The indigenous Guaraní and some Tupi communities (whose territory covered present-day Paraguay) first cultivated and consumed yerba mate prior to European colonization of the Americas. Its consumption was exclusive to the natives of only two regions of the territory that today is Paraguay, more specifically the departments of Amambay and Alto Paraná.[5][6] After the Jesuits discovered its commercialization potential, yerba mate became widespread throughout the province and even elsewhere in the Spanish Crown.[6]
Mate is traditionally consumed in central and southern regions of South America, primarily in Paraguay, as well as in Argentina, Uruguay, Southern Brazil, the Gran Chaco of Bolivia, and Southern Chile .[7] It has also become popular in the Druze and Alawite community in the Levant, especially in Syria and Lebanon, where it is imported from Paraguay and Argentina, thanks to 19th-century Syrian immigrants to Argentina.[8] Yerba mate can now be found worldwide in various energy drinks as well as being sold as a bottled or canned iced tea.
Name and pronunciation
The name given to the plant in the Guaraní language (of the indigenous people who first used mate) is ka'a, which has the same meaning as 'herb'.[9][10]Congonha, in Portuguese, a term describing several herb species,[11] is derived from the Tupí expression kõ'gõi, meaning something like 'what keeps us alive', but is rarely used nowadays.[12]Mate is from the Quechuamati,[13] a word that means 'container for a drink' and 'infusion of an herb', as well as 'gourd'.[14] The word mate is used in modern Portuguese and Spanish.
The pronunciation of yerba mate in Spanish is [ˈɟʝeɾβaˈmate].[13] The stress on the word mAte falls on the first syllable.[13] The word hierba is Spanish for 'herb'; yerba is the variant spelling of hierba used throughout Latin America.[15]Yerba may be understood as 'herb', but also as 'grass' or 'weed'. It may also be used in reference to marijuana (Cannabis sativa). In Argentina, yerba refers exclusively to the yerba mate plant.[15]Yerba mate, therefore, originally translated as literally the 'gourd herb'; i.e., the herb one drinks from a gourd.
The Portuguese name for the plant is pronounced variously as [ˈɛɾvɐˈmate,-tʃi], in the areas of traditional consumption. The drinks are usually called chimarrão[ʃimaˈʁɐ̃w] (hot; traditionally served in a gourd), tereré[teɾeˈɾɛ] (cold; traditionally served in a bull horn), or chá mate[ˈʃaˈmate] (hot or cold; lit. 'mate tea', served in cups or glasses). While chá mate is made with roasted leaves, the other drinks are made with raw or lightly toasted green leaves, and are very popular in the south and center-west of the country. Most people, colloquially, call both the plant and the beverage by the word mate.[16]
In English, both the spellings mate and maté are used to refer to the plant or the beverage. The latter spelling is unfaithful to both Spanish and Portuguese, where the accent would incorrectly move the stress from the first syllable to the second.[17] The acute accent over the final '-e' in the English spelling was likely added by analogy with words of French origin like café, not to mark stress but to indicate that the '-e' is not silent as in mate (partner or friend);[18][19] indeed French also uses the spelling with the accent.[20] Spanish meanwhile has an unrelated word maté, meaning 'I killed', part of the verb matar.[21]
Description
Ilex paraguariensis begins as a shrub and then matures to a tree, growing up to 15 meters (49ft) tall. The leaves are evergreen, 7–110 millimeters (0.3–4.3in) long and 30–55 millimeters (1.2–2.2in) wide, with serrated margins. The leaves are often called yerba (Spanish) or erva (Portuguese), both of which mean "herb". They contain caffeine (known in some parts of the world as mateine) and related xanthinealkaloids, and are harvested commercially.
The flowers are small and greenish-white with four petals. The fruit is a red drupe4–6 millimeters (0.16–0.24in) in diameter.
