Mate (infusion)

The mate is an infusion made with the leaves of yerba mate (Ilex paraguariensis), a plant native to the Paraguay and Paraná river basins, in South America. Previously dried, cut and ground plants form yerba mate, which has a bitter taste due to the tannins in its leaves. For this reason, there are those who like to sweeten the mate a little with sugar, stevia or a non-caloric sweetener, but it is commonly taken bitter. The foam that is generated when "priming" is due to the glycosides that yerba mate contains. It has been consumed in America since pre-Hispanic times by some ethnic groups of Tupi-Guarani origin, such as the Avá, Mbyá and Kaiowa, and also, to a lesser extent, by other ethnic groups that traded with them, such as the Ñandevá, the Taluhets (ancient pampas) and the qom (tobas).

It was quickly adopted by the Spanish colonizers and remained as part of the cultural heritage mainly in Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, southern and eastern Bolivia, southern Brazil and Chile, especially in the center and south of the country (between Santiago and Magallanes). In turn, it is normally consumed in Syria (the largest importer of yerba mate in the world) and Lebanon.

As with tea, coffee or chocolate, it has a stimulating effect due to the caffeine it contains. Previously, and in a popular way, it was thought to have a similar but not the same energizer, which was called "matein".

In addition, a diuretic effect is added, which is compensated by the high consumption of water that is carried out when "matea", resulting in a digestive, purifying and -since it has antioxidants- preserving infusion of the organism. Like the other infusions mentioned, mate has a certain acidity, which is why many times other herbs (digestive, regulating liver function, sedatives, etc.) are added ―in small proportions― that manage to neutralize the acidity ^{[citation required]} as well as offsetting the slight stimulant effect of caffeine.^{[citation required]}

Traditionally, it is drunk hot using a straw called a bombilla placed in a small container, which is called -depending on the area- "mate", "cuia", "porongo" or "guampa", which contains the infusion.

Mate bitter baked with dry yerba mount and hot water at about 80 °C.

Mate without freshly baked dry yerba.

Waiting for the yerba to sink

Usually, the container called porongo is distinguished from the one called "mate" because it is the first with the largest dimensions and wide mouth. Although they are normally obtained from gourd (Lagenaria siceraria), a cucurbit whose fruit has a strong and woody rind suitable for use as a container, since viceroyalty times silver mates, bovine horn (guampa) have been made, porcelain, glass or wood (generally quebracho or palo santo) or carved bull's hoof.

Scientific name

The scientific name is ilex paraguariensis. Ilex because it is a genus with some 400 accepted species, and paraguariensis due to what was then called the Provincia Paraguaria. In other words, yerba mate was named after the region where this infusion naturally grew and was consumed, this was in the area of the Guaraní Jesuit Missions, which were located in the former Paraguaria Province. This region or province, then dependent on the Viceroyalty of Peru, covered regions of today: Paraguay, Argentina, Uruguay and parts of Bolivia, Brazil and Chile.

Etymology

When the Iberians arrived in South America, they noticed that some ethnic groups practiced the ritual of getting together to drink an infusion that the Avá called kaay, being ka'á: 'grass ', and y: 'water'.

The expression "mate" comes from the Quechua word matí, which means gourd (the container for drinking mate is usually made of gourd). It was taken through a small straw called "tacuarí", at the end of which a hollowed-out seed was placed that served as a filter.

It has also been called "tea from Paraguay" or "green gold" because of its high value, especially in viceroyalty times.

By extension, the conquistadors gave this name to the infusion made from the herb (Ílex paraguariensis).

In Portuguese it is called chimarrão ('cimarrón', wild), although especially in southern Brazil the word “mate” is also used.

History

Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia, dictator of Paraguay, taking mate (ca. 1820)

Soldiers of the oriental beach of silver taking mate, Ferrario Bonatti 1821.

Mapuches taking mate in the pampa. c. 1880

The ancient Guarani peoples were the pioneers in consuming yerba mate leaves in various ways, drinking it with water and even chewing it. The Jesuits themselves praised the effects of the herb, since it gave a certain vigor to those who ingested the infusion, and it quenched thirst better than pure water. Father Pedro de Montenegro (1663-1728), a naturalist, stated:

“God helped with this medicine to this poor land by being more conducive to it than chocolate, and came to its natural inhabitants as is cocoa in the East, because these very hot and wet lands cause serious relaxation of members, by the severe aspersion of the pores, and we see that they usually sweat with excess, and it is not remedy the wine or warm things to repress it, and the cold and cold weather

The Iberians who saw the natives drink it called the mate "demon's herb" because they were unaware of its practice and effects. They also maintained that it was a lazy drink, since the natives dedicated several hours of the day to this practice. However, other chroniclers, such as Acarete du Biscay, considered that this herb was very useful for the workers in the mines of Peru, assuring that "without that herb (with which they prepare a refreshing drink, with water and sugar, which should be drunk lukewarm) the inhabitants of Peru, savages and others, especially those who work in the mines, could not subsist, because the soil is full of mineral veins and the vapors that are released would suffocate them and nothing but that concoction can restore them, since that makes them revive and returns them to their former vigour".

Some Spanish chroniclers report in their diaries that the natives carried, along with their weapons, small leather bags (guayacas) in which they kept crushed and toasted yerba mate leaves that they chewed or placed in a gourd with water and sipped., using its teeth as a filter or through a cane joint. According to them, far from loosening them, these blades gave them greater resistance for long marches or to carry out daily tasks.

Mate originated as a rite of the avavá in the territory that today occupies part of Paraguay, northeastern Argentina and southern Brazil. They buried the remains of their loved ones and in that same place they planted yerba mate, and after the plant grew, they harvested it, prepared the infusion and drank it "on a wheel" with their families. They performed these rites because they believed that in this way the spirit of their beings buried there would grow in the yerba mate plant and would pass through the mate into their body to stay with them. Also next to the grass, they used to plant different vegetables since they believed that this would favor the growth of the plant.

The oldest dunks

To learn about the first moments in the history of mate as an infusion of the herb Ilex paraguariensis A.St.-Hil. 1822, we have to refer to the history of the city of Santa Fe. The first and oldest known utensils are found in this city and were excavated in the archaeological site of Santa Fe la Vieja. Long before the utensils we know today were used, the indigenous people drank the infusion in the form of tea, adding hot or cold water to the yerba mate. The container used was the bernegal, made of a large gourd (Cucurbita moschata) cut in the middle while the upper lip prevents the herb from entering the mouth by sucking it between the teeth.: "they drink the water between the front teeth as by a sucker" said Florian Paucke. The Spanish later introduced the use of a kind of metal spoon called an "apartador" with which they stop the ground yerba while sipping the tea. Over time, the gourd bernegal would be replaced by fired clay pots with the same shape as the half gourd. In the excavations carried out in the archaeological site of Cayastá, remains of the clay bernegal with decorations were found, just like those made in the viceroyalty of Santa Fe. These utensils can be considered the oldest known ancestors of the mates that we use today for the infusion of Ilex paraguariensis. Later, among certain social classes within the urban environment, the use of mate or small gourd (Lagenaria siceraria) was introduced, used together with the bombilla, consisting of a "a wooden straw or some cane& #3. 4; as revealed by Dobrizoffer.

