Giving up coffee or sugar? Have a creamy Yerba Mate Latte. Skipping chocolate? Try a Treehugger!

Lots of our customers have been telling us about what they’re giving up for Lent. Frankly, many of you look a little lost without your morning coffee or afternoon cookie. The good news? We have lots of ideas for replacing whatever you’ve given up with another option to make your Lenten sacrifice just a little less grim.

No Caffeine

• A Vanilla Steamer is warm and comforting, like a hot cocoa with vanilla instead of chocolate.
• Berry Tea with Lemonade is cold and refreshing, a healthy and caffeine-free alternative to soda.
• We have three hot, caffeine-free teas: Peppermint, Chamomile and Pomi-Berry Tea.
• Miss your Latte? Have a Tea Misto. It’s like a Latte, but made with tea instead of espresso. We can turn any of our caffeine-free teas into a Misto.

No Dairy

• Substitute Almond or Soy Milk for dairy milk (Almond Milk is especially great in mochas, since the slight nut flavor complements the chocolate).
• Try a tea! We have lots of fantastic, Two Leaves and a Bud hot teas (several varieties of black, green and caffeine-free teas) and cold teas in black, green and berry flavors.
• Skip the cream in your coffee — Primavera Coffee has such wonderful flavor that, after you give your palate a few days to adjust, you won’t even miss the cream. (No, really!) And don’t forget about iced coffee; it has a light, tasty flavor.

No Sugar

• Missing your Chai Latte, but can’t have it because of the sugar? We have two great solutions: Order a Chai Tea Misto instead, and you’ll get the flavor of a chai latte without the sugar. Or try our super-popular Yerba Mate Latte — we can make it with sugar-free vanilla to support your sugar-free resolution.
• Want a breakfast treat that doesn’t have cane sugar? Our Best-Ever Bran Muffin is sweetened with molasses instead of white sugar. Plus, it’s healthy and delicious!
• Ever tried honey in your coffee? It’s surprisingly tasty, especially in espresso drinks (like Americanos and Lattes), where it sets off the caramelly flavor of espresso.

No Desserts

• Swap your afternoon cookie with a cup of Trail Mix or Granola. They’re slightly sweet, so they’ll satisfy your craving, but they’re a much more substantial snack.
• We bake muffins and scones fresh every morning, and we usually have a few left in the afternoon.

No Coffee

• Yerba Mate Latte is a fantastic, healthy alternative to coffee. It has caffeine, so you won’t get withdrawal headaches, and it’s packed with healthy antioxidants. Plus, it’s delicious!
• Assam Tea (English Breakfast) has the most caffeine of any of our teas.

No Chocolate

• Love your Mocha? Try a Vanilla Latte — it’s creamy and sweet without the chocolate.
• Swap your Breakup Cookie (Chocolate Chip) for a chocolate-free Peanut Buddy — these peanut butter cookies have quite the dedicated following.
• Try a Treehugger. Our homemade granola bars are sweet and filling. You’ll hardly miss the chocolate! (Okay, you’ll probably miss the chocolate. But you’ll love this, too.)

Remember Sri and Carrie’s 30-Day Yerba Mate Challenge? We asked them how it turned out …

Sri’s 30-Day Challenge Benefits:

• Yerba Mate picked me up as an afternoon alternative to a coffee beverage
• I could cut back on dairy, which helps with my sinus issues
• It certainly promoted my weight loss and I was able to get over my plateau
• It put me in a great mood and gave me something to look forward
• Carrie was a great support in getting through this challenge

Sri’s Notes:
What a challenge it was to keep up with a routine of drinking Yerba Mate for 30 days. First, we wanted to complement the smoky, earthy taste of the plain tea … so we started experimenting with different additions. First, we tried vanilla — this seemed to be an easy alternative, and also gave us a chance to offer it sugar free. In fact, steamed milk and a little vanilla tastes great and this is how we serve it in the store. But this was too easy!!!

I just don’t like steamed dairy, but I wanted to make the straight Yerba tea palatable. We tried it with honey … it was not what I was looking for!!! But then we finally tried Yerba tea steeped with peppermint tea and served over ice. We struck gold with this and I was able to finish the full 30 days!!!

Just a reminder … If you are watching calories and want caffeine without jitters at the same time … a 12 oz sugar-free vanilla non-fat Yerba Mate Latte  is roughly around 60 calories and tastes incredible!!!

Carrie’s 30-Day Challenge Benefits:

• Drinking Yerba helped me get back into a more regular sleep pattern
• I lost weight this month — either because of the metabolism-boosting effects of Yerba, or because it helped me start eating more healthy foods by giving me a guilt-free treat to look forward to (Yerba tea has almost no calories, but it tastes substantial because of its smoky flavor).
• I love drinking coffee and I love reading, but, when I sit down with a book a huge cup of coffee, the caffeine can make me a little bit jittery. Yerba Mate is the perfect drink for curling up with a great new paperback.
• Sri helped me find new ways to keep our daily cup interesting. It’s wonderful over ice, and it’s surprisingly delicious with peppermint.
• I’m also trying to cut back on dairy, so I was happy to discover that the Yerba Mate Latte is also great made with non-dairy almond milk.

Carrie’s Notes:
I actually really like the smoky flavor of the plain tea, but it was nice to discover different ways to drink it, too. I wanted to see if I felt any health benefits if I drank Yerba every single day, and I’m happy to say that I did — I’m not sure if they’re real or placebo, but I’m not sure if it matters because I’m feeling better and sleeping better.

I like Yerba any time of day, but it’s particularly my drink of choice in the late afternoon, when it’s a little too late in the day for me to have another jolt of strong caffeine from coffee. I find that Yerba wakes up my brain enough to get my work done without keeping me up all night, so I can drink it up to a couple of hours before bed without having a problem getting to sleep.

By Carrie Rollwagen

We’re feeling a little under the weather today. It’s not that we’re sick, exactly. It’s just that about traveling for the holidays, working 12-hour days at the shop, and living in weather that constantly ping-pongs between frigid and spring-like has our systems out of whack.

So Sri and I have decided to do something about it. Starting January 1, we’re taking a 30-day Yerba Mate Challenge, substituting one drink a day for a cup of this miracle tea that health nuts are raving about.

What’s Yerba Mate? It’s a rich green tea with an incredible, smoky flavor. Its proponents say it helps you lose weight, eases fatigue, relieves headaches and depression, and gives you an energy boost that’s similar to coffee but less likely to give you the jitters — sounds just about perfect for a post-holiday detox.

Traditionally, Yerba Mate is served in a gourd and passed around a communal circle — but we’re not so sure the Health Department would be thrilled about us sharing gourd tea in the morning coffee line. So we’ve cooked up the Yerba Mate Latte, a blend of Yerba Mate tea, steamed milk and a little vanilla. We can even make it sugar-free and nonfat to help you stick to your New Year’s Resolutions.

Starting Monday (we’re closed New Year’s Day), we’ll be offering both Yerba Mate Tea and the Yerba Mate Latte, and Sri and I will be starting our 30 Day Yerba Mate Challenge. And we want YOU to join us. We’ll see you Monday!