Mate was first consumed by the indigenous Guaraní people and also spread in the Tupí people that lived in the departments of Amambay and Alto Paraná[5] the territory of Paraguay.[6] Its consumption became widespread during European colonization,[22] particularly in the Spanish colony of Paraguay in the late 16th century, among both Spanish settlers and indigenous Guaraní, who had, to some extent before the Spanish arrival, consumed it.[22] This widespread consumption turned it into Paraguay's main commodity above other wares, such as tobacco, and the labour of indigenous peoples was used to harvest wild stands.[citation needed]
In the mid-17th century, Jesuits managed to domesticate the plant and establish plantations in their Indian reductions[22] in Misiones, Argentina, sparking severe competition with the Paraguayan harvesters of wild stands. [citation needed] It is here when the plant began its incursion into other non-Paraguayan territories. After their expulsion in the 1770s, their plantations fell into decay, as did their domestication secrets.[citation needed] The industry continued to be of prime importance for the Paraguayan economy after independence, but development in benefit of the Paraguayan state halted after the War of the Triple Alliance (1864–1870) that devastated the country both economically and demographically.[citation needed] Some regions with mate plantations in Paraguay became Argentine territory.[23]
Brazil then became the largest producer of mate.[24] In Brazilian and Argentine projects in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the plant was domesticated once again, opening the way for plantation systems.[citation needed] When Brazilian entrepreneurs turned their attention to coffee in the 1930s, Argentina, which had long been the prime consumer,[25] took over as the largest producer, resurrecting the economy in Misiones Province, where the Jesuits had once had most of their plantations. For years, the status of largest producer shifted between Brazil and Argentina.[25] Today, Brazil is the largest producer, with 53%, followed by Argentina, 37%, and Paraguay, 10%.[26][27]
In the city of Campo Largo, state of Paraná, Brazil, there is a Mate Historic Park (Portuguese: Parque Histórico do Mate), funded by the state government to educate people on the sustainable harvesting methods needed to maintain the integrity and vitality of the oldest wild forests of mate in the world. As of June 2014, however, the park is closed to public visitation.[28]
The yerba mate plant is grown and processed in its native regions of South America, specifically in Paraguay, some parts of northern Argentina (Misiones), Uruguay, and southern Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina, Paraná, and Mato Grosso do Sul). Cultivators are known as yerbateros (Spanish) or ervateiros (Brazilian Portuguese).
Seeds used to germinate new plants are harvested after they have turned dark purple, typically from January to April. After harvest, they are submerged in water in order to eliminate floating non-viable seeds and detritus like twigs, leaves, etc. New plants are started between March and May. For plants established in pots, transplanting takes place April through September. Plants with bare roots are transplanted only during the months of June and July.[29]
When I. paraguariensis is harvested, the branches are often dried by a wood fire, imparting a smoky flavor. The strength of the flavor, caffeine levels, and other nutrients can vary depending on whether it is a male or female plant. Female plants tend to be milder in flavor and lower in caffeine. They are also relatively scarce in the areas where yerba mate is planted and cultivated.[31]
According to Food and Agriculture Organization in 2012, Brazil is the biggest producer of mate in the world with 513,256 metric tonnes (MT) (58%), followed by Argentina with 290,000 MT (32%) and Paraguay with 85,490 MT (10%).[26]
Steaming mate infusion in a cup that resembles a gourd, the customary vessel
The infusion, called mate in Spanish-speaking countries or chimarrão in Brazil, is prepared by filling a container, traditionally a small, hollowed-out gourd (described below), up to three-quarters full with dry leaves (and twigs) of I. paraguariensis, and filling it up with water at a temperature of 70–80°C (158–176°F), hot but not boiling. Sugar may or may not be added. The infusion may also be prepared with cold water, in which case it is known as tereré.[32]
Drinking mate is a common social practice in Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina, Southern Brazil among people of all ages, and is often a communal ritual following customary rules. Friends and family members share from the same container, traditionally a hollow gourd (also called a guampa, porongo, or simply mate in Spanish, a cabaça or cuia in Portuguese, or a zucca in Italian), and drink through the same wooden or metal straw (a bombilla in Spanish or bomba in Portuguese). The gourd is given by the brewer to each person, often in a circle, in turns. The recipient drinks the few mouthfuls in the container, and then returns the mate to the brewer, who refills it and passes it to the next person in clockwise order. The recipient is not supposed to give thanks until they are done drinking the beverage, and if they do, they will not be served any more mates. Although traditionally made from a hollowed calabash gourd, these days mate "gourds" are produced from a variety of materials including wood, glass, bull horns, ceramic, and silicone.[33]
In the same way as people meet for tea or coffee, friends often gather and drink mate (matear) in Paraguay, Argentina, Southern Brazil, and Uruguay. In warm weather the hot water is sometimes replaced by lemonade. Paraguayans typically drink yerba mate with cold water during hot days and hot water in the morning and during cooler temperatures.
Yerba mate is most popular in Paraguay and Uruguay, where people are seen walking the streets carrying the mate and often a termo (thermal vacuum flask) in their arms. In Argentina, 5kg (11lb) of yerba mate is consumed annually per capita; in Uruguay, the largest consumer, consumption is 10kg (22lb).[34] The amount of herb used to prepare the infusion is much greater than that used for tea and other beverages, which accounts for the large weights.
