I bought a box of Yerba Mate tea because I read about it on this site, and people were raving about it. I like the taste, it's like a weak lapsang souchong. But I'm finding it's giving me a mild headache that lasts all day. It's not the caffeine - green tea doesn't do this to me.

Anyone else find this?

Squirrel...Yerba Mate doesn't have caffeine, but mateine.  It is more of a calming ingredient.  Hmmmmm...come to think of it I have been having headaches lately, but I didn't think it was from that because I don't get the headache everytime I drink it which is almost everyday.   Will have to try cutting it out for a bit and then try it again to see what happens.

Debra

Debra - I didn't connect the headache with the tea for a while, because I didn't get headaches the first few times. It was only when I'd had mate 3 days in a row that the headaches started, and now I get one every time. Odd huh?

I've noticed the same thing if I drink it every day, which I was doing there for a while. A little "jitteriness" goes along with it.

Oh, this is interesting! Thanks for the heads up, I'll try to take note....

I can't remember the first time I tried it but Ill try it tomorrow again and see what happens.

Quoted from Squirrel

I bought a box of Yerba Mate tea because I read about it on this site, and people were raving about it. I like the taste, it's like a weak lapsang souchong. But I'm finding it's giving me a mild headache that lasts all day. It's not the caffeine - green tea doesn't do this to me.

Anyone else find this?

Where did you buy them Squirrel? I'm curious to try, but have never been a coffee drinker though.

a-c: I got it at Brown Rice Paradise I'm afraid at some stupendous price . $12 for a box of 16 teabags I think. It's not a coffee, it's a tea - it tastes sort of smoky. I like it.

Quoted from Squirrel

a-c: I got it at Brown Rice Paradise I'm afraid at some stupendous price . $12 for a box of 16 teabags I think. It's not a coffee, it's a tea - it tastes sort of smoky. I like it.

Yes, it's not coffee. What I meant was "I've never been a caffienated beverage drinker".

Oooh $12 huh?? I think I'll just roll up my curiosity for the moment   but thanks for the info though..

the headache may be caused by caffeine withdrawal from replacing green tea with yerbe mate tea...should dissapate. this is why i drink green tea in the morning...yerbe mate after lunch and roobous or chamomile tea in the evenings

Quoted from mikeo

the headache may be caused by caffeine withdrawal from replacing green tea with yerbe mate tea...should dissapate. this is why i drink green tea in the morning...yerbe mate after lunch and roobous or chamomile tea in the evenings

This wasn't my problem. I was still using green tea right along. I never have headaches unless I'm using a strong paint - even then I don't get jittery. The Yerba Maté is something I will have to be careful about. I do love the stuff though!! And some now and then gives a wonderful lift without the jittery feeling.

BTW, if I paid that horrendous price for the tea I guess I would be even more "jittery!"

it's not a cheap tea...this is why I always buy loose leaf...you get a lot more for your money

Yerba mate gave me a headache too. But it could be that the tea contained a mold.  A lot of
teas contain mold because tea leaves are piled on top of one another in batches and often
mold grows on them even before they're dried.

There is yerba mate in the Warrior supplement and I'm okay with that.

It's probably a good idea to drink organic mate, and get the unsmoked kind.

Frontier Co-op on-line has it for 22.50/lb.  NFI

I've loved mate ever since my days of living in Argentina.  It makes me feel relaxed and mellow, not wired.  And I never get headaches from it.

Same here.  It's my drug of choice.  Relaxed, calm and focused.  I drink a cup before I go shopping and I get done in like half the time and I don't forget what I went to get.

At our house, we drink either Mate or green tea, but never both.
No headaches.  

A-C - I'll save you a bag for when I see you next.

Spring - sorry I should have been more specific about the price but I was answering A-C who's right here in Singapore too. I paid 12 Singapore dollars, which works out about US$8.70 - still "Ouch" tho huh?

Cindy - it is organic (Traditional Medicine) which will be another reason why it was that outrageous price.

Chloe - mold is also a distinct possibility. It's so hot and humid, and nearly everything has to be imported. The conditions on container ships are excellent for molds!

