Energy Blend

Two hollies, two herbs, and a caffeine level of 2 on our 0–3 scale: that is Energy Blend as the catalog describes it. It brews at 85 °C for 5 minutes with 3 g per cup, tastes vegetal, fresh, minty and robust, and sits in the morning, mid-morning and early-afternoon slots. Nothing on this page claims an effect on the body: what follows is composition, custom, and what the European food safety authority, the European medicines agency and the WHO's cancer agency have published about caffeine, peppermint leaf and very hot drinks.

The European Food Safety Authority's 2015 opinion on caffeine states that single doses up to 200 mg and habitual intakes up to 400 mg per day do not raise safety concerns for healthy adults, that intakes from all sources up to 200 mg per day do not raise safety concerns for pregnant women, and that it proposes 3 mg per kg of body weight per day as a safety level for habitual consumption by children and adolescents. It also notes that single doses of 100 mg may affect sleep duration and patterns in some adults, particularly when consumed close to bedtime — which is the regulator's reason, not ours, for keeping this blend out of the evening. Our catalog does not measure milligrams per cup: it rates Energy Blend at level 2 because both mate and guayusa carry caffeine, while the peppermint and ginger add aroma and nothing to the count.

Source: EFSA — Scientific Opinion on the safety of caffeine (2015)

In June 2016 the International Agency for Research on Cancer, the WHO's cancer agency, classified drinking very hot beverages — anything consumed above 65 °C — as probably carcinogenic to humans (Group 2A), based on limited evidence linking very hot drinks to cancer of the oesophagus. It found no conclusive evidence for drinking mate at temperatures that are not very hot, which it left as not classifiable (Group 3), and said it is the temperature, rather than the drinks themselves, that appears to be responsible. The agency notes that mate is traditionally drunk at about 70 °C in South America. This blend steeps at 85 °C, like most hot teas; the practical reading is to let the cup cool before sipping, as with any hot drink.

Source: IARC/WHO — Monographs Vol. 116: drinking coffee, maté and very hot beverages (2016)

The European Union herbal monograph on peppermint leaf (Mentha x piperita, folium), revised by the EMA's Committee on Herbal Medicinal Products and published in July 2020, lists one traditional use based on long-standing practice rather than clinical trials: the relief of digestion-related problems such as indigestion and flatulence, with the dried leaf usually taken as a herbal tea. That describes peppermint leaf on its own, taken as a medicine, not the minority share of mint in a mate-based blend, so we claim nothing for this cup. The monograph also states that these preparations are for adults and children over 4, that symptoms lasting more than two weeks warrant a doctor, that they may worsen gastro-oesophageal reflux and heartburn, and that people with gallstones or other bile problems should be cautious. This isn't medical advice — if you have a specific condition, check with a healthcare provider.

Source: EMA/HMPC — EU herbal monograph on Mentha x piperita L., folium, Rev. 1 (2020)

Yerba mate and guayusa are both hollies whose leaves carry caffeine, which is why the catalog rates the blend at level 2 while the mint and ginger stay at zero. Like other leaf infusions they also carry plant polyphenols, the compounds behind mate's grassy astringency, and peppermint carries menthol, the compound behind its cool finish. This page lists all of them as components of the cup and nothing more. The reason the blend is drunk in the morning and early afternoon is the catalog's reason, caffeine at level 2 and a fresh, robust flavor, not an effect we promise.