> It contains cocoa and white chocolate chips. Add your requisite sugar
> and milk, and of course it's going to be packed with calories.

Lets assume that I would drink about one 6 cup pot of this a day.
Secondly, lets assume that, as per the instructions on the package, I
would use one teaspoon per 6 ounce cup. Thirdly, lets assume a teaspoon
is about 2 grams, maybe 3 at most. If I were drinking 6 teaspoons of
pure cocoa, then at the 15 calories per tablespoon (3 tsp) it would
amount to 30 calories if I were drinking pure cocoa. Now on the other
hand if I were drinking pure white chocolate, then at 6 tsp, or 12
grams, it would be about 50 calories assuming the 420 calories per 100
grams figure I found on the net is correct. However in reality cocoa
and white chocolate make up only a very small part of this blend.
Therefore I'm not really concerned with the extra 10 or 15 calories per
pot coming from the cocoa/white chocolate, but rather am more concerned
about the nutritional content of Mate itself. Once again I've emailed 2
companies about this, neither of which have responded, and google turns
up nothing. Also, I don't take this with sugar and if I add milk then
it's only a negligible amount of skim, which is why I specifically
asked for the values without milk and sugar.

> Your mention of a dorm room suggests that you're a college student.

Cornell University

> Perhaps it's time to outgrow the childish tastes that drive you to sustain
> yourself throughout the day on what amounts to candy in a cup.

This is true if it's as high in empty calories as cola. But if it's
tasty, healthful, and as nutrient-rich as the intarweb claims, AND has
a moderate to low caloric value then it seems like a win-win situation.
You're right about my sweet tooth being a childish desire, but then
again when you work out four hours a day and eat mostly salads and
vegetables then you get strange cravings for otherwise unkosher stuff
like this.

> Fill
> your thermos with an unenriched infusion of some sort -- tea or herbs or
> whatever -- and be done with it.

I drink lots of real single estate teas and some chai throughout the
day, but more than two or so pots upsets my stomach so I was hoping
Mate with Mateine/theobromine(from the cocoa) would be a little bit
gentler on my digestive system than tea with its caffeine/theophylline.

> --crymad

Alex