Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Yerba mate, from Paraguay to Syria

globalvoices.org

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

71–80 of 84 posts

Re: Yerba mate, from Paraguay to Syria

#71

Post by flobosg »

pantalaimon wrote: post #61
comfrey11 wrote: post #25

It’s interesting to see the love for yerba mate here! Fun fact: until the 1800s, yaupon holly was the go-to caffeinated beverage in the USA. Native Americans and early settlers drank it regularly, much like how yerba mate is enjoyed in South America. It was called “black drink” and was prized for its stimulating effects and health benefits. However, coffee’s rise in popularity pushed yaupon holly out of the spotlight…

Mate softdrinks are what fuels the German IT industry, with Club Mate being the most popular example.

…and also one of the ingredients for the hacker-approved Tschunk! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Club-Mate#Tschunk

Re: Yerba mate, from Paraguay to Syria

#72

Post by SwiftyBug »

hombre_fatal wrote: post #18
SwiftyBug wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also, it differs from coffee in that it contains many mineral salts that avoid the process of dehydration caused by coffee, which just makes you pee a lot and doesn't have these beneficial mineral salts.

Kinda seems like two myths here. 1. Coffee doesn't have a net negative hydration effect. 2. Both coffee and yerba mate appear to contain "mineral salts". And you certainly piss drinking the latter just like you do drinking any liquid.

Maybe. I just listened to Andrew Huberman talking about this and I assumed was true.

Re: Yerba mate, from Paraguay to Syria

#73

Post by sach1 »

cassianoleal wrote: post #57
cblum wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Correct, that’s a thing only in Rio Grande do Sul. Source: born and raised there :)

Incorrect. Gaúcho here, born and raised - but with many many friends and relatives in the other mate-drinking countries and across our (unfortunately currently under a lot of distress) state. Everywhere in the Pampas region - Uruguay, Paraguay, Argentina and Rio Grande do Sul -, the "roda de chimarrão" is pretty much the same. (Apparently in some part of Uruguay it's a bit less shared, more personal). One person hold…

Yeah, this is how I have drank mate my entire life and everyone I know (apart from my wife and her Uruguayan family) drinks mate in this way. I'm originally from Bs As, but I've confirmed this with folks from Salta (NW), Santa Cruz (S), Corrientes (NE, althought not as much as Formosa!) and the odd Cordobes and Mendocino as well.

Uruguayans tend to be more likely to have one thermo and mate per person, similar to the tradition in Corrientes (which makes sense if you look at who their immediate neighbors on their western border are).

Re: Yerba mate, from Paraguay to Syria

#74

Post by sach1 »

Projectiboga wrote: post #51
Jtsummers wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Straight mate is bitter. My wife and some people I've shared it with have said the same about it being grassy, I don't taste that myself though. You can also get it with mint or orange or other things if you don't want straight mate (I have these and plain mate so I can pick what I want each day). Some people add sugar or honey to it as well. EDIT: Also, the first steeping and drink is the most bitter. After that it'…

Ah that is why it is rebrewed. I do a mixed brew in a pair of quart jars. I fill about 2/3 w mate and water. Then I brew oolong tea and mix that strained tea w the mate that still has the mate leaves in it. I drink it w sugar. It's popular for the health and mood benefits it isn't consumed for flavor.

I've been drinking mate since before I could walk and I would disagree. It's an acquired taste but I wouldn't go so far as to say it's 'not consumed for flavor'.

I do something similar to what you do with mint tea instead of oolong for the summertime. A kind of terere cocido I guess lol.

Re: Yerba mate, from Paraguay to Syria

#75

Post by sach1 »

gota wrote: post #34
sombragris wrote: post #29

Paraguayan here. Nice to see a good article talking about Yerba Mate. A nitpick on Tereré. Tereré is usually the ice-cold version of mate. You drink mate with hot water, tereré with ice-cold water as a refreshment. The practice of drinking it with fruit juice or some sweet beverage is mostly prevalent on northern Argentina. Here it is mostly viewed as a sacrilege. You drink your yerba mate, whether hot or cold, unswe…

Parts of southern and central-western Brazil also drink Tereré ("Tererê") with fruit juice, most tipically lemonade, so I'd guess there may be some other places here and there in South America where that's also regionally true In those same regions a sort of sweetened hot mate drink is typically made for children. Do you have that in Paraguay? It's called "Mate-doce", and I'm pretty sure it's not related to what you…

Mate cocido is just mate in tea bags, rather than the traditional preparation method. Sugar is prevalent but strictly speaking, optional (nobody is going to say it's not mate cocido if you don't take sweetener in yours).

I know a few retired Argentine Navy guys who make their mate cocido in a coffee percolator. The horrors of war change a man in ways difficult for us civilians to understand.

Re: Yerba mate, from Paraguay to Syria

#76

Post by snowpid »

pantalaimon wrote: post #61
comfrey11 wrote: post #25

It’s interesting to see the love for yerba mate here! Fun fact: until the 1800s, yaupon holly was the go-to caffeinated beverage in the USA. Native Americans and early settlers drank it regularly, much like how yerba mate is enjoyed in South America. It was called “black drink” and was prized for its stimulating effects and health benefits. However, coffee’s rise in popularity pushed yaupon holly out of the spotlight…

Mate softdrinks are what fuels the German IT industry, with Club Mate being the most popular example.

This is surprising the article does not mention Germany (maybe it is too rich). There is a huge mate soft drink culture in Germany with lots of different brands. Club Mate is 100 years old soft drink so call it a traditional German drink.

Re: Yerba mate, from Paraguay to Syria

#77

Post by Engineering-MD »

SwiftyBug wrote: post #72
hombre_fatal wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Kinda seems like two myths here. 1. Coffee doesn't have a net negative hydration effect. 2. Both coffee and yerba mate appear to contain "mineral salts". And you certainly piss drinking the latter just like you do drinking any liquid.

Maybe. I just listened to Andrew Huberman talking about this and I assumed was true.

I would take what he says with a pinch of salt, as with all things.

Re: Yerba mate, from Paraguay to Syria

#78

Post by Engineering-MD »

Anarch157a wrote: post #64
mc32 wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Does it contain antibacterials? Seems like an easy vector to spread sickness or disease. Or am I misunderstanding things? Is it like bums sharing a nighttrain [though alcohol helps here] or is there some hygiene involved?

The pipe used to drink it is made of silver and the thing is really hot. Drinkers believe it sterilizes the liquid, unfortunately, the Hep-B virus is tolerant to both. Brazil's Minister of Health records frequent outbreaks of the disease in Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina, where this habit is more common.

Do you mean hep a?

Re: Yerba mate, from Paraguay to Syria

#79

Post by akaralar »

schwartzworld wrote: post #67
reducesuffering wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's milder in the sense it has less caffeine than coffee and is also more approachable to tea drinkers because it doesn't have as strong of a darker roasted taste. Not sure if the other xanthines make up for that.

Mate has about the same amount of caffeine as coffee. More even because of how it's consumed. You refill the hot water repeatedly, each infusion drawing more caffeine from the herb.

True but also if I weren’t drinking mate I would probably drink at least 2 more cups of coffee a day, so all in all I think it comes out as less daily caffeine consumption.

Re: Yerba mate, from Paraguay to Syria

#80

Post by valarauko »

Engineering-MD wrote: post #77
SwiftyBug wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe. I just listened to Andrew Huberman talking about this and I assumed was true.

I would take what he says with a pinch of salt, as with all things.

A pinch of "mineral salts", if you will.
Post reply on HN