The arrival of mate in Europe

The history of yerba mate and its reaffirmation in popular culture as a native food, had the city of Santa Fe as one of the main protagonists. This is because on December 31, 1662, at the request of Santa Fe and Asunción, Santa Fe was established as the precise port, forcing Paraguayan vessels to comply with their registration in Santa Fe, "being one of Its main causes of the request for the Assumption, that as the sailors who drove the boats were all natives of that province, with the greatest distance from their country or by novel inclination of spirits, they did not leave their natural residence abandoning their wives and children". Thus, by royal decree, all merchandise from Paraguay was forced to disembark in Santa Fe to be distributed to the world, among them, Yerba Mate, destined for Chile and Upper Peru. The Spaniards observed that the Guarani of Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil mate fortified them for work and, in case of need, served as food. By 1714, its use had spread first to the rest of Argentina and Tarija since they shared a culture and traditions equal to the gaucho not to say the same thing, then to Upper Peru Chuquisaca, Santa Cruz, Beni and Pando. Later they extended towards Chile. The British in Chile (who dealt with the slave trade brought from Africa) saw that it also benefited blacks, tried it out and took it to London, where it was very well received. It was even thought of replacing the traditional use of tea with this drink, since it was more profitable and even cheaper; but since the Jesuit missions of Paraguay were their only producer, and the tea trade brought them such good profits, the idea was discarded.

History of yerba mate

Consumption

The way to prepare mate was transmitted by the Guarani to the Spanish and Portuguese colonizers (in Portuguese it is also called chimarrão). Over time it was adopted as a traditional drink by the inhabitants of Argentina, Uruguay, southern Brazil, Paraguay, southern Chile and Bolivia.

It continues to be a very popular infusion in almost all the countries mentioned, especially in Paraguay, Argentina, Uruguay, southern Chile and Brazil, having the particularity that it is drunk daily by a large part of the population. In these countries, mate is part of the daily activity in many homes and, in some cases, in offices, where it is very common to see professionals working in front of their computers with a thermos and "mate" accompanying their activity. Due to its beneficial characteristics and its low cost, it is the quintessential drink for university students in these countries. Mate has special tableware: the main container (called «mate» or «porongo»), the «bombilla» (a kind of metal or wooden straw, etc. with a filter), and the «kettle» or ―added from the XX century― the thermos. To this set is frequently added a portable assembly (almost always made mainly of metal) that brings together two containers: the yerbera (that is, the container where the yerba is deposited to prime the mate) and the sugar bowl for the sweet mate.

Even the “kettle” (or teapot) with which you usually heat and pour the water for mate is usually special. It is very similar to a common teapot, although its spout has a notch that facilitates the pouring of a thin stream of hot water into the containers, at a time in the recent past. There are even special trays with moldings to accommodate the precious crockery and the plate on which cookies, fried pancakes or "bills" are usually placed, with which mate is traditionally accompanied.

In Uruguay, since some point in modern history (marked by the invention of the Dewar flask), the use of the thermos has been more widespread than the caldera (teapot), which is why they knew how to exist the priming spouts, consisted of cork stoppers that fit into the mouth of the thermos and that in the upper part there was a spout through which the hot water was poured, this spout used to be made of metal and was molded in different shapes, one of the most popular used to be a horse's head.

Argentina

Argentine silver bulb of the centuryXIX.

In imperial times, mate was widely distributed among the entire population of the then Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, whatever their origin: natives, enslaved Africans, Creoles, Spaniards, or some mixture of the above. In all the houses, poor or well-to-do, it was used as a refreshing drink, they had breakfast with mate every morning and they had mate as a snack every afternoon, accompanied with bread, roasted cakes or "tortillas" (on the grill), etc. For the less favored it could represent dinner, but for the wealthy it was a good excuse to receive guests and entertain them while a little lady fed them. The mates (container) could be made of gourd or gourd, wood, gold, silver, pewter or clay with different shapes and artistic embossing.

The consumption of mate is widespread throughout the country and its intake is daily. Also, from all social strata. A study by the Yerba Mate Institute shows that the infusion has a presence of 98% in homes across the country.

In 2013 it was estimated that the consumption of mate in Argentines annually is 240,000 tons of yerba mate, about 100 liters per capita.

About 6.4 kilos of yerba mate are consumed per inhabitant in Argentina (only behind Uruguay, which has a per capita consumption of 8 kilograms per year), which results in a hundred liters of the drink more popular in the country, according to data from the National Institute of Yerba Mate (INYM) from 2016.

According to data published at the beginning of 2017, and according to a measurement carried out by the market consultancy TrialPanel, it is known that 44% of people declared who prefer sweetened mate, 42% indicated that they prefer bitter and for 14% the matter is indistinct.

According to data published by the National Yerba Mate Institute (INYM), between January and September 2020, the consumption of yerba mate made in Argentina was 202.8 million kilos. In the year 2021, 282.85 million kilos were produced for the domestic market while 35.5 million kilos were exported. These data come from the sworn statements submitted monthly by the yerbateros operators registered in the Institute's registry (producers, nurseries, dryers, mills, exporters).

The National Institute of Yerba Mate commissioned the study to the firm GEA Research For Strategy, which included 5,000 households in the country's capitals, consulted by telephone. The survey was aimed at knowing how much, who and how the traditional Creole infusion is consumed.

According to research, 92% of respondents choose to drink it with bombilla, 54% as cooked mate and the 14% as tereré, that is, fattened with water or juice with ice and yuyos. The one with a light bulb is more widespread among those over 21 years of age. Consumers of tereré (cold mate) are concentrated, mainly in the northeastern region of the country, where 70% of those who choose to cool off with this version of mate is registered..

Other data obtained by the survey indicates that the majority of those who live in the Northeast choose natural or bitter mate. On the other hand, 8 out of 10 interviewees affirm that yerba mate is a diuretic and a physical and mental stimulant.

The provinces of Corrientes and Misiones are the main producers of yerba mate (in Guarani: ka'á), they supply the entire country and even neighboring Nation-States. In a large part of this region, mate is drunk with a small amount of dry herb, and most people take it bitter. It is usually drunk in large, wide-mouthed containers called gourds. In addition, it is common throughout the region of the Argentine Coast to see people walking down the street drinking mate with the thermos under their arms and the mate in their hand, a cultural trait shared with southern Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay.. In turn, the Argentine Northeast is the central area of tereré consumption, an infusion consisting of: yerba mate, water with a lot of ice, and yuyos or "remedios" such as: horsetail, cocú, burrito, menta'í or peperina, lemon verbena, mint, etc. It is also common to take it with citrus juices or even with burnt cane instead of water.