The flavor of brewed mate resembles an infusion of vegetables, herbs, and grass and is reminiscent of some varieties of green tea. Some consider the flavor to be very agreeable, but it is generally bitter if steeped in hot water. Sweetened and flavored mate is also sold, in which the mate leaves are blended with other herbs (such as peppermint) or citrus rind.[35]
Selection of yerba mate gourds and bombillas at a street vendor in Buenos Aires, Argentina
In Paraguay, Brazil, and Argentina, a version of mate known as mate cocido (or just mate or cocido) in Paraguay and chá mate in Brazil is sold in teabags and in a loose-leaf form. It is often served sweetened in specialized shops or on the street, either hot or iced, pure or with fruit juice (especially lime, known in Brazil as limão) or milk. In Paraguay, Argentina, and Southern Brazil, this is commonly consumed for breakfast or in a café for afternoon tea, often with a selection of sweet pastries (facturas).
An iced, sweetened version of mate cocido is sold as an uncarbonated soft drink, with or without fruit flavoring. In Brazil, this cold version of chá mate is especially popular in the south and southeast regions, and can easily be found in retail stores in the same cooler as other soft drinks.[16]Mate batido, which is toasted, has less of a bitter flavor and more of a spicy fragrance. Mate batido becomes creamy when shaken and is more popular in the coastal cities of Brazil, as opposed to the far southern states, where it is more commonly consumed in the traditional way (green, with a silver straw from a shared gourd), and called chimarrão (cimarrón in Spanish, particularly Argentine Spanish).[36]
In Paraguay, Southern Brazil (Mato Grosso do Sul, west of São Paulo and Paraná), and the Argentine littoral, a mate infusion, called tereré in Spanish and Portuguese or sometimes tererê in Gaúcho, Caipira and Sulista Portuguese, is also consumed as a cold or iced beverage, usually sucked out of a horn cup called a guampa with a bombilla. The Guarani used to drink it in this format, but without the ice as they did not have the technology for it, reason why, it is accredited to be the first and original way of consumption.[6]Tereré can be prepared with cold water (the most common way in Paraguay and Brazil) or fruit juice (the most common way in Argentina). The version with water is more bitter; fruit juice acts as a sweetener (in Brazil, this is usually avoided with the addition of table sugar). Medicinal or culinary herbs, known as yuyos (weeds), may be crushed with a pestle and mortar and added to the water for taste or medicinal reasons.[37]
Yerba mate shop, Puerto Iguazu, Argentina
Paraguayans have a tradition of mixing mate with crushed leaves, stems, and flowers of the plant known as flor de agosto[38] (the flower of August, plants of the genus Senecio, particularly Senecio grisebachii), which contain pyrrolizidine alkaloids. Modifying mate in this fashion is potentially toxic, as these alkaloids can cause veno-occlusive disease, a rare condition of the liver which results in liver failure due to progressive occlusion of the small venous channels.[39]
Mate has also become popular outside of South America. In the tiny hamlet of Groot Marico, North West Province, South Africa, mate was introduced to the local tourism office by the returning descendants of the Boers, who in 1902 had emigrated to Patagonia in Argentina after losing the Anglo Boer War. It is also commonly consumed in Lebanon, Syria, and some other parts of the Middle East, mainly by Druze and Alawite people. Most of its popularity outside South America is a result of historical emigration to South America and subsequent return. It is consumed worldwide by expatriates from the Southern Cone.[40][41]
Materva is a sweet, carbonated soft drink based on yerba mate. Developed in Cuba in 1920, and produced since the 1960s in Miami, Florida, it is a staple of the Cuban culture in Miami.[42][43]
Yerba mate contains three xanthines: caffeine, theobromine, and theophylline, with caffeine content varying between 0.7% and 1.7% of dry weight[45] (compared with 0.4–9.3% for tea leaves, 2.5–7.6% in guarana, and up to 3.2% for ground coffee).[46][47] Theobromine content varies from 0.3% to 0.9%; theophylline is typically present only in small quantities or sometimes completely absent.[48] Caffeine in yerba mate may be called guaranine in guarana.[49] Yerba mate also contains minerals, such as potassium, magnesium, and manganese.[50]
Weight loss
There has been no good evidence for yerba mate having an effect on body weight in humans[51][52] although a later study suggested there can be positive effects.[53]
Cancer
Incidence of oesophageal cancer in both sex per 100.000 population (age-standardized rate) in 2022
0–1
1–1.8
1.8–2.9
2.9–4.2
4.2–17.9
No data / Not applicable
