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A Forgotten Drink That Caffeinated North America for Centuries

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Re: A Forgotten Drink That Caffeinated North America for Centuries

#101

Post by dmd76 »

VVyattPrentice wrote: post #86
ppierald wrote: post #75

Go nearly anywhere in Argentina and you will find mate. People walk around with a thermos of hot water and sip all day. It is a shared cultural experience too like saying hello. You see a friend, greet them, then offer them some mate. Our SF-based company has an office in Mendoza, Argentina. You will not find baristas and coffee (though Starbucks just opened there), but plenty of mate for everyone. Due to this connec…

Very interesting. I drank mate with friends from Buenos Aires when I was a teen. We would drink it the traditional way, namely out of a small dried gourd with a metal straw. Are you saying that mate (pronounced mah-teh like a southerner saying "my tea" fwiw -- not an Australian addressing a friend) is not commercialized in Argentina? As in, people offer their personal mate and there are not "mate shops" that would eq…

Mendocino here (live in the US but visit Mendoza every few years). There are plenty of places one can go for coffee, but American-style coffee shops are not nearly as popular. Mate shops aren't a thing, but it isn't homebrew in the sense that people don't grow their favorite varieties of yerba mate plants in the back yard. You get a bag of yerba at the supermarket, have a thermos with hot water, and a gourd & bombilla. People drink it with friends, but, like coffee, it's also something they drink throughout the day by themselves while working, studying, etc.

Re: A Forgotten Drink That Caffeinated North America for Centuries

#102

Post by saganus »

novia wrote: post #23
moultano wrote: post #4

This reminds me of the paw paw (not to be confused with the papaya which Australians call pawpaw) https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2017/09/15/550985844/th... It's a fruit that seems tropical, a close relative of the custard apple or sitaphal that tastes like a pina colada. Yet it grows natively all over the eastern US. It's so common that in many places it's every third tree in the forest. I grew up in peak pawpa…

I ate a paw paw once, and since then I've been trying to find a definitely identified paw paw tree so I can recognize them in the wild. The fruit was so delicious and the seeds were really interesting and unique. If any of you are willing to show me a paw paw tree in person, please shoot me an email.

I'd love to see (and taste) one too!

Re: A Forgotten Drink That Caffeinated North America for Centuries

#103

Post by enraged_camel »

LostPinesYaupon wrote: post #81
philg_jr wrote: post #63

Another obscure-ish tea that is seems to be gaining popularity is guayusa (mostly being pushed under the brand Runa). It is another holly from warm regions, I think from rainforests in South America. I'm a big fan of the moderate caffeine content and the ability to steep it for long periods to get more caffeine out of it, without it getting bitter. It is amazing as a summer/warm weather high-caffeine iced tea. You ca…

Guayusa is great. We're pretty jealous of the size of their leaves compared to yaupon leaves. Yaupon, guayusa and yerba mate are all in the Ilex genus, they're the three known caffeinated hollies (or more accurately the three known hollies with appreciable levels of caffeine)

Hey, you guys are in Austin right? Is your Chote Ave location a store? If so, I'm planning to stop by later today to buy some yaupon. :)

Re: A Forgotten Drink That Caffeinated North America for Centuries

#104

Post by wunderlust »

dalacv wrote: post #56

i tried yerba mate in an an automatic drip coffee maker with some cream and sugar and i was blown away by the energy i got from it. there was no caffeine crash. it was a sustained energy. it takes a while to kick in so u gotta drink it first thing in morning. u can find some popular bags of it on amazon. it has to be the loose leaf stuff, not the individual bags. i think i tried Taragui Yerba Mate Con Palo. but there…

Yerba mate[0] has 2 stimulants aside from caffeine: theophylline and theobromine. Perhaps they interact in such a way as to stabilize the effect of the caffeine.

[0] http://nativayerbamate.com/health.html (Nativa sells yerba mate so possible bias)

Re: A Forgotten Drink That Caffeinated North America for Centuries

#105

Post by n2dasun »

moultano wrote: post #4

This reminds me of the paw paw (not to be confused with the papaya which Australians call pawpaw) https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2017/09/15/550985844/th... It's a fruit that seems tropical, a close relative of the custard apple or sitaphal that tastes like a pina colada. Yet it grows natively all over the eastern US. It's so common that in many places it's every third tree in the forest. I grew up in peak pawpa…

I just learned about these last year from a coworker. I still have a way too old one in a ziploc bag in the fridge, because I was suppose to try and grow a seedling.

Re: A Forgotten Drink That Caffeinated North America for Centuries

#106

Post by NoGravitas »

smazga wrote: post #83

I drink Yerba Mate every day, and when I heard about yaupon, definitely had to try it. Unroasted, it's very grassy, but refreshing. The roasted variety I got tasted quite similar to mate. It's really good. The biggest problem I have is that I can get a kilo of mate for $9, but 2 Oz of yaupon is in the $15-$20 range.

Where I live, yaupon is free (pick from ornamental bushes in front yard, or around practically any office building).

Re: A Forgotten Drink That Caffeinated North America for Centuries

#107

Post by dwighttk »

I bought some from a random site[1] that turned up when I searched duckduckgo for "cassina tea" because Amazon didn't return any results for cassina. Lots for yaupon, but that came farther down the article.

[1]https://wildsouthtea.com/pages/about-cassina

Re: A Forgotten Drink That Caffeinated North America for Centuries

#108

Post by stjohnswarts »

heymijo wrote: post #69
moultano wrote: post #4

This reminds me of the paw paw (not to be confused with the papaya which Australians call pawpaw) https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2017/09/15/550985844/th... It's a fruit that seems tropical, a close relative of the custard apple or sitaphal that tastes like a pina colada. Yet it grows natively all over the eastern US. It's so common that in many places it's every third tree in the forest. I grew up in peak pawpa…

Come to southeast Ohio and you will see that pawpaws are far from forgotten. Bumper stickers on cars are common and there's even a Pawpaw Festival each September. https://www.ohiopawpawfest.com/

Lots of people I know in Kentucky eat them as well.

Re: A Forgotten Drink That Caffeinated North America for Centuries

#109

Post by cratermoon »

barking wrote: post #6

I love both coffee and tea. Both caffeine drinks yet they taste nothing like one another. If it's a drink to have with food it has to be tea. For a waker upper it's coffee. At other times it's a toss up. I'd love to try this cassina be a while before we see it in Europe I'd imagine

There's a small company in Texas that sells it. Maybe they'll ship to Europe. https://www.catspringtea.com/
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