It is not only one of the main products harvested and exported by Argentina, it is also one of the most consumed in the interior of the country and a mark of distinction of Argentine culture. Even so, there are both regional brands that dominate local markets in different regions of the country, and others specialized in "premium" production on a smaller scale. Despite the resistance of the most conservative in mixing yerba with other ingredients, firms such as Cachamai or CBSé specialize in the production of flavored mates (orange, lemon, grapefruit and even coffee), sweetened, dietetic, digestifs or mixed with other herbs, such as chamomile, boldo, peppermint, linden, or -to neutralize acidity- congorosa and balance the pH etc.

In 2012, a newspaper article estimated that 80% of the yerba mate market in Argentina was monopolized by ten producing companies, a group headed by by Establecimiento Las Marías (Taragüí, Unión, etc.) and Molinos Río de la Plata (Nobleza Gaucha, Cruz de Malta, etc.) and also made up of several cooperatives. On the other hand, nine of them were installed in the northeast region of the country, in the provinces of Corrientes and Misiones, with the exception of Molinos Río de la Plata.

Syria is its main buyer and other markets for the export of Argentine mate are Chile, the United States, Spain, Bolivia, Brazil and Uruguay.

It is so widespread in Argentina that there are two places where the National Mate Festival is celebrated, one in the Cordoba town of Colonia Italiana, and another in the city of Paraná, in the province of Entre Ríos, while in the missionary city of Apóstoles the National Yerba Mate Festival is celebrated.

November 30 was established as National Mate Day, in commemoration of the birth of the Guarani commander Andresito Guasurarí (1778-1821).

Bolivia

Silver Mate made in the centuryXVIII in the Province of Charcas.

In Bolivia, mate and tereré are most commonly consumed throughout the Department of Tarija and in the Bolivian Chaco, which includes the departments of Santa Cruz and Chuquisaca, territories with strong Guarani influence and presence, and it is also consumed in a lower percentage in other regions, due to its geographical location and exchange with the neighboring country of Argentina since the Viceroyalty (there was great exchange between Tucumán and southern Bolivia since the first Spanish settlements), and other regions, although to a lesser extent, although it is possible to find yerba mate in the markets of all cities today. In fact, the current Poro, where the drink is drunk in the southern cone, owes its name to the Quechua word puru. Bartolomé Arzáns de Orsúa y Vela in his book History of the Imperial Villa of Potosí in the XVIII century, describes the benefits that yerba mate provided to the indigenous people who exploited the Cerro Rico de Potosí, and how in the houses of the powerful miners they were consumed in silver and gold mates, embedded with details of precious stones.

It is unusual to find yerba mate in the Andean region of Bolivia where the product can only be purchased in certain markets and especially in supermarkets, although in this region it is possible to purchase and consume mate de coca (coca tea bags or also coca leaves with hot water), mate made from other herbs such as lemon verbena, mint, lemon balm, chamomile, anise, etc., are also consumed, being these expanded throughout the country.

The consumption of tereré is not very deep-rooted, but its consumption is maintained in the eastern part of the country, such as the departments of the plain in the Amazon and Chaco region; Santa Cruz, Beni, Pando and also in Tarija and in the Gran Chaco for having a vegetation and climate similar to the Paraguayan, Brazilian and northern Argentine geography.

Chile

In Chile, the English navigator John Byron wrote in the 18th century about mate practices in Chile:

"There is the custom to take the tea of Paraguay twice a day, which, as I have already said, call mate: they bring it in a great silver sheaf, of which they raise four feet destined to receive a tacit made of a guaranted squid of silver. They start by pouring the yerba into the pumpkin, adding the sugar they want and some orange juice; immediately, they pour hot water, and drink it through a bulb, which consists of a long silver tube, to which end there is a round colander, which prevents the yerba from passing. And you have a courtesy sample that the lady chupe first about two or three times the light bulb and will immediately serve it without cleaning it to the guest"

John Byron

In the 19th century the British sailor Basil Hall described that:

"It is customary to always accept these invitations, to which it is not possible to get away without missing the conveniences, and society, as numerous as it may be, is served in common from the same bulb and thus passes hand in hand. A well-known gentleman of mine, was very fond of this drink and had bought a light bulb for his personal use; the people he visited were offended by the repugnance he demonstrated, and was forced to give up and follow the country's custom."

Basil Hall

Over time, the English influence and the habit of everyone using the same bombilla regardless of the number of drinkers, a custom that shocked European immigrants, gradually determined that the mate ritual was replaced by the consumption of imported tea from India and China. Added to these factors is the exorbitant increase in the price of yerba from 1810. This is how the long afternoons of mate, or "comadreos", where families and friends gathered to talk and share drinks, were gradually replaced by less lengthy conversations over a cup of tea. Finally, after years, the custom of mate was relegated to more dispossessed social classes or rural environments.

In Chile, since the XX century, the consumption of tea and coffee has left the urban level in second or third The custom of drinking mate is flat, presenting a large part of its consumption in the southern zone and in rural areas of the country where this practice was never forgotten. However, its consumption in the last decade has increased in the central area, especially at the hands of university youth and office workers.

Among the mate preparations with herbs, the mate preparation with dry rica-rica leaves and/or stems stands out.

Paraguay

During the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, this drink was drunk in a similar way to how it is done today, and it was already quite popular. This custom comes from the Avá people, who consumed it in a similar way but without the dishes that are available today, but using a pore or clay vessel without a light bulb, and straining the warm water between their teeth; although another version indicates that rather, he drank it as a tea, in a similar way to the current cooked mate.

Tereré, of Guarani origin (consisting of a mixture of cold water and crushed yerba mate and other refreshing herbs) is popular in the country and a large percentage of the population consumes it as much as "cooked mate". It is also customary in Paraguay, mainly in winter, to drink "sweet mate" (or coconut mate), which is prepared with hot sweetened milk (or with melted sugar), water and grated coconut instead of yerba mate.

Uruguay

Heístorica display of colonial-style mates cured at the Cabildo Museum in Montevideo

Mate is considered a national drink in Uruguay, it is the country with the highest per capita consumption of yerba mate worldwide, with a consumption per person of 8 kilograms per year (Argentina has a consumption of 6.2 kg per year). The consumption of mate is one of the most widespread customs throughout the country, both in rural and urban areas, as well as through all social classes.

Mate in Uruguay is drunk hot and bitter, and it is made up of a set of pieces: the water is kept in a thermos that maintains its heat, the yerba mate is deposited in a container also called mate that is obtained from the gourd (the plant Lagenaria siceraria); and the water is absorbed by a bulb.

One of the most characteristic aspects of its consumption in Uruguay is the ritual of mate and its social function; The mate is generally consumed in a circle, that is, in a group, with a cebador who is in charge of preparing it and adding the water so that the rest of the members consume it in turn and in a clockwise direction, this It is an ancient tradition of indigenous or rural origin, but which has remained intact to this day.

Table details The three Chiripás, by Juan Manuel Blanes (1881), which represents a gaucho of the centuryXIX taking mate.

