Mate is the national drink here in Uruguay, has been for a century or two :) (and for 500 years in Paraguay).
And it was a fad in California some years past. ("According to a major retailer of mate in San Luis Obispo, California, by 2004, mate had grown to about 5% of the overall natural tea market in North America")
But I'm surprised at the speed it's propagating in Europe.
Many say it's much better suited for prolonged concentration than coffee, almost every single university student here drinks it, so I'm not surprised that German hackers are taking advantage of its benefits too.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mate_(beverage)
There's a Congress on Yerba Mate and its health effects and benefits going on right now (from the 8th to today)
http://www.infoyerbamate.com/index.php?option=com_content&vi...