A herbal tea from South America which is gaining popularity in the US and Europe. It seems to have originated in Argentina in the 1800s, producing a low-caffeine brew which is reputed to have health-giving qualities and contains antioxidants. Traditionally it is served in a gourd with a metal straw.
Yerba Mate is a tea that is consumed by many cultures in South America and also in the United States that includes many vitamins and minerals. Mate, a beverage popular in Argentina, Paraguay, Brazil, Bolivia and Uruguay, has been consumed as a beverage not unlike coffee since before the colonization of South America by the Spanish conquistadors.
The term mate is derived from the Quechua word “mati”, a word that means a combination of drink and gourd. The traditional beverage yerba mate is a combination of the harvested mate leaves and hot or boiling water. This mixture is placed in a hollowed out gourd or cup and is passed around in a circle. A specific type of metal straw is used to consume the beverage from the gourd and it is considered rude to wipe either your mouth or the spoon before passing it in line. Traditionally, the drink starts with the matriarch or patriarch and is passed down the line. Other combinations include warm milk and sugar with the mate leaves and occasionally the inclusion of orange peels to add flavor. By itself, the drink is bitter in nature and therefore many tourists find it hard to swallow. This tradition of consuming Yerba Mate is an integral component of South American culture.
The Guarani, a people indigenous to Paraguay, has ties to mate that date back to the 16th century. During the colonization process, the consumption of yerba mate would spread upward to Chile and Peru. Due to its popularity and propensity for consumption by natives and colonials, yerba mate became Paraguay’s main resource, serving as a more important commodity than other resources like tobacco. Those indigenous peoples that were conquered by the Spanish were subsequently used as laborers to harvest the mate and other commodities. The Jesuit missionaries would eventually domesticate the plant and use these laborers to harvest the mate. After the departure of the Jesuits, the process of domesticating the plant was lost for centuries until its rediscovery in the 19th century (“History of Yerba Mate”).
The drink has been described as a healthy option because of its ability to combine the effects of healthy teas with the invigorating feeling of a cup of coffee and the happy feeling derived from the consumption of chocolate. Argentine cowboys, or gauchos, refer to yerba mate as their “liquid vegetable” and provides them with all of the sustenance they need. Yerba mate has been described as having the most nutritional value of any plant used for consumption. It has also been proven to contain almost all of the vitamins and minerals needed to sustain human life (“All about Mate”). Not only is mate a tasty and nutritious beverage but the plant itself is used a base for many herbal medicines still used in parts of South America. The drink is similar to the mineral and vitamin elements of green tea. However, yerba mate has been found to be more nutritious than green tea. Yerba mate has been proven to improve focus and clarity, to augment physical energy, and support weight loss along with diet and exercise (“All about Mate”).
Lexicographer: Harris Elledge, Tulane University
Works Cited
"All about Mate." Guayaki Brand Yerba Mate.
Guayaki, n.d. Web. 5 Nov 2013.
"History of Yerba Mate." Go Yerba Mate. Itapua Trading LLC., n.d. Web. 5 Nov 2013.