Its important cohesive function in Uruguayan society was described as follows by the Uruguayan anthropologist Daniel Vidart

"The mate, in his own way, pairs the social classes, because they all belong. They drank it patterns and pawns in the patriarchal wheel of the other; heads and soldiers in the revolutionary vivacs; masters and slaves in the flowery courtyards of the colonial temples. And in all times it was the mate who made the wheel and not the wheel that brought to the mat. "

Daniel Vidart

Different types of thermos, mates and materas, left at the entrance of a museum in Uruguay

Since 1920 Uruguay has imported practically 100% of the yerba mate it consumes commercially, however the Ilex Paraguariensis plant grows naturally in the mountain forests from Uruguay; currently there are projects under development for the small-scale commercial production of yerba mate in eastern Uruguay.

Since 1978, the Museo del Gaucho y la Moneda has been operating in the center of Montevideo, which has the largest exhibition of mates and bombillas in the country, with specimens dating from the time of the Viceroyalty to the present day, some of which are which belonged to important figures in Uruguayan history or stand out for their artistic or decorative work.

Brazil

It is widely consumed in the South of Brazil, where it is part of the Gaucho traditions. It is also taken in the Southeast and Midwest. The term chimarrão is used in Brazil, although it is a term derived from the Spanish word 'cimarrón', which refers to domesticated cattle that have returned to the status of wild fauna.

In southern Brazil, the "companion" It is commonly served as a "community drink," although some fans drink it all day, even when alone. Frequent consumption, especially when the family gets together, practically becomes a treat for visitors or guests when they arrive: it is a symbol of southern hospitality for those who arrive as guests at a house in this region, since they are invariably given welcomes with a gourd of mate.

Mediterranean Levant

Statue of a man preparing mate, in Posadas, Misiones, Argentina.

Mate also has a certain tradition in the Levant area (the Sham), that is, Lebanon, Syria and some areas of Jordan. In Syria, its consumption is concentrated in the Monte Druso region, the Salamíe area, the Coast and Calamún. The introduction of mate in the Levant would have begun with the great immigration from that country to Argentina that occurred between the the years 1850 and 1860, as recounted in 2010 by the manager of the Arab Argentine Chamber of Commerce, Pablo Fodaro. In the middle of the XX , in one of the many ups and downs of the Argentine economy, many of their children and grandchildren returned to Syria and introduced the custom of drinking mate.

When the Alawite minority took power in 1970, they acquired the habits of the rich, including drinking mate. However, most of this product is imported from America, since it is not produced locally. In 2009, for example, Syria bought all of its weed and was the largest importer by value and volume of it, with 71.2% and 67% respectively, of the total exported by Argentina. In 2010 it was estimated that Syrians consume around 1,200 tons of mate per month. In 2013, it became an essential drink for the rest of the fighters of the so-called Free Syrian Army, thanks to the fact that when capturing positions, in addition to weapons and equipment, they captured supplies of yerba mate from the regular forces.

Mate culture is deeply rooted in Tartús, Baniás, La Taquia, Sueda or Annabek, where it is generally served to guests, with or without sugar, always piping hot, and at any time of the day, while « the people of Damascus do not like this drink."

Properties

Sculpture of a pava and a mate, in the city of Oberá, in the province of Misiones (Argentina).

Its diuretic capacity explains a paradox of the gaucho diet until the beginning of the XX century: until then the inhabitants of the Rural areas of the Southern Cone used to have a high-protein diet without apparent counterbalance, which would have caused -in the most benign of cases- a very high concentration of uric acid, which would quickly be reflected in disabling conditions such as gout. However, the diuresis achieved by the high intake of mate counterbalanced the excesses of a high-protein diet.^{[citation needed]} Mate, on the other hand, has excellent antioxidants. According to the conclusions of a study carried out in the United States, the consumption of mate can reduce LDL cholesterol or "bad" cholesterol, while promoting the increase in HDL cholesterol or "good" cholesterol. Research states that it has properties that induce the activity of important antioxidant enzymes in the body; one of the most important is paraoxonase-1, which helps remove bad cholesterol and has cardioprotective effects; In the same way, mate helps to clean the intestines by promoting their motility. The mate also provides (especially if it is drunk by "priming" with a bombilla) high levels of xanthines and up to twelve beneficial polyphenols, among which chlorogenic acid and quercetin stand out. Its antioxidant conditions are similar to those of green tea, although mate is more nutritious since it provides vitamins B1, B2, B3, B5, C and E, as well as iron, magnesium, potassium and more than ten amino acids.

Another characteristic (currently almost anecdotal) was quite fortuitous: the criollo or gaucho combatants during the War of Independence obtained most of their water through the intake of infusions and mate decocts, thus the water was purified from much of the bacteria and possible parasites; Europeans (Spanish and mercenaries) who used to consider mate as something "barbaric" or "primitive" drank the waters without the necessary heating, which is why they frequently contracted parasitosis.

It is not addictive, and there have been no cases of insomnia due to it; which is due to the fact that mate is drunk well diluted in water and ―generally― among several people, and that in addition to all this, the Mate contains much less caffeine than tea, coffee, guarana or cocoa. It could also influence that it is preferably consumed in the time slot that goes from early morning to afternoon (until approximately 9:00 p.m.). On the other hand, the diuresis caused by mate quickly eliminates the metabolites of caffeine alkaloids.

Association with diseases

Brazilian folklorist Paixão Côrtes killing in Santana do Livramento, Rio Grande del Sur, Brazil (2007).

A previous study from Uruguay reported an increased risk of bladder cancer associated with excessive drinking of yerba mate. It is also suggested that the consumption of mate may become a risk factor for esophageal cancer, "if it is drunk at boiling point (100 °C or at a very hot temperature, this problem occurs with all foods if they are consumed very hot), due to the high temperature of the water" with which it is usually drunk, which —with the passage of time— can damage the esophageal mucosa.

Although it is obvious that if food is eaten or drunk at high temperatures in a chronic way, the high temperatures of ingestion can cause diseases of all kinds; such as cancers of the esophagus, stomach, tongue, lips and the entire upper digestive tract. This has been common in Japanese culture in which men drank green tea for prestige without being sufficiently cooled or warmed a few minutes before women drank it and this true ritual epidemiologically caused a very high incidence of stomach or colon cancer. esophagus among Japanese men who drank the tea brew at harmfully high temperatures. However, peoples as "materos" as the Argentine, Paraguayan and Uruguayan are free of statistics that really suggest a prominent presence of diseases caused by drinking mate.

A separate paragraph regarding possible toxicity deserves the massive industrial treatment of mate leaves; traditionally they are cancheadas, that is, dried in the sun without any artificial chemical addition, but commercial industries often artificially accelerate the desiccation of the leaves in a harmful way: A group of researchers from the National Cancer Institute (United States) and the Federal University of Santa Maria (Brazil) found that processed dried leaves and mate infusions made with eight different commercial brands they contained very high levels (from 8.03 to 53.3 ng/g of dry leaves) of the carcinogen polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH or PAH) (for example benzopyrene). These potentially carcinogenic compounds originate from the commercial drying process of yerba mate leaves, which involves the use of smoke from burning wood, similar to the case of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons found in meat. smoked. The study concludes that a "very high concentration of carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons was found in the mate in the yerba mate leaves and in the hot and cold infusions". excesses: mate is an infusion whose consumption is very beneficial and that only presents risks if it is drunk excessively or frequently at temperatures above 65 °C.

