Balance & Brighten Your Day with Green Apple Yerba Mate

The pattern is all too familiar: You’ve had a productive morning but by mid-afternoon the caffeine from your cup of morning coffee has worn off, leaving you with a feeling of brain fog and fatigue. Enter: Green Apple Yerba Mate, a tart and refreshing tea blend that incorporates traditional South American yerba mate tea, also known as “Paraguayan tea”, but delivers less caffeine to produce a more even, sustained energy.

The origins of ancient yerba mate tea

Yerba mate, or ilex paraguariensis, is an evergreen shrub in the same plant family as holly that’s native to Paraguay, Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina. The shrub’s leaves are dried, roasted, and powdered and then steeped to make yerba mate tea, commonly known as simply “mate”. The consumption of yerba mate tea has been traced back to the pre-Columbian celebrations of the Guarani, an Indigenous people who live primarily in Paraguay, and in Argentina and Brazil. It’s thought that the tea was once enjoyed as part of jubilant ceremonies in honor of Tupâ, the god of rain and water.

The tea’s caffeine content provides an energy boost, and it has also been used in herbal medicine to support mental health. Soccer fans might remember the Argentina national football team drinking large quantities of yerba mate at the 2022 FIFA World Cup as a key part of their pre-game routine, its original role as a unifying, uplifting drink.

Yerba mate has an earthy, woodsy, and slightly bitter flavor and has traditionally been enjoyed plain or sweetened with milk, sugar, or a splash of lemon juice. The addition of green apple’s tart, juicy notes in our Green Apple Yerba Mate tea mellows mate’s astringent qualities for a fruit-forward, approachable drink. Iced or hot, every sip of the tea is like taking a bite out of a crisp apple for a refreshing and bright sensory experience with substantially less caffeine than a cup of coffee.

A gentle, good-for-you caffeine boost

Caffeine blocks a neurotransmitter called adenosine that promotes relaxation and sleepiness, which makes you feel more awake. When caffeine starts to wear off, however, the blocked adenosine starts to flood brain receptors, making you feel suddenly sluggish and drowsy. While yerba mate contains caffeine, it also includes compounds such as theobromine, which may work synergistically with caffeine to reduce a spike in blood pressure, resulting in potentially less caffeine jitters.

Not only might yerba mate help you stave off the sudden crash often associated with coffee while improving alertness and cognition, but the tea also boasts other potential health benefits. While research is limited, the plant is a rich source of polyphenols, natural compounds with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects.

Green Apple Yerba Mate delivers a balanced boost of energy and an uplifting aromatic experience, making it an excellent choice as a morning coffee alternative or an early afternoon pick-me-up.