Also called Paraguay cayi, Paraguay tea, South American holly, matéteestrauch, erva-verdadeira, St. Bartholomew’s tea, Jesuit’s tea, hervea, caminú, kkiro, kali chaye, Ilex paraguayensis of the Aquifoliaceae family, yerba maté is an herbal tea claimed to have multiple medicinal and healthful properties.
Due to ever growing international popularity, the tree with its graceful, full-leafed branches, and white flowers that produce small red, black, or yellow berries, is now cultivated in other locations.
See What is Yerba Mate for additional details.
According to my package of yerba maté from Guayakí, the tea:
- induces mental clarity
- improves digestion
- regulates appetite
- increases endurance
- sustains energy levels
- boosts the immune system
- helps relieve allergies
- detoxifies the blood
A poultice of the leaves also is applied topically to anthrax skin ulcers (for which mate's tannin content - highly astringent - may be the reasoning behind this use).
Popular in Europe as a "pick me up" during the day, yerba maté is one of South America's favorite beverages. "According to a survey conducted by IBOPE Argentina, yerba mate boasts a 92% household consumption rate in Argentina." Yerba Mate - Aviva Ltd.
Traditionally, the dry leaves are placed in a cup, or gourd called a maté, then cold water is added to moisten the leaves and protect the nutrients and flavor. Next, hot water is added until all the leaves are covered. Rather than removing the leaves, you sip the tea through a straw called a bombilla which has a filter or strainer at the bottom to prevent the leaves going through the straw. (Sample bombillas and gourds). As you drink the tea, you add more water to the cup. See the step by step photos of preparation: How to prepare Yerba Mate by an avid yerba mate enthusiast.
It can be brewed cold for iced tea. The addition of lemon, mint, or sweetener to taste helps mask the "natural" flavor. It makes a great sun tea.
You can use milk instead of hot water, as is done for children. Successive additions of water extract all the beneficial properties.
Traditionally, unless you were a gaucho alone on the pampa, you shared your cup of tea with close associates and family.
Sharing the drink is a sign of friendship and bonding, and as such has a certain ceremonial aspect which is still observed and celebrated even though yerba maté bars are popular.
When making and sharing yerba maté, the host, or server, is the one to prepare and serve the tea. The server prepares the first cup, and drinks that. This is the strongest brew, and is fixed according to the host's taste, usually about three quarters of a cup of leaves. Next, the server prepares another cup by adding hot water to the cup, using the same leaves, and passes it to another.
When that person drinks down the cup, he or she passes it back to the server, who refills the cup, and passes it to the next person.
In this way, each person present drinks mate until all have been served, according to the Yerba Mate Sharing Rules, and/or until there is no flavor left to the infusion.
Sharing a common drinking cup and straw isn't at all hygienic, but when friendship and courtesy are at stake, what's a few germs?
If you've enjoyed a tradtional maté drinking experience, share it with us via the South America for Visitors Forum.