Preparation

Mate yerba packages, in crushed paper. Various brands, Argentina and Paraguay.

Metal bulbs, showing various systems and shapes, together with a match.

Electric jar with thermostat that heats water at the right temperature for a mate.

To prepare a primed mate, the yerba is placed in a container called mate or gourd, up to three quarters of it. Then it is covered with the hand, placed upside down and shaken (this causes the finer particles to remain on top, and not clog the bombilla). It is placed back on its back and a little lukewarm or cold water is added near the rim. Let it rest for a few seconds (until the water is absorbed) and finish filling with hot water, up to approximately 7 or 8 mm from the edge, taking care not to wet the grass on the surface (the hot water should be at a temperature close to 80 °C, before the boiling point). After one or two minutes, it is saddled, that is, the bombilla is placed, covering its mouth with the thumb and pressing firmly to the bottom. There always has to be more grass on the opposite side of the bombilla. Care must be taken not to stir the yerba too much, as this could clog the bombilla. The bombilla should be tilted in the opposite direction to where the dried yerba was left, that is, to the side that is going to drink the mate.

It is important to highlight the temperature that the water should have when brewing the mate. In several provinces of Argentina, the water temperature must be between 70 and 90 °C, that is, before it starts to boil. In the northeastern Argentine provinces, in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul in Brazil, as well as in Paraguay, cold mate is called "tereré" since it is filled with cold water or natural orange juice, for example.

Drinking mate has become a social habit that is often done together. That is to say that several people share the same mate, filling it completely for each drinker, where one of them acts as "primer". This primer is in charge of filling the mate and, as a round, passing it on to the next drinker.

Electric pava and matt wood.

It is also a very common habit to sweeten it. This can be done in two ways: one of them is to mix the sweetener with the water, with which a homogeneous flavor is achieved; and the other is to add the sweetener between barley and barley.

Containers

Lagenaria types according to their form.

From the same great fruit of Lagenaria (purungu) one can draw a 'match porongo', and one of the 'false pore' type.

Mate of the type ‘poro’ or ‘mate pera’.

Mate of the ‘false pore’ type, because in reality it is what remains of a ‘purungu’ when cut to make a ‘pergo’.

A 'mate porongo'.

Fruits of the Lagenaria called “galleta” (because it looks like the type of ordinary homonymous bread in the South American Cone) or “make cookie”.

‘Mate cookie’.

Mate of the type ‘porongo’.

Mate made of guampa or bull horn.

Mate made of native wood, brittle colored.

Mate made of native wood, holy stick.

History

The infusion of yerba mate taken with a bombilla is known as “mate”. The Guarani, who were the first to include this infusion in their gastronomy, called the infusion ka'aý, meaning: ka'á= “yerba mate” and y= «water». So ka'aý would mean «water with yerba mate». In turn, the container used to drink mate was called ka'ayguá in Guarani; guá = “recipient”; then a literal translation of ka'ayguá would be “recipient (to drink) yerba mate water”.

The reason why this infusion is called "mate" must be found in an ancient linguistic influence, similar to those that exist today. This is how, reviewing in History, we find that the Inca Empire influenced all the other peoples in the region both culturally and linguistically, among the peoples influenced by the Incas were the Guarani. The official language of the Inca Empire was Quichua or Quechua, and in the southern variety of Quichua the word mati is what the fruit of the Lagenaria plant, native to South America, has been called ever since.

Lagenaria Vulgaris and Lagenaria Siceraria are perhaps the best known of the South American lagenaria. The fruits of the lagenarias have been used as: food, an element to transport water or legumes and to drink mate with a bombilla, even since pre-colonial times.

The plants in question, the lagenarias, depending on the subvariety, bear different fruits that differ in size and shape. There are large fruits and other small ones, there are fruits that have a strangulation and others that have a more rounded shape. The towns belonging to the Inca Empire, among them the towns that inhabited what is currently the Argentine Northwest, distinguished various types of mati or mate. The small and rounded mati or shape that resembles a pear were called "puru". The larger mati, which present a natural strangulation and on one side a rather round section and on the other side another larger and rather oval section, were called "purungu". These terms ("mati", "puru" and "purungu") penetrated Guarani society, that of the Guarani-Jesuit Missions, and in general throughout the viceregal society of a large part of the American southern cone.

Types of mates

This is how the different ways of calling the fruits of Lagenaria Siceraria have come down to us today. These fruits are used today mainly to take the infusion of Ilex Paraguariensis, better known by its vernacular name "yerba mate". Therefore, the terms "mate", "poro" and "porongo" are Quichua words that have reached our days. Each region of the southern cone has its own way of using these words when referring to the different mates (containers for drinking mate) made from Lagenaria. However, there are names that are technically correct and others that are not. Below are the technically correct names to name each container of mate, fruits of the lagenarias, according to the shape of the fruit called "mate" and according to the cut that is made.

• Poro: word that comes from the chichua puru. It is used to refer to a small-to-medium mate, which is similar to a pear but somewhat more round. It is also called "mat pera" for its shape compared to that of a pear (fruit). There are the "false pores" that are actually what remains when making the cut to do a porongo type mate, sometimes cut a little higher than normal.

• Porongo': word that derives from the chichua purungu. The Guaraní in their own language called Yeruá (jeru'a, in Guaraní graph) what in Quechua was called purungu. This Quechua root word is used to call a mate bigger than the "poro" type. It has a narrower base than the mouth, which is always wide, and just before the mouth has a natural strangulation. It is also sometimes called "cathioner tomato" (for the fact that truckers usually use it for their long journeys because the more amount of yerba the math barley lasts longer), "beef tomato" or "small mouth".

“Mate” is the word that derives from the Quichua mati. It is used to name all the fruits of Lagenaria-type plants, regardless of their size or shape. Includes porongos, gourds, cookies, etc. By extension and over time, this word has also been used to refer to the infusion of yerba mate that is drunk with a bombilla in a mate container, proper, or in any container made of some other material such as native wood or glass.

Currently and depending on the region of South America, the words «mate», «porongo» and «poro» are used in different ways and to refer to different objects. In the Southern Cone all these words are associated with the infusion of yerba mate, the mate. Although some are encouraged to call the mate itself (the fruit) "gourd mate" or "pumpkin" the original, more appropriate and technically correct name of the mate (the container) is "mate" or "mati".

Other types of traditional dunks

By extension, currently the word «mate» is applied to any container that has been made to drink mate with a bombilla, regardless of whether it is primed in one of the pore type, in one of the porongo type, in a spout of gourd, in one of the biscuit type (those mates whose shape resembles a 'field biscuit', a type of somewhat flattened bread, and normally used to drink bitter mate), in a native wood mate, in a mate made of bull guampa, or in some made of other more modern materials and less in keeping with tradition.

So among the other traditional mates we find the different types of biscuit mate, and mates made from native wood.

Mate served in a grapefruit.

