Anyone familiar with Yerba Mate or rooibos tea?

[wraithsa]

being a south african rooibos tea is what is the tea i was brought up on - its awesome i love it esp with a hint of honey and vanilla. As for yerba mate when i did "the 4 hr body" by tim ferris it suggested it as a coffee substitute/ caffeine supplement - i kinda like it although i found it gave me a little bit of a buzz and was VERY diuretic in nature.

 

[Lostlover]

being a south african rooibos tea is what is the tea i was brought up on - its awesome i love it esp with a hint of honey and vanilla. As for yerba mate when i did "the 4 hr body" by tim ferris it suggested it as a coffee substitute/ caffeine supplement - i kinda like it although i found it gave me a little bit of a buzz and was VERY diuretic in nature.

How authentic is this stuff?

 

[Harke the Boeotarch]

I had Yerba Mate served with orange juice in Buenos Aires; I didn't like it at all! People talk about it as the best thing ever and I just don't understand the hype. Maybe, I just have a funny palate?

Now, I'm hearing about rooibos tea from South Africa. Is has to be better than Yerba Mate? Yes? No?

You can buy rooibos in any supermarket here (in the Netherlands).
It's not really tea, but an herb.

The infamous Dutch Geen Stijl blog uses it as a metaphor for people or situations that desperately need to be calm down, inspired by a television commercial by the Dutch Pickwick brand.

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Yerba Mate is hardly a fad... more of a... cult.

It tastes quite bitter, but is strangely addictive.
You drink it morning, day and night everywhere you go and it has outrageous paraphrenalia attached to its use.

 

[blackbeltninja]

MM! I love rooibos tea!

I drink a cup of vanilla rooibos almost every day! With some steamed whole milk and a couple of raw sugars.

The Rooibos drinkers are very split down the middle as to whether it should be flavoured this heavily or not. I mean, it sounds hardly like rooibos once you add milk, sugar and vanilla to it.

As my esteemed colleague points out above, it is often enjoyed with a little honey by the locals.

-d-