Home > Yerba mate

Yerba mate (pronounced ), Ilex paraguariensis, or hierba mate, or erva mate in Portuguese, sometimes called simply "mate", is a shrubThe word 'bush' re-directs here; for alternate uses see Bush (disambiguation A shrub or bush is a horticultural rather than strictly botanical category of woody plant, distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and lower height, usually less than 6 m in the hollyThis article is about the plant type. For other uses see Holly (disambiguation). Ilex aquifolium European Holly Ilex canariensis Small-leaved Holly Ilex cassine Dahoon Holly Ilex crenata Japanese Holly Ilex decidua Possumhaw Ilex dipyrena Himalayan Holly family Aquifoliaceae, native to South AmericaSouth America is a continent crossed by the equator, with most of its area in the Southern Hemisphere. South America is situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean. It became attached to North America only recently, geologically speaking, wi, used as a teaThis article is about the beverage. For alternative meanings, see tea (disambiguation). Tang Dynasty ( 618- 907). Tea is a caffeinated beverage, an infusion made by steeping the dried leaves or buds of the shrub Camellia sinensis in hot water. In addition. Like other teas, it is dried, chopped, and ground into a powderous mixture. Unlike other teas, mate is traditionally sipped from of a hollow gourdA gourd is a hollow, dried shell of a fruit in the Cucurbitaceae family of plants. Gourds can be used as a number of things, including bowls or bottles. Gourds are also used as resonating chambers on certain musical instruments including some stringed ins, through a special metal straw (traditionally silver) called a bombilla (bom-BEE-ya or bom-BEE-zha in ArgentinianArgentina is a Spanish-speaking country in southern South America, situated between the Andes in the west and the southern Atlantic Ocean in the east. It is bordered by Paraguay and Bolivia in the north, Brazil and Uruguay in the northeast and Chile in th pronunciation). "Bombilla" means, literally, "little pump" or "straw" in SpanishThis article is about the international language known as Spanish. For other languages spoken in Spain see Languages of Spain Spanish is an Iberian Romance language, and the third or fourth most spoken language in the world. It is spoken as a first langua.

There are many ways to drink it. You can drink it with hot water, which is called, in Brazil, chimarrão, with cold water, called tereré or as an iced tea. Each one of these drinks require a different preparation of the plant.

After placing an abundant (1/2 of gourd or more) amount of mate in the gourd, water is added. Sugar may be added if desired. The bombilla acts as both a straw and sieve. The submerged end is flared with small holes or slots to allow the tea in, but block the chunky matter that makes up much of the mixture. A modern bombilla design uses a straight tube with holes, or spring sleeve to act as a sieve. Natural gourds are used, traditionally, though gourd-shaped vessels made of metal or ceramic are also common. Gourds are commonly decorated with silver, sporting decorative or heraldic designs with floral motifs.

Mate is traditionally drunk in a particular social setting. One individual assumes the task of server. This person typically fills the gourd and drinks its contents completely. The server subsequently refills the gourd and passes it to the next drinker who likewise drinks it all. The ritual proceeds around the circle in this fashion until the mate is exhausted, typically after the gourd has been filled about ten times.

Nowadays, however, mate is also toasted and prepared in a similar manner to black tea. You can easily find "tea bags", prepacked "iced tea" packages and bottles in Brazil.

The plant is grown mainly in South America, more specifically in Paraguay, Argentina, Uruguay and South Brazil ( Rio Grande do Sul). The Guarani are reputed to be the first people who cultivated the plant; the first Europeans doing this were Jesuit missionaries. The drink has a pungent taste like a cross between green tea and coffee.

Mate contains xanthines, which are alkaloids in the same family as caffeine, theophylline, and theobromine, well-known stimulants also found in coffee and chocolate. Sellers of mate products often claim that the primary active xanthine in mate is "mateine", which they say is similar to caffeine but with fewer of its negative effects. Indeed some mate products are marketed as "caffeine-free" alternatives to traditional coffee and tea.

Indeed, researchers at Florida International University in Miami have found that yerba mate does contain caffeine, but some people seem to tolerate it better than coffee or tea. Further research is underway to determine why it bothers people less than other caffeine-containing beverages.

Mate Is very high in Potassium, Magnesium and Manganese and is a great way to stay energized when other foods are not available (like at an outdoor party)

In Mexico the consumption of mate is considered to be an indicator of low social standing, in Argentina a respect for tradition.

There have been numerous epidemiologic studies on the association between mate drinking and cancer in humans. There is limited evidence that drinking hot mate causes esophageal cancer in humans.

There are extremely unreliable anecdotal reports that mate may induce very light hallucinogenic effects (on the order of nutmeg) in some especially sensitive individuals.