There are various types of "mates" containers to prepare the infusion. The most traditional, already used by the Guarani indigenous people, and which is still valid today, is the "pumpkin mate" or "porongo mate" made by hollowing out the fruit of said cucurbit. Due to the irregularity of the fruits, they usually have added elements for their stability and better support, avoiding the tipping of the contents: some versions have a base ring and metallic and removable legs, while others are covered in leather and the support legs are made in this same material. Other simpler additions to stabilize the container are usually bases made of woven leather, but independent of the mate. Many of the gourd bowls also have a metallic lining in the mouth, to support the bombilla and to prevent the edge of the container from being damaged by humidity and use. Both the fruit or gourd and the metallic pieces of protection can be carved with floral, traditional or rural motifs, in an artisanal way. More sophisticated versions have elaborate feet made of metal (silver, nickel silver, etc.) or even covers in this same material. Leather-covered gourd mates can also be worked with guards, colored or treated to give texture.

• 

  Mate with mouth in the proximal region.

• 

  Mate with the mouth that removed the distal region.

• 

  Metal leg holder.

A rudimentary version is the “mate de cane” or “mate de tacuara” made with cut and polished pieces of sugar cane, taking advantage of the natural sections of the cane as the base of the container. Although they may have decorative carvings, they are usually simpler. Also in rural areas specialized in livestock, the “mates de asta” (also known as “guampa”) and the “mates de pezuña”, made with said parts of the bovine, hollowed out and treated taking advantage of the qualities of the bones of the cattle, are characteristic. animal.

Different types of mate.

In addition to the gourd container, another major variant is the «wooden mate», generally worked in palo santo, carob, ñandubay, or quebracho; It is recommended to use hard and seasoned wood, and resistant materials, treated so that they do not suffer the action of termites or other insects, which may be hidden in the piece being worked, and which become visible later, when they cross the walls of the container. This variant of the mate is presented both with the wood left exposed, raw or polished and painted, as well as in versions covered in metal or leather. Some artisans take advantage of more exotic varieties of wood to work on luxury pieces.

Other non-traditional materials

There are certain non-traditional mates (containers) made of non-traditional materials such as: glass, ceramic, wide-tacuara, metal, guampa (horn), etc. In addition, there are mates made in Russia from Siberian linden wood.

Already in viceregal times, the “metallic mate” was preferred among the wealthier classes, which in its most luxurious versions was made of handcrafted silver. Some variants include a bulb already attached as part of the container, and a foot worked as part of the piece. In the Río de la Plata there is a silverware market that includes mate among the most traditional works carried out. On the contrary, in Paraguay the metallic mate is very common, it is made in aluminum and copies the shape of the guampa or cow's horn; and to protect the hands from the heat of the metal, it is usually lined with leather.

There are countless less widespread versions of the mate container. An inexpensive variant is the "mate jarrito", a simple enameled metal cup with one or two handles, necessary to avoid burns, since the material is highly conductive of heat. They are usually small and used personally, since the small amount of yerba they can receive is insufficient for a group mateada. Another more urban version of the container is the "ceramic mate" made of glazed ceramic, a material with acceptable thermal insulation, although it is a variant that is rarely used and is usually made with inscriptions, drawings, or legends, both advertising and related to some event. or celebration.

Lastly, there are “plastic mates”, although this material is usually rejected by the most conservative drinkers. There are both mates with a double bottom, designed to improve thermal insulation due to the thinness of the plastic walls, and the "ready mate": a plastic thermos that includes a cavity to place the yerba with a built-in and fixed light bulb to drink directly of the thermos. A variant of the synthetic mattes is more recent and was designed in soft silicone.

Curing the container

The containers, when they are made of gourd or wood, must be cured before being used, so as not to transmit strange flavors to the drink and avoid the formation of bad odors. The curing of the mate lasts throughout the useful life of the container, it is said that "the mate is cured by priming."

There are many ways to cure.

First, the gourd is washed over and over again using only hot water, without adding anything else, until there is no trace of any substance, soil, smell, color or taste in the residual water.

Then the mate is left ready for a while before being used for the first time. The gourd is filled with the yerba that has already been used and is generally left to rest for 24 hours to 5 days and then repeats the process once more, removing the yerba, but without rinsing.

Used yerba is placed again to leave it one more day, thus leaving the mate cured, unless you are not satisfied with the aroma it adopted, for which you can repeat the last operation once more.

The bottom is scraped well to remove the remains of organic matter.

Another way to cure the pumpkin is directly with hot coals inside and then wash it.

The bombilla also needs a previous process before using it: it must be boiled for 10 minutes in water with 3 teaspoons of bicarbonate of soda.

Priming

The act of adding water to the infusion is called «cebar mate».

The task of the primer or primer is to keep the mate splendorous throughout the barley. That is why the term prime and not serve is used, since prime means to feed, foster, keep something running and sustain it, ready for use.

The way to dip the yerba is essential for the flavor to be good.

Do not wet all the grass. First you should pour the water near the bulb and then go wetting the rest. Some of them flatten the yerba a little so as to leave a hole to pour the water there so that it is less bitter and that no remains of yerba mate pass through the bombilla.

In this way it begins to wet right in the well that forms the bulb. A good primer never lets the bulb clog. One way to prevent the bombilla from clogging is to dip it in sugar the first time before placing it. Some people sweeten only the first mate like this. The grass is always moistened from the bottom up. Never let a lot of time pass between one barley and the other.

With each barley, a little more of the previously dry grass is wetted, to keep it tasty.

The water should not be much, it barely wets the yerba, the mate never fills up with water or the sticks float.

Matte language

The language of mate is a system of tacit signs that are traditionally made when drinking mate in the Southern Cone. You should avoid being confused with the vocabulary referring to mate.

Dunk

“Matear”, that is, drinking mate in “mate rounds”, is a whole ceremony with a specific “mate language”, although -as in all languages- there may be variations depending on the context and region.

Although in Argentina and Uruguay the phrase "a mate is not denied to anyone" is common, it will be seen that this expression is not absolute.

Saddle the mate

Saddling the mate is the act of removing some of the used yerba (not all) and adding some new yerba. With this, it is achieved that the mate maintains the flavor a little longer (if one does not want to prepare it completely again).

Silly mate

The initial mate that is given first to a person in a round of mate is called «mate del sonso» (zonzo: 'tonto') since such mate is considered too strong and still without the appropriate taste or aroma, is usually taken by the primer itself, or discarded. In Paraguay, when discarding the first mate, it is common to say that it is reserved for Santo Tomás, referring to the phenomenon by which the yerba absorbs the initial water, as if some invisible spirit was consuming it (drinking).

Give thanks

In Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, southern Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay, the primer is not thanked for each mate. When a person says "thank you" at the time of returning the mate to the primer, it means that he will no longer drink.

Stirrup Mate

The last mate that is drunk is called this way because the gauchos drank it after a round of mate before leaving on horseback, for this reason the stirrup mate is the one made in a rushed way, although with all the recommendations of a good mate.

