase the flavour sensation.

After each tea drinking session, you will need to clean out the gourd of the tea to prevent a build up of mould.

Sounds like a lot of effort, but really, it's not.

Now, onto the bombilla.



This is what you drink the tea through and you will have noticed that it is metal. Mate tea is drank at 70-80 degrees celcius. I get the water to a temperature of about 75C and pour into the gourd with the mate. I leave it to stew for a few minutes and begin drinking. The first drink can be a bit hot and takes some getting used to, but as I pour a few more cups, and the temperature of the kettle has decreased, it becomes a lot more manageable and pleasant.

You can buy wooden bombillas too but I have gone for a cheaper, more widely used metal version.

There are specific ways to pour and enjoy mate tea, and prevent a build up of the tea in the bombilla, but I can go into that should there be an interest in it.

Now, onto the health benefits. I'm pulling these from various sources which I can provide the links to should anyone be interested, but what I'll quote below is a brief summary.

Quote:

1. Yerba mate provides a smooth increase in energy.

Yerba mate is well-known for providing an energy boost that’s been described as gentle, clean, and calm.

It rarely interferes with sleep and doesn’t cause the caffeine jitters.

Athletes use it to enhance physical performance. (Matt's note: this is due to some of the properties of yerba mate which prohibits the build up of lactic acid in muscles which aids recovery)

2. Yerba mate boosts mental functions of all kinds.

Everyone wants to be as smart, productive, focused, and creative as possible and yerba mate may just help you do that.

Yerba mate contains a moderate amount of caffeine, the most widely used psychoactive drug in the world.

The brain enhancing benefits of caffeine are commonly known.

It enhances memory, mood, and alertness.

It makes you more motivated and productive by stimulating production of the neurotransmitter dopamine.

But besides caffeine, yerba mate contains two related compounds, theobromine and theophylline.

These three alkaloids work together to provide unique, mild stimulant effects, as they also do in green tea.

3. Yerba mate is a nutritional powerhouse loaded with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.

Yerba mate is so loaded with nutrition that it contains practically all the micronutrients needed to sustain life.

Each serving of mate contains the following vitamins and high concentration of these minerals:

vitamin A
vitamin C
vitamins B1, B2, B3, and B5
vitamin E
calcium
iron
magnesium
manganese
phosphorus
potassium
selenium
sodium
sulfur
zinc

It also contains other beneficial phytonutrients such as tannins, trace minerals, chlorophyll, flavonoids, and 15 amino acids.

Yerba mate contains 11 polyphenols and exhibits more antioxidant power than any other tea-based drink.

4. Yerba mate has a long history of traditional medicinal uses.

Dr. Leslie Taylor is an herbalist and naturopath who has dedicated her life to exploring the healing properties of native, medicinal plants of the Amazon rain forest.

In her book The Healing Power of Rainforest Herbs, she lists dozens of uses for yerba mate including:

as a stimulant
as an overall tonic and digestive aid
as part of a weight loss regime
as a general nerve tonic for pain, fatigue, and depression
for allergies and sinusitis

5. Yerba mate can boost the immune system.

Yerba mate is high in compounds called saponins.

Saponins are natural emulsifiers that boost the immune system and have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.

Yerba mate has been shown to be useful for treating bladder infections.

It is also helpful in modulating the overactive immune response seen with seasonal allergies.

6. Yerba mate tea can help you lose weight.

There’s some evidence that yerba mate can aid weight loss by reducing appetite, increasing energy expenditure, improving insulin sensitivity, and burning stored fat.

(Matt's note: I've found that by drinking mate tea on my rest days where I'm aiming for a lower calorie intake, that my hunger is gone. This is the same effect really as drinking a lot of water though. I've also read and have saved some information about how yerba mate increases metabolism, though I don't believe on its own a tea can do that.)

7. Yerba mate has a long history as a digestive and elimination tonic.

One traditional yerba mate benefit is for treating constipation, diarrhea, and indigestion.

It’s naturally antibacterial against E. coli, one of the most common causes of food poisoning.

At least one saponin found in yerba mate destroys intestinal parasites.

It’s also useful for both preventing and treating bladder and kidney stones.

8. Yerba mate can build strong bones, even without exercise.

Drinking yerba mate tea increases bone density, even in people who don’t exercise.

This was a somewhat surprising discovery since caffeine is associated with bone mineral loss and exercise is deemed critical for building strong bones.

Post menopausal women, a group particularly at risk for osteoporosis, who regularly drank mate had almost 10% greater bone density in their spines than women who didn’t drink it.

9. Yerba mate helps keep your heart healthy.

Yerba mate is useful for heart-related conditions including heart failure, irregular heartbeat, and low blood pressure.

Its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties protect the heart and cardiovascular system.

The theobromine in mate relaxes blood vessels allowing for better blood flow.

10. Yerba mate extract kills cancer cells.

We’ve saved this benefit for last since it’s the most controversial.

It contains several known anti-cancer compounds such as saponins, ursolic acid, rutin, tannin, chlorogenic acid, and chlorophyll.

When yerba mate extract is added to human colon cancer cells in a test tube, the cancer cells self-destruct.

Conversely, there’s some concern that yerba mate may cause some kinds of cancer — mainly esophagus, lungs, mouth, pharynx and larynx.

However, there’s evidence that the real cause is that mate is traditionally consumed scalding hot.

Frequent exposure to extremely hot liquids is known to cause these kinds of cancers.

Another theory is that mate drinkers in certain areas of South America often smoke tobacco and drink alcohol in excess which may be contributing factors.

Quote:

erba mate is one of the healthiest drinks on the planet.

It provides a similar energy and productivity boost as coffee but with less caffeine and more nutrients.

It is generally less stimulating than coffee and rarely causes caffeine jitters or insomnia.

It offers a plethora of health benefits from improved cognition to stronger bones.

If you are looking for a healthy replacement for caffeine-laden energy drinks or soda or just want a change of pace from coffee, yerba mate is an excellent alternative.

If anybody has any questions, feel free to post them. I've done a lot of reading on the subject and have saved a few pieces which detail things a bit more in terms of scientific research and benefits.

Here's a few famous footballers that you may well know who are massive advocates of yerba mate, and look at how their performances compare to their peers:

[Kid Twist]

I just started drinking yerba mate, thought not in a gourd. I like it, but it is much much less potent than the coffee I had gotten used to. Very smooth, maybe I just drank too much caffeine to begin with. I must say though, that the coffee jolt in the morning was nice. Perhaps I just need to use more per brew? I think it's like 50% the caffeine of coffee, at least the one I have (which is an Argentine yerba, "sin palo")