yerba mate (yehr-bah mah-té) : a tea-like drink of south american origin. product of grinding an entire scrub and brewing it. believed to cure everything from a cold to relationship troubles. contains high amounts of caffeine, thiobromide, thiobromine, and some unknown magic compund of happiness. also known as ambrosia, crack, god.

introduced to us by the one and only chuck. he found it in paraguay, where old men sit around in a circle drinking from communal cup and hours just go by in latin style.

for us it is a drink of goodness.

we tracked some down in the mission district of san francisco. it smells slightly of dust and all things natural. simple and wonderful, inspiring tranquilidad and mental acquity, sunny days and good dreams. it has the magic ability that the next morning (if had at night) there are none of the side effects of coffee. you actually feel rather pleasant. content.

we love it. we brew enough for everyone.

mate (mah-té) - one of the two traditional forms, placed loose in a cup with hot water and sugar if desired, sipped thru a metal filter-straw called a bombilla. the water is refreshed until the tea is thought to be used up. usually shared, providing a time to bond with friends and tell stories, get hyper, burn down other villages... come home and sleep in a hammock. a beautiful tradition.
terere (teh-rdeh-rdeh) - another traditional form, replacing hot water with cold. refreshing in hot climates.
cocido (coh-see-doh) - brewed in a standard mr. coffee to make a tea of honey color. with or without milk. the fast high-tech way to good natural happiness.
tere-dew - also called the "cyborg beverage"; for those who want even more caffeine... replace water with mountain dew ("the cure for sleep") and prepare for a mix of natural and purely un-natural. like jumpstarting your heart. turns you into a freak like chuck.
mateccino (mah-teh-chi-noh) - the latest creation, whose invention is being celebrated by the writing of this page. a transcription of the aftermath lies below: 

--------
Date: Sun, 27 Sep 1998 21:05:01 -0400 (EDT)
From: Chuck Groom
To: Wayne (in italy)
Subject: We found God

Chuck's account:

We ground mate in the coffee grinder.
We loaded it into an espresso machine.
We steamed milk as the mate brewed.
The stuff that came out was the color of mud dyed green.
We mixed most of the mate-crack-espresso-stuff into the steamed milk.
We drank straight mate-crack-espresso: the unanimous response was, "oh, my
GOD!!!" followed by falling down on the floor, twitching.
We added sugar to the mateccino.
It is the blood of God
I have never been so high in my entire fucking life oh my god my heart
just exploded

Josh's account:

Dude:
Kalsj dkjljk djfiuijdskfm, mvnjukjak. Ljhdia jahduf jhm, nmkhbuj dfhgkah
wjkehasjkfh ajsdh hhyuwryuf asjdhjsh jjhasdfjkahskud bleah!

Kisses,
Josh

yes Yes I said Yes.
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sampling the pure "matespresso" was like tasting pure green, like drinking an entire forest. bitter... yet, stimulating.

chuck was quoted as saying "that *has* gone to plaid!" "i never thought that grey-green could be so beautiful."