Forms of offense when baiting

It is a serious offense that in a round of mate the primer or primer omits or "bridges" someone, such omitted person (or "no one" or "puenteada" or "punished one round") in the language of the mate is considered as totally despised. (In much of the Argentine and Uruguayan countryside, it is customary for the owner to drink the mate, and not necessarily the woman. It is considered offensive to drink other people's mate without permission).

In Paraguay the youngest of the group must drink the mate or tereré, and the first barley must be taken by Santo Tomas, the patron saint of the tereré (the guampa is well filled with water and waits for the herb to absorb almost all the There it is said that Saint Thomas has already "baptized" the drink and that it can proceed to drink) it is considered an offense for the minor of the group to drink the barley after the "baptism" by Santo Tomas for what he must offer first to the eldest of the group.

Letting the water boil and offering the mate too hot is an offensive behavior (it is drunk more or less hot depending on the region), since the guest burns himself, just as in some regions it is offensive to receive someone without offering him mate absolutely. In the Argentine song "Mirta, the return" (by Adrián Abonizio), popularized by Juan Carlos Baglietto in 1982, it is understood that the man who returns is not well received, among other signs, because he is not offered mate even if he is shown in.

A gesture of rejection towards someone can be ostensibly offering the mate with the bombilla pointing «backward» (in the opposite direction to whoever is going to receive that mate) for this there is the gaucho expression: «With bombilla backwards, pa' don't come back."

Drizzled mate or weeping mate, when the calabacilla or porongo (the mate container) is served externally overflowed by drops of the mate infusion, it means a hurry for the invited visitor to leave with such mate.

It can be considered a serious offense for the guest to drink the mate with cold water, as Martín Fierro said:

When I swore,

Although I do not trust him,

and said a friend of mine

that, of snatching and evil,

killed his wife from a stick

because he gave him a cold mate.

Long Dunk

It is called «long mate», «lengthen the mate» or «sleep the mate» when someone retains the mate for a relatively long time before delivering it to the person who is drinking it.

Another use that is given to long mate is that the mate takes a long time to be drunk and returned because the mate has little yerba and a lot of water, or the container is too big. The cebador can prepare and drink a long mate on purpose, as he says in José Larralde's milonga, Mi viejo mate galleta:

In your green belly

How many landscapes I looked

How many verses hilvané

while enjoying your bitterness

How many times did I make you long

And you knew why.

Vocabulary

• "Raw water": the water warmed to the point of preparing a mate, this is usually between 60 to 80 °C, in the pava (or boiler) this is noticed when it begins to "swell" by steaming and forming small air bubbles in the bottom of the container.
• "Water burnt": the water that has entered the boiling point (usually at 0 msnm, the boiling temperature is at 100 °C). It is usually called: "make your guri" (make your child), "be burned" or "be boiled".
• "Amargo": unsweetened mate, by extension such term is occasionally used as a synonym for the action to kill; more common in few parts of Argentina, and especially in Paraguay, Uruguay and southern Brazil. Most often: "Take some bitters", this action only indicates taking mate of the bitter type.
• "Bostear and saddle": method used when the mate is washed; first, it refers to removing approximately 1/3 of the already used yerba and introducing, then, new, in order for the mat to resume taste.
• «Calace»: term used in some parts to designate the vessel or container in which the mate is served.
• "Cebadura": yerba necessary to fill the mat once.
• "Cebar": it is the action to put water at the right temperature on the mat, on the grass.
• "turn the bulb" or "[bombilla] turned around": tell the action to change the bulb to a position opposite the original, keeping the taste for longer.
• "washed": it is a characteristic of matt, it refers to when the barefoot loses its taste for having already been used for some time or having been blinded a certain variable amount of times. For example, "This mate is washed."
• «Mate de gurí» (in Argentina: mate de hijo)^{[chuckles]required]} a bit tasteful since it is prepared with "burned water" that is to say: water that has come to boil.
• "Mate": type of bag where you can take the mat next to the thermos, so that they remain in vertical position so that neither the grass nor the hot water falls. This term is used especially in Uruguay; in Argentina it is also known as "termera" or "portatermo".
• "Matera" is also called to a room located next to a galpoon or separated from the house, where the gauchos gather to take mate or to have lunch. It is usually sparsely furnished, although it has a stove or fireplace to heat water for matt and roast meat. It is also used to accommodate temporary workers.
• «Piscina», «empantanado», «palangana» or «sopa»: tell when the water completely covers the grass.
• "Monticle" or "mountain": it refers to the remnant of the mate, to be used in the "round" action with unused yerba, to keep the mound allows to have a mate that lasts longer without washing.
• "Bombilla tapada" or "mat tapado": in reference to the difficulty or to the impossibility of suction by the bulb.

Infusion variants

Bitter mate

In some parts of the Southern Cone it is preferred to drink bitter mate, especially in Paraguay, Uruguay, southern Brazil, Argentina and Bolivia (department of Tarija and the Gran Chaco). It is the most common way to drink mate. It is also known as cimarrón (chimarrão, in Brazil).

Sweet mate

The difference with the bitter mate is that sugar is added to each barley to suit the drinker. This form of preparation is widespread in a few regions of Bolivia in the Chaco de Santa Cruz, in Chuquisaca and in the department of Tarija, in Argentina, such as in the province of Santiago del Estero, Córdoba (Argentina), Cuyo, Metropolitan Region of Buenos Aires Aires, among others. In Chile, this form of mate preparation is widespread in rural areas. The teaspoon of sugar or honey should fall to the edge of the ditch formed by the bombilla in the yerba, not all over the mate. A variant is to sweeten only the first mate to cut the bitterness of the first, thus softening the subsequent ones.

In sweets, artificial sweeteners are also often added, both for health problems such as diabetes, and for taste. As an alternative sweetener, the natural ka'á he'é (Stevia rebaudiana) is preferable, which is one of the herbs whose leaves are added to give a sweet touch. It is used mainly in Paraguay. In Peru it is widespread in rural areas, and it is prepared with coca or sweet tea style with small slices of lemon or orange.

The gourd where cimarrón mate is taken is not used to consume the sweet, since there is a tradition that the taste of sugar would harm its later use to prepare bitter mate, it is said that the flavor of the mate is spoiled.

Milk tea

The difference with the bitter mate is that instead of priming with water, it is made with milk and sugar. This variant has the disadvantage of not being able to easily clean the bombilla and the mate, which is why different ones are usually used than those of the traditional variants. In Paraguay, it is also customary to prepare what is called "sweet mate" there, which is prepared with hot sweetened milk (or with golden sugar), changing the yerba for grated coconut, or first putting yerba and grated coconut on it.

Mate with other herbs

It is possible to add other herbs (“yuyos”) to the infusion (both to the water with which the mate is brewed and directly to the yerba mate) to give it a different flavor or for medicinal purposes. It is common to add herbs with digestive or sedative properties, for example: coca, peperina, pennyroyal, lemon balm, lemon balm, mint, horsetail, congorosa (which decreases the PH acidity of the mate), incayuyo, donkey tea, wormwood, carqueja, anise, etc.

