Yerba maté

I was innocently playing my daily game before organising myself for the day when I came across word I had never heard of before. I play a ‘find a Word’ game. I enjoy this simple mental stimulation in the morning. Yesterday’s topic was ‘warm drinks’! I knew all of them except this one: Yerba maté!

You possibly have heard of it – maybe I am the only ignorant one! This stimulated me into full on research mode where I now feel quite well informed about this fascinating tea. I have tried to buy some of this tea in Brisbane; as yet, no luck, but I will not give up until I have tasted this stuff and can give you an informed review!

Yerba mate or yerba-mate (Br.) (Spanish: yerba mate, Portuguese: erva-mate), Ilex paraguariensis, is a species of holly (family Aquifoliaceae) native to subtropical South America in northeastern Argentina, Bolivia, Uruguay, Paraguay and southern Brazil. It was first scientifically classified by Swiss botanist Moses Bertoni, who settled in Paraguay in 1895. The yerba mate plant is a shrub or small tree growing up to 15 meters tall. The leaves are evergreen, 7–11 cm long and 3–5.5 cm wide, with a serrated margin. The flowers are small, greenish-white, with four petals. The fruit is a red drupe 4–6 mm in diameter.

Infusion
Steaming yerba mate infusion in its customary gourd.
The infusion called mate is prepared by steeping dry leaves (and twigs) of yerba mate in hot water, rather than in boiling water like black tea. Drinking mate with friends from a shared hollow gourd (also called a guampa or mate in Spanish, or cabaça or cuia in Portuguese) with a metal straw (a bombilla in Spanish, bomba in Portuguese) is a common social practice in Argentina,[3][4] Uruguay, Paraguay, Chile, eastern Bolivia and southern and western Brazil[5] and has been cultivated in Syria, Lebanon and Jordan.
The flavor of brewed yerba mate is strongly vegetal, herbal, and grassy, reminiscent of some varieties of green tea. Some consider the flavor to be very agreeable, but it is generally bitter if steeped in boiling water. (Using boiling water is not recommended; traditionally the water temperature is between 160–180 °F (71–82 °C) when steeping the leaves. The water should be steaming hot yet not quite boiling.) One can also purchase flavored mate, in which the yerba is blended with an herb (such as peppermint) or citrus rind.
In Paraguay, Brazil and Argentina, a toasted version of mate, known as mate cocido (Paraguay), chá mate (Brasil) or "mate tea", is sold in teabag and loose form, and served, sweetened, in specialized shops, either hot or iced with fruit juice or milk. An iced, sweetened version of toasted mate is sold as an uncarbonated soft drink, with or without fruit flavoring. The toasted variety of mate has less of a bitter flavor and more of a spicy fragrance. When shaken it becomes creamy (since the formed foam gets well mixed and lasts for some time), known as mate batido. It is more popular in the coastal cities of Brazil, as opposed to the far southern states where it is consumed in the traditional way (green, drunk with a silver straw from a shared gourd), and called "chimarrão". In Argentina, this is called "cimarrón".
Similarly, a form of mate is sold in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay in tea bags to be drunk in a similar way to tea. This is known in Spanish as mate cocido or cocido. In Argentina this is commonly drunk with breakfast or as part of merienda (roughly, afternoon tea), often with a selection of facturas (sweet pastries). It is also made by heating yerba in water and straining it as it cools.
In Paraguay, western Brazil (Mato Grosso do Sul and west of São Paulo) and the Litoral Argentino, yerba mate infusion is also drunk as a cold or iced beverage and called tereré or tererê (in Spanish and Portuguese, respectively). Usually sucked out of a horn cup called guampa with a bombilla. It could be prepared using cold or iced water (the most common way in Paraguay) or using cold or iced fruit juice (the most common way in Argentina). The "only water" version may be too bitter, but the one prepared using fruit juice is sweetened by the juice itself. Medicinal herbs, known as "yuyos", are mixed in a mortar and pestle and added to the water for taste or medicinal reasons. Tereré consumed in Paraguay may also be made as an infusion of yerba mate with grapefruit or lemon juice.

Also known as 'South America’s green tea', Yerba Maté is a unique, delicious and nutritious tea made from the leaves of Ilex Paraguariensis, a plant that grows only in sub-tropical South America.
Yerba maté was widely used by the indigenous Guaraní people for hundreds of years before the Spanish came to South America in the 1500’s. The early colonists Eagerly adopted Yerba Maté into their daily diet as an invigorating beverage and its use spread far and wide throughout the Continent.
Today millions of South Americans drink maté on a daily basis to ensure health and vitality. Maté boosts energy, fights fatigue and balances the body in all its functions. Yerba Maté has been widely studied in scientific Literature. Among the well founded health-related claims that can be made about Yerba Maté:
• CAFFEINE CONTENT:Maté has gram for gram less caffeine than coffee or tea.
• ANTIOXIDANTS:Maté has even more polyphenols than Green Tea. In a study at the
Pasteur Institute, Maté proved to be more potent in antioxidants than Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C) and butylated Hydroxytoluene (BHT) in inhibiting low density Lipoprotein (LDL) oxidation.
• MINERALS, VITAMINS AND AMINOACIDS:Unlike Tea or coffee, maté is full of these elements that provide nutrition to the body.
• CHOLESTEROL-LOWERING PROPERTIES:Maté has been shown to lower the rate of absorption of Cholesterol in the gastrointestinal tract.

Yerba mate FAQs

The Drink Of the Gods

Yerbamate, the inteligent choice... Yerba Mate (pronounced "yerba mahtay") is a medicinal and cultural drink of ancient origins. Introduced to the world by the Guarani Indians of South America, Yerbamate contains ingredients that help keep its drinkers healthy and energetic. Yerba Mate, experience for good friends...
Yerba Mate is more than just good for the body; it's good for the soul. Drinking it can be a form of meditation or reflection - allowing the goodness to infuse into the body while stimulating and resting the mind. But this wholeness does not always happen alone.
In traditional Yerbamate use, the cup is often shared among close friends and family - using the same straw, or bombilla. Reminiscent of the kind of closeness written about in Robert Heinlein's "Stranger in a Strange Land," where the characters become "water brothers" or "water sisters" when they drank from the same cup one after the other, those who share the Mate cup join in a kind of bond where the sharing of the health and meditation of the Yerba Mate is a sign of total acceptance and friendship.