The story of yerba mate, the potent, caffeinated elixir made from the shoots and leaves of a subtropical evergreen, runs from sacred ceremonies held centuries ago in what is now Paraguay to modern-day soccer players in Argentina, techno obsessives in Berlin, and dissidents in Syria. In The Book of Yerba Mate: A Stimulating History, Christine Folch traces the global evolution of a plant so valuable it was once used as a form of currency. As with other caffeine-rich plants, yerba mate’s history is bound up in colonialism and exploitation. Folch…
