Blown to mate

Tuesday whipped in on strong winds and the threat of rain as I journeyed in to campus this morning. Stopped to refill the Miata, a roughly every-other-week-something I have to remember to do, which doesn't really extend the playlist much since the music goes off with the car.

These cold dark mornings I am glad my commute is short, and look forward to brewing up a hot strong pot of mate when I get to the office. I stumbled on Guayaki's yerba mate a number of years ago when I was looking for something to ease a caffeine withdrawal headache while getting off caffeine (there is some dispute about whether mate contains caffeine or a very similar stimulant chemical, though most agree it has a stimulant without some of the negative properties of other caffeinated beverages).

Mate is a popular South American drink made from the leaves of a small tree related to the holly bush, traditionally smoke-dried, and drunk via a communally shared gourd, steeping the crushed leaves in hot water. I liked it's earthy smokey flavor and have been drinking mate ever since. These days, I favor their Gaucho Fuerte blend of finely chopped mate made for brewing in a conventional coffee pot. It is easier to brew and comes out intensely strong. It makes a great start-up in the morning and a hot mug of mate warms the hands and the body, and that's what a body wants on these blustery mornings.

The iMood this morning was beautifully mixed up, with four decidedly different sounds filling the audio-space of my commute:

- The Dandy Warhols: And Then I Deamt of Yes
- Van Morrison: Fame
- Brad Mehldau Trio: Still Crazy After All These Years
- Mark Isham: Black Satin


- Posted via iPad.