Tea aficionados are often surprised to learn that all tea comes from the same source: the Camilla Sinensis bush. While there are hundreds are varieties of Chinese teas, most fall into four basic categories. Reputed to provide the most health benefits, white tea is made from immature tea leaves that are picked shortly before the buds have fully opened. Green teas are not fermented during processing, and thus retain the original color of the tea leaves. The most famous green tea is the expensive Dragon Well tea, grown in the hillsides of Hanghou. Also known as "red tea," black teas are made from fermented leaves, which accounts for their darker color. Popular varieties of black tea include Bo lei, a Cantonese tea often drunk with dim sum, and luk on - a milder tea favored by the elderly. Finally, oolong teas are partially fermented, resulting in a black-green tea. Examples of oolong tea include Soi sin, a bitter tasting brew cultivated in the Fukien province.

There is also a fourth category known as "scented teas," made by mixing various flowers and petals with green or oolong teas. The best known among these is jasmine tea. And white tea, made with unripened tea leaves that are still covered with a downy, silvery fuzz, is becoming quite popular.

While references to tea in Chinese literature go back approximately 5,000 years, the origin of tea's use as a beverage is unclear. Ancient folklore places the creation of the brew at 2737 BC, when a camellia blossom drifted into a cup of boiled drinking water belonging to Emperor Shen Nung. However, most scholars credit a reference found in Erh Ya, an ancient Chinese dictionary, dated about 350 BC.

Originally, tea was valued for its medicinal qualities. It has long been known that tea aids in digestion, which is why many Chinese prefer to consume it after their meal. (Another interesting side effect for smokers is that tea hastens the discharge of nicotine from the body). The elevation of tea drinking to an art form began in the 8th century, with the publication of Lu Yu's "The Classic Art of Tea." The highly esteemed poet and former Buddhist priest had strict notions about the proper procedure for brewing, steeping, and serving tea. For example, only water from a slow-moving stream was acceptable, and the tea leaves had to be placed in a porcelain cup. The perfect milieu for enjoying the finished product was in a pavilion next to a water lily pond, preferably in the company of a desirable woman. (To be fair, his work also contained several practical tips for manufacturing tea, many of which are still in use today).

Tea had been known for millennia in India as a medicinal plant, but was not drunk for pleasure until the British began to establish plantations in the 19th century. The Chinese variety is used for Darjeeling tea, and the Assamese variety, native to the Indian state of Assam, everywhere else. The British introduced tea-growing into India in 1836 and into Ceylon (Sri Lanka) in 1867. At first they used seeds from China, but later seeds from the Assam plant were used." Only black tea was produced until recent decades.

Part of the uniqueness of Yerba Mate is the way it's traditionally prepared and served. Unlike the teapots and cups you may be used to, you'll need a gourd and a bombilla for your Yerba Mate. The little gourds are specifically designed as a drinking vessel, and the bombilla is a metal straw with a strainer built in to one end.

The cup or gourd is filled about three-quarters full of herb, then pour hot water over the herb until almost submerging all your herbs. Let is sit for a few minutes for the herbs to absorb the water, and add more hot water to keep it liquid. Stick the bombilla into the wet herbs with the filter end down. You drink your tea through the straw. You can add more hot water for repeated infusions, until the resulting tea has little taste left.

You can use regular tea brewing methods with your Yerba Mate, but it's fine texture makes it difficult to filter the herb from the tea. You might want to use coffee filter paper.

Yerba Mate supposedly does not contain caffeine, but rather a closely related compound called "mateine" which is a similar stimulant. Mateine is not as harsh to your body and does not produce the same addictive results. Others have claimed that the chemical compound within Yerba Mate is in fact caffeine, and to think otherwise is just wishful thinking.