Mikeo - good point about caffeine withdrawal, but I don't think it was that because I was still drinking green tea. Actually now that I don't touch coffee, I can go without caffeine with no problems - thank goodness!

Thanks for your responses folks!

Quoted from Victoria

At our house, we drink either Mate or green tea, but never both.
No headaches.  

Hm.  I boil a cup of water and drop a serving of mate and a serving of green tea and down them both together.  No headaches except stress headaches.

Good thinking Batman.  
I'll wait for this headache to subside, then I'll try and see whether combining with green tea helps.

I love the unusual flavor of Yerba Mate. Kind of like someone put a cigarette out in your tea. . But it's a good kind of smokey flavor.

I had quit using it because I thought it was giving me headaches and palpitations but I have pretty much narrowed that down to the stevia I have been using faithfully everyday for two years. My heart is broken. I loved my stevia.  

But I have moved on. Although I have a gourd and bombilla, I don't drink the YM the traditional way, I think it would have too much of a stimulant punch for me. I used an older braun coffeemaker and put in 4 tablespoons of loose for 12 cups of water and let it brew.  Then I cool it and sweeten it lightly and drink it as an iced tea.

Jennifer

Quoted from 3039

I had quit using it because I thought it was giving me headaches and palpitations but I have pretty much narrowed that down to the stevia I have been using faithfully everyday for two years. My heart is broken. I loved my stevia.  
......... Then I cool it and sweeten it lightly and drink it as an iced tea.

Jennifer

I don't sweeten my teas with anything. Maté keeps revving me up from one day to the next if I have it every day. It sort of builds up in intensity. It finally got to the point that I couldn't even sleep at night! The first morning I left it off, I began to calm down. I never have done well with a lot of anything that has a tendency to rev me up. Sugar in any form, chocolate, caffeine, carbs, etc..

Mikeo,

Thanks for making us aware of the yerba mate loose tea being a better deal than the bags.  I just bought a box of the bags, but think i will exchange it for the loose (since i haven't opened the box yet).  I didn't think the loose leaf would work for me because i want to make ice tea with it in my ice tea maker.  But i think Jennihul's idea for using the regular coffee maker would work fine for the loose leaf.  I think i almost found a replacement for my coffee in the morning too, as close as i've come anyways!.

Mikeo,  I like your signature line!.

So you don't have to steep the tea to make it?  In a coffee maker the water just dribbles through, right?  Or do y'all use one of those perking coffee makers?

It comes out fine, unless you are expecting mud, and what I forgot to mention was that if you add one more tablespoon of fresh mate leaves to the top of the used leaves in the filter, it makes another great pot of equal strength.

Jennifer

Yesterday my mom and I... without knowing the other one was doing this... both went out and bought yerba mate. We both came home and made some. The difference? My mom is an AB Warrior and I'm an A-Warrior. I bought loose leaf and put no sweetener in it and did it as traditional as possible, as in I bought the gourd to drink it out of and the cool metal straw! I am fixated on doing things "perfectly" lol. She bought the tea bag kind, that had sweetener already added.

The difference?

Drum roll...

She had a light headache after drinking it and was about to swear it off completely.

I felt ALIVE, FANTASTIC, AMAZING, FULL OF LIFE, I WANTED TO RUN AND JUMP AROUND!!! lol Also I need to note that the brand I bought was an organic brand that gets it right from the source and is strict on their quality control. I love things done right.

Needless to say, my mom noticed the huge difference between how we both reacted to the different yerba mate that we drank and she kept saying, "I gotta try some of yours." Which kinda made me want to say... "Go get your own!" lol I'll share though... one cup! Yes it was pricey, 20 dollars Canadian for the 454g bag of it. I figure though that doing it right when you are doing something is better than doing it half-arsed and than wishing you would've just gone all out in the beginning.

The gourd cup I bought was $14. which was the same price I saw it for on ebay. And the metal straw thingy was $18. I have to say though... I am very very very happy with my purchase and I'm off to warm up some water to have another cup (slightly less strong than yesterday lol) right now!