Hot maté consumption is associated with oesophageal cancer. Very hot beverages (above 65°C) are classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) as probably carcinogenic to humans (group 2A), which also includes hot maté, as it is typically consumed at a temperature of 70°C. This classification indicates that the link between very hot beverage consumption and cancer is likely, but the proportion of oesophageal cancer cases due to drinking very hot beverages is not yet known.[54] There is no such association for cold maté and, in general, preparations under 65°C are not considered carcinogenic and are evaluated as not classifiable as to its carcinogenicity to humans (group 3).[55][56][57][58]
Column chart displaying Benzo(a)pyrene concentration in processed yerba maté leaves sampled in 2006, 2008, and 2010:
2006 batches
2008 batches
2010 batches
Since the traditional preparation of yerba maté leaves involves smoking them they contain a high number of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), such as benzo(a)pyrene, which are carcinogenic.[59] It has been suggested that this may explain other cancers associated with maté consumption, such as lung and bladder cancer[60] However, the occurrence of PAHs in maté leaves and infusion is based on small studies with non-representative sampling.[55] In any case, the use of maté with potentially lower PAHs content, such as unsmoked maté, has been suggested as a preventive approach.[59][60]
Argentine cuisine is described as a blending of cultures, from the Indigenous peoples of Argentina who focused on ingredients such as humita, potatoes, cassava, peppers, tomatoes, beans, and yerba mate, to Mediterranean influences brought by the Spanish during the colonial period. This led to cultural blending of criollos, Indigenous, and sub-Saharan African in the cuisine. Later, this was complemented by the significant influx of Italian and Spanish immigrants to Argentina during the 19th and 20th centuries, who incorporated plenty of their food customs and dishes such as pizzas, pasta and Spanish tortillas.
Herbal teas, also known as herbal infusions and less commonly called tisanes, are beverages made from the infusion or decoction of herbs, spices, or other plant material in hot water; they do not usually contain any true tea. Often herb tea, or the plain term tea, is used as a reference to all sorts of herbal teas. Many herbs used in teas/tisanes are also used in herbal medicine. Some herbal blends contain true tea.
A caffeinated drink, or caffeinated beverage, is a drink that contains caffeine, a stimulant that is legal practically all over the world. Some are naturally caffeinated while others have caffeine added as an ingredient.
Tereré is an infusion of yerba mate prepared with cold water, a lot of ice and pohá ñaná, and in a slightly larger vessel. This infusion has its roots in Pre-Columbian America, which established itself as traditional during the time of Governorate of Paraguay. There's also a variant made with juice, called "Juice tereré" or "Russian tereré", depending on the region. On December 17, 2020, UNESCO declared the tereré of Paraguay as an intangible cultural heritage, which includes the drink (tereré) and its preparation methods with medicinal herbs.
Ilex vomitoria, commonly known as yaupon or yaupon holly, is a species of holly that is native to southeastern North America. The word yaupon was derived from the Catawban yą́pą, from yą- tree + pą leaf. Another common name, cassina, was borrowed from Timucua. The Latin name comes from an observation by early Europeans that the ingestion of the plant was followed by vomiting in certain ceremonies.
Black drink is a name for several kinds of ritual beverages brewed by Native Americans in the Southeastern United States. Traditional ceremonial people of the Yuchi, Caddo, Chickasaw, Cherokee, Choctaw, Muscogee and some other Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands used the black drink in purification ceremonies. It was occasionally known as white drink because of the association of the color white with peace leaders in some Native cultures in the Southeast.
A bombilla (Spanish), bomba (Portuguese) or massasa (Arabic) is a type of drinking straw, used to drink mate. In metal bombillas, the lower end is perforated and acts as a metal filter which is used to separate the mate infusion from leaves, stems, and other mate debris, and functions in a similar fashion to the perforated metal screen of a teapot. Filters can be removable and can be opened for cleaning, or they may be permanently fixed to the bombilla stem. Bombillas vary in length but a popular length is approximately 7 inches (18 cm) long.
Coca tea, also called mate de coca, is a herbal tea (infusion) made using the raw or dried leaves of the coca plant, which is native to South America. It is made either by submerging the coca leaf or dipping a tea bag in hot water. The tea is most commonly consumed in the Andes mountain range, particularly Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and especially in Peru, where it is consumed all around the country. It is greenish yellow in color and has a mild bitter flavor similar to green tea with a more organic sweetness.
