Praise for The Book of Yerba Mate

“This is one of the most original, interesting, and well-written books that I have had the privilege to read in a while. We have plenty of biographies of coffee and tea; this book restores their neglected cousin, yerba mate, to its rightful place. By following the story of mate, this book lets us see Latin America, empire, race, and religion in a new light..”

“Yerba mate and its close botanical relatives guayusa and yaupon are among the most widely distributed and readily available psychoactive plants you may have never heard of. With precision and wit, Folch traces their circulation, continual resignification, enduring fascination, and occasional denigration, through space and time, empire and culture. In revealing these plants’ hidden stories, she reveals to us something about our own.”