Why Yerba Mate?
On day 4 of my 300 day bike ride covering the length of South America, I was attached to a drip for 24 hours. The conditions were awful and I never want to go back. How did I end up there? Having no real experience of cycling at altitude, I’d filled my body to the max. with high caffeine, high sugar energy drinks.
This quickly resulted in a vicious cycle of spikes and slumps. The more I slumped, the more caffeine and sugar I needed. Eventually my immune system broke down and I ended up having to be attached to the drip.
These problems persisted for the first month or two but when I arrived in Argentina I found the GAME CHANGER.
Yerba Mate
When we cycled through Argentina, we were amazed to see that almost everyone was drinking a strange looking drink called yerba mate. This lightly caffeinated beverage has become the nation’s obsession and for good reason. After a local suggested it to me, I started to try the drink for a few days and noticed an unbelievable difference in my energy levels.
My spikes and slumps totally disappeared. I was waving goodbye to the coffee crash and felt a steady energy to be able to cycle 12 hours a day. I went onto complete the cycle ride through the Andes with ease!
I did my research and noticed that the world’s best athletes are also drinking this tea - amongst many others, Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar all drink this before a game and it’s easy to see why.
Why the World’s Best Athletes are Drinking MISSION
Since launching in January 2018, three English Champions League football clubs, the Welsh RFU and British Olympic athletes have all started to use our teas during training.
Yerba mate stimulates production of the neurotransmitter dopamine. Besides that, it contains the compounds theobromine and theophylline. These alkaloids work together to provide unique, mild stimulant effects. Yerba mate drinkers experience a state of alert wakefulness similar to that of coffee, but for a much longer period of time and without coffee’s crash (i.e. payback time).
It rarely interferes with sleep and doesn’t cause caffeine jitters. This makes it perfect to take before or during performance in the gym or at your desk, producing long lasting, sustained energy.
Why is MISSION Different to Normal Yerba Mate?
We’ve added the good stuff: Siberian ginseng, maca powder, ashwagandha, gotu kola and Japanese ceremonial grade matcha green tea. You can read all about the ingredients and why we’ve added them here.
Before launching, I tested over 500 blends with the help of world class sports scientists and professional tea blenders. The ultimate test I gave myself was not using traditional energy drinks but instead MISSION, to run 17 marathons in 10 days across Iceland - a new Guinness World Record. The teas undoubtedly passed the test - read more on that here.
You can check out the full range of MISSION blends here.
