Online Mate Circle: Yerba Mate Basics

Argentine woman sipping yerba mate

Online Yerba Mate Circle, January 30th,2014

The first Mate Circle of 2014 was a success! Thanks to everyone that joined in from around the world to learn and share about this magical herb from South America that we all love. We had Materos from The US, Canada, Norway, England, and Poland. Each with their own story, questions, and experiences to share with the Circle.

Here is a quick rundown about what was discussed in the Circle:

Yerba Mate 101

Dave Mate and Matero Erik fielded questions about different types of bombillas, gourds, and how to prepare mate. Other Materos chimed in about hemisphere switching and flooding their mate.

History

Matero Erik went briefly over the history of yerba mate: from its roots with Guaraní people, its first commercial cultivation by Jesuit missionaries, up to today, as mate being an integral part of the daily lives of millions of South Americans. And remember: Yerba Mate history is being made every time one of these Circles are held! So make sure to join us each week by subscribing to our facebook page where we list the schedule.

Health and Social Benefits

Many of us know the incredible health benefits that yerba mate has to offer. This was discussed in greater detail. An excellent question about the nutrient extraction from yerba mate and the nutrient absorption in the human body was brought up by one of the Materos in the circle, something that we are going to look into!

As far as the social benefits, being able to talk with people passionate about yerba mate from around the world was evidence enough of the social benefits it has to offer!

Q & A

Many excellent questions were asked by Materos of all experience levels. We were even fortunate enough to have some people brand new to the holy holly herb wondering if yerba mate would help them to study for their exams. The answer? YES! It is one thing to read about what mate can do for you, but to have Materos from around the world tell you from first hand experience what it can do is a wholenother level.

Salud!