In Paraguay, this drink is consumed almost 90% with medicinal herbs or weeds native to the region, which the Guarani indigenous people already knew and used. The variety of herbs added is wide, including anise, wormwood, senna, flax seeds, boldo, chamomile, jaguar ka'a, eucalyptus leaves, mint leaves, suico, siempre vive, saffron, caña brava, pynó gusú rapó, doradilla, urusu he'ê, borage, subtle lemon, mauve, yate'i ka'a and others.

Tea mate

Tea mate is considered another variant of sweet mate; It is not made with yerba mate and is very common in the province of Entre Ríos and Uruguay and very popular among children and adolescents. As its name indicates, it is prepared with tea (usually black) and lemon as the main ingredients; The mate gourd is not used, but some container similar to a cup (since there is a tradition that says that sweet mate and tea would spoil the flavor of the gourd), what they have in common is that bombilla is used. Optionally, a wide variety of ingredients can be added, some "yuyos" or herbs being popular, such as mint, lemon verbena, boldo, linden, and chamomile. It is also popular to add some other additives such as orange peels or slices of this same fruit, apple pieces, grated coconut (Paraguayan influence), or there are even those who like to add banana peels (Brazilian influence), among others. Once the ingredients have been selected and placed in the cup, add the hot water accompanying each sugar barley (or some sweetener if preferred). It is a tradition for this type of mate to take it during "naps" during the winter, due to the fact that the water is a little hotter than the traditional mate (between 80 and 90 °C) and also due to the digestive properties of the tea with lemon and the "yuyos" normally used. It is not related to yerba mate. What it does have in common is sharing it, hot water and the light bulb.

Monument to the Mate in the Department of San José, Uruguay.

Terere

Tereré (a word of Guarani origin) is a traditional drink, widely consumed in Paraguay and some Argentine provinces (the northeast and Entre Ríos).

It is traditional from Paraguay where it is considered a cultural icon and declared an intangible cultural heritage of humanity by Unesco.

A form of tereré, consisting of a mixture of very cold water with yerba mate, natural refreshing remedies (medicinal herbs) and ice. As herbs, mint (Mentha arvensis), peppermint, lemon verbena (Aloysia triphylla), burrito, koku (Allophylus edulis) are usually used. >, the horse's tail or the lemon peels.

The other form of tereré consists of putting yerba mate and ice in a metal container three fingers high. Prepare in a jug or thermos juice of various flavors orange, lime, lemon with plenty of ice and prime it.

The yerba mate is macerated in cold water and provides a pleasant drink due to its refreshing effect, especially on days with high temperatures, thus avoiding the drawbacks of boiled (cooked) mate. This modality is also used in the Pampean region of Argentina.

Cooked mate

Cooked mate (chá mate, in Portuguese) is an infusion. The yerba mate is boiled in water, strained, and served in a cup. It is a drink that replaces coffee at breakfast or snack. It is consumed in Bolivia, Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay. Several companies offer yerba mate packaged in sachets, similar to tea bags, or even cooked mate in soluble form. In Paraguay, mate or tereré is consumed culturally with medicinal plants such as cat's nails, dandelion root, etc.

Coconut tea

Coconut mate, called sweet mate in its country, is a traditional drink from Paraguay. It is prepared with milk, burnt sugar and grated or crushed coconut. It is not the same as the sweet mate from northeastern Argentina, which uses yerba mate with sugar. For its preparation, the sugar is caramelized over low heat with the addition of milk. It can be consumed with cinnamon or toasted orange peel. Together with the cooked mate, it is one of the most traditional infusions, and only this type of mate is accompanied with cookies, croissants, and chipa cuerito, among others. Other forms of preparation can include skimmed milk and sweetener. You can accompany the grated coconut with key ingredients such as mbocayá or ground peanuts. It is consumed in cold times and there are varieties of sweet mate in Paraguayan cuisine: the best known are those with cinnamon, vanilla, anise or portions of honey.

Soda

During the XX century, on various occasions, some companies produced soft drinks based on yerba mate, although until now success has been insignificant. The first brand that launched the mate flavor in Argentina was Ricky's Soft Drinks in the sixties. Other brands were Che Mate, which San Isidro Refrescos introduced in 2002, and Harlem Mate, whose flavor was washed, cold and sparkling mate. In November 2003, Coca-Cola Argentina launched the Nativa brand, in which it invested 4 million pesos (1.4 million US dollars). Nativa did not reach the expected commercial objectives (sell some four million liters a year) and was withdrawn from the market.

The most probable explanation for the low acceptance of these drinks is due, perhaps, to the fact that the so-called "colas" are imposed on consumers as stimulant soft drinks; and because in terms of mate, the population of the Southern Cone has been and continues to be of traditionalist tastes.

There are mate sodas in countries like the United States, Germany and Cuba; in the latter, Ciego Montero is a brand that is also sold in the mate-flavored variety. In Germany, there is the soda Club Mate, based on yerba mate; is very popular among young people since the turn of the XXI century, especially among students and hackers, and often It is sometimes called "Hackerbrause" ("hacker soda"). Another soda based on mate is MateO, invented by the Argentinian Enrique Zanoni, with great success in the summer of 2015 in Paris.

Refreshing mate

In some cafés in Paris and Brazil, cold cooked mate is offered in disposable containers. In French it is called "maté" .

In the fifties in Rio de Janeiro one of the most popular drinks was the frozen cooked mate, prepared at home and marketed by street vendors on the beaches. The popularly known "Brazilian tea" began to be produced industrially. The first company to do so was Leão Junior S.A., which introduced the “Matte Leão soon to drink” product to the market. The company currently makes its product in 0.3, 0.34, 0.5 and 1.5 liter containers in different flavor versions: natural, lemon, peach, apple and diet.

In 2009, the CADE (Administrative Council for Economic Defense), the antitrust division of the Brazilian Ministry of Justice, approved the purchase of Leão Junior S.A. by the Coca-Cola company. The acquisition process had begun in March 2007. The merger was approved on the condition that Coca-Cola divest its stake in the BPW company, a consortium with Nestlé, manufacturer of the Nestea brand of iced teas.

Syrian Mate

Mate was brought to Syria by Arabs who lived in Argentina for many years and returned to their country of origin during the XX century. They would have also carried the custom of adding sugar to the mate. Thus, in the south of Syria, in the Daraa region, as well as in the North, in Latakia, the ingestion of mate is very popular, but in a different way from how it is consumed in the Southern Cone. They use a small glass cup (of the kind that is also used for tea) with yerba mate up to half and a small bombilla. They don't share the glass. For each drinker there must be a different glass (this is a big difference from the mate tradition in South America, where mate is generally shared).

They load hot water and a teaspoon of sugar and stir it up. The hot water kettle is available in the center of the table. Every time they renew the water they add a new teaspoon of sugar. The herb is easily found in the pantries of Daraa, and they are mostly of Argentine and Paraguayan origin, with labels in Arabic.

Yerba mate beer

The Brazilian beer manufacturer Dado Bier launched the first beer with yerba mate, under the trade name Ilex. In addition to yerba mate, it contains hops, mineral water, ferments and a mixture of malts. It has a greenish color, low fermentation and a medium alcohol content (7°).^{[citation required]}