This rock looks loose.

I worked from home today and thought about making some coffee to keep me going, but figured that wouldn't be such a good idea. And then I remembered there was plenty of maté to help me churn through a sea of data.

I was first exposed to maté in graduate school by a guy I shared an office with. Juan was Argentinian and drank mate like it was going out of style. At first I thought (hoped) it was coca tea and was a little bit deflated after I asked and he explained what maté was and that it was completely legal. As it turns out, maté is a social drink and you can't really refuse it if offered. At first I drank it out of politeness, but that soon wore off and I was hooked: it's a fantastic stimulant. The caffeine content is less than that of coffee, but unlike coffee you can easily drink a liter or more of maté an hour and not get shaky or hyper. Just what you need to read a bunch of dry papers on the thermodynamics of feldspar activity models and biotite exchange components.

You drink yerba maté out of a gourd though a metal straw. Fill the maté (gourd) with the yerba, put the straw in, and pour hot water from your thermos over it. Let it steep a minute or two and sip. Add more water when it's empty. The maté usually only holds ~1 cup of liquid. The straw has a filter on the bottom to keep the leaves out and there are all sorts of tricks to keep the yerba powder from clogging the thing up. You'll have to get an Argentinian show you the proper method. There are lots of brands of yerba, but I like Rosamonte Especial. Too bad they have a stupid flash site.