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Smoked Yerba Mate?

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intechgration

intechgration

Rising Star
Having tried and enjoyed Yerba Mate several times, and seeing numerous posts praising its regular use, I've decided to buy some in bulk. Upon searching on the web and in my local WholeFoods, I've found that it can be purchased both smoked and unsmoked. I'm not sure which to buy, so I would appreciate some advice. Which is preferred and why? And if there is any specific brand or online supplier that is highly recommended, do tell!

Thanks!
 
Personally, I would prefer unsmoked just to be safe because I read (um, on Wikipedia) that the detected presence of carcinogens was from the smoking process, rather than the mate itself. The cases of oral cancer could be from drinking it hot instead though, maybe even the plant itself, who knows. You can probably tell I'm a health freak.

As for brands, I first tasted some Paragui that a friend bought me from Argentina, and it was super feelgood. The Che brand that I now buy (the only one available to me where I live) feels inferior. I read somewhere (maybe Erowid?) that there is a different mix of chemicals in the mate plants of different brands.
 
Yerba Mate can taste a lot like celery. The "smoking" seems to get rid of that horrible "celery" taste. The smoking makes it taste better, more like your standard "earl grey" or southern sweet tea. The browner, the better. But, maybe you like the way the green stuff tastes. To me, it's like celery, but bad tasting. After all, I love celery.
 
ohayoco said:
Personally, I would prefer unsmoked just to be safe because I read (um, on Wikipedia) that the detected presence of carcinogens was from the smoking process, rather than the mate itself. The cases of oral cancer could be from drinking it hot instead though, maybe even the plant itself, who knows. You can probably tell I'm a health freak.

As for brands, I first tasted some Paragui that a friend bought me from Argentina, and it was super feelgood. The Che brand that I now buy (the only one available to me where I live) feels inferior. I read somewhere (maybe Erowid?) that there is a different mix of chemicals in the mate plants of different brands.
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Oral cancer can be caused by drinking it too hot. That is correct yes. You should never use water hotter then 85c. Mate should be brewed from 70c to 85c. I prefer it in the middle at 75c.

About different chemical compositions in different brand. That is very much correct. As it is a plant even two bags of the same brand will have different chemical compositions. But as a normal humanimal you would probably not notice the differance. But you can surely notice a significant differance between different brand.
 
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