Life can be exhausting.

San Luis Obispo High School students have school, a home life, and possibly some other extracurricular activity. With all the crazy happenings in the world today, students will agree we all need a little more energy to get through today.

Yerba Mate is one of those deemed “healthy solutions”.

Made from the leaves of a tree in the holly family, Yerba Mate claims to help boost your immune system, improve mental functions, and help lose weight.

The Yerba Mate culture has caught on, with most students and teachers drinking the energy drink form of the tea.

Expressions decided to look into SLOHS’s culture of Yerba Mate and why it has become so important to some students’ lives.

“Yerbs are literally my motivation, the main reason I wake up in the morning is because I know I have a yerb waiting for me in the kitchen. They’re just wonderful and they taste like nothing else I’ve ever had. Not to mention the culture around them is like super non-toxic and nice,” said senior Jayda Monreal.

There is an already established Yerba Mate culture, based on community and wellness, something that we all need right now. Just like coffee culture, Yerba Mate is something that gives people some common ground to connect. 

“Yerba Mate was introduced to me by my best friend during my sophomore year playing on our girls’ varsity soccer team. My friend and I would make it a requirement to drink a yerba mate before every single game because we believed it as being a superstition if we didn’t drink one. We thought it improved our performance. Yerba Mate is a drink that never gets old, that first sip is so savory that you can never get enough. It is definitely an addiction for me, alongside coffee of course,” said senior Madison Baird.

Whether you’re a coffee snob, tea purist, hot cocoa enthusiast, or a Yerba Mate fan, we are all connected through our passions. As a suggestion for the remainder of quarantine, get involved in something new like “Yerb” culture!