Ilex guayusa is a species of tree of the holly genus, native to the Amazon Rainforest. One of four known caffeinated holly trees, the leaves of the guayusa tree are harvested fresh and brewed like a tea for their stimulative effects.
Mate or maté is a traditional South American caffeine-rich infused herbal drink. It is also known as chimarrão or cimarrón, and ka’ay in Guarani. It is made by soaking dried yerba mate leaves in hot water and is traditionally served with a metal straw in a container typically made from a calabash gourd, but also made from a cattle horn in some areas. A very similar preparation, known as mate cocido, removes some of the plant material and sometimes comes in tea bags. Today, mate is sold commercially in tea bags and as bottled iced tea.
Kuding is a particularly bitter-tasting Chinese infusion, which due to their similarities in appearance is derived from several plant species. The two most common plants used to make kuding are the wax tree species Ligustrum robustum and the holly species Ilex kaushue, the former being more commonly grown in Sichuan and Japan while the latter is most commonly grown and used in the rest of China. Tea produced from Ligustrum or many species of Ilex is caffeine-free, although not Ilex paraguariensis, the source of mate drank in South America.
Coffee-leaf tea is a herbal tea prepared from the leaves of the coffee plant. These leaves, after being roasted, can be ground up or crumpled, then brewed or steeped in hot water in a form similar to tea. The resulting beverage is similar in taste to green tea, but with less caffeine content than either regular tea or coffee. Coffee leaves closely resemble the leaves and stalks of Paraguay tea. In some regions, such as Sumatra and Ethiopia, only the leaves are taken from the coffee plant and the berries are left on the bush.
Matte Leão is a Brazilian infusion and tea brand, now owned by The Coca-Cola Company. The spelling Matte is archaic, but preserved in the trademark; the currently correct Portuguese spelling for the herb and the derived beverage is mate. Matte Leão offers a range of over 100 types of infusions.
Mate cocido, chá mate, kojoi, or yerbiado is an infusion typical of Southern Cone cuisine. It is traditionally prepared by boiling yerba mate in water, then strained and served in cups. It is a bitter tasting beverage, similar to mate but milder, with the same stimulating and nutritional properties. It is also sold in teabags, so it can be prepared like tea.
The history of yerba mate stretches back to pre-Columbian Paraguay. It is marked by a rapid expansion in harvest and consumption in the Spanish South American colonies but also by its difficult domestication process that began in the mid 17th century and again later when production was industrialized around 1900.
Paraguayan cuisine is the set of dishes and culinary techniques of Paraguay. It has a marked influence of the Guaraní people combined with the Spanish cuisine and other marked influences coming from the immigration received by bordering countries such as Italian cuisine and German cuisine. The city of Asunción is the epicenter of the distinctive gastronomy that extends in current Paraguay and its areas of influence, which is the reason why is considered the mother of the gastronomy of the Río de la Plata. It is worth clarifying that in the Paraguayan society, the exchange of knowledge between mestizos, creoles and cario-guaraní people occurred before the Jesuit missions.
The Argentine tea culture is influenced by local and imported varieties and customs. The country is a major producer of tea, but is best known for the cultivation and consumption of mate, made with the leaves of the local yerba mate plant.
Brazilian tea culture has its origins in the infused beverages, or chás, made by the indigenous cultures of the Amazon and the Río de la Plata basins. It has evolved since the Portuguese colonial period to include imported varieties and tea-drinking customs.
Establecimiento Las Marías is a company specializing in infusions, It develops them all the way from plant to package. It is a source of tea, and its lands are the producers of yerba mate. Taragüi, Unión, La Merced and Mañanita are some of the products that has been relying on over 85 years in the market.
1 2 Del Techo, Ximénez, Dobrizhoffer. p. 40., Nicolás; Bartolomé, Martín (1967). Tres encuentros con América. Editorial del Centenario.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
↑ Folch, C. (2009). "Stimulating Consumption: Yerba Mate Myths, Markets, and Meanings from Conquest to Present". Comparative Studies in Society and History. 52: 6–36. doi:10.1017/S0010417509990314. S2CID145175412.
↑ Wong, Samantha. "Materva: Un Buchito de Cuba"(PDF). Johnson and Wales: Student Food Writing. p.8 (PDF p.11). Archived from the original(PDF) on 13 January 2014. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
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