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Maté is a tea-like beverage consumed mainly in Argentina,
Uruguay, Paraguay and southern Brazil. It is brewed from the dried leaves
and stemlets of the perennial tree Ilex paraguarensis ("Yerba Maté"). The
name "Maté" derives from the quichua word "matí" that names the gourd
(Lagenaria vulgaris) that is traditionally used to drink the infusion. The
scientific name Ilex paraguarensis was given by the French naturalist and
botanist Auguste de Saint Hilaire in 1822, the tree belongs to the family
Aquifoliaceae and grows between the parallels 10° and 30° (South) in the
Paraná and Paraguay rivers basins. It is a plant typical of the Alto Paraná
region, Alto Uruguay region and the Argentine NE. It is a tropical or
subtropical plant, needing high temperatures, high humidity and up to 1500
mm of annual rain. On average, 300,000 tons of Maté are produced each year.
In the wild, the plant needs about 25 years to develop completely, reaching
in that case a height of up to 15 meters. The leaves are alternated,
cuneiform, elliptical or oval, with the border slightly serrated. It flowers
between the months of October and December. The flowers are small,
polygamous, dioicous, with calix and corolla in a tetrameric disposition.
The fruit resembles a pepper berry. Among several varieties, there are three
that are the most important: "angustifolia", "longifolia" and "latifolia".
Maté has a characteristic mature flavor which is somewhat sweet, bitter,
withered leaf like, and alfalfa-like, similar to that obtained from tea
(Camellia sinensis). Of the 196 volatile chemical compounds found in Yerba
Maté, 144 are also found in tea. The infusions of Ilex paraguarensis are
less astringent than those made of tea.
It is used in popular medicine and employed in commercial herbal
preparations as a stimulant to the central nervous system, a diuretic, and
an antirheumatic.
Drinking Yerba Maté
Tea bags:
Hot tea: Pour one cup of hot (but not boiling!) water over one tea bag.
Steep 4-5 minutes or to desired strength. Can be used for two cups of tea.
Iced tea: Just add cold water and steep 5-8 minutes. No hot water required!
Try a tea bag in your sport bottle to give you that extra energy you need
after a tough workout.
Loose tea: When using a tea
ball or french press, use one teaspoon of yerba maté for each cup of water.
Steep 4-5 minutes or to desired strength. Either hot or cold water can be
used.
 Traditional:
When using a maté glass, gourd or other traditional South American
container, fill it a third of the way along one side of the container with yerba maté and insert the
bombilla. Then add hot (not boiling) water along the other side of the
container and wait for the yerba maté to become moist. When the water has
been absorbed, begin filling with fresh hot (but not boiling!) or iced cold
water. Promptly drink the maté glass dry, as loose yerba maté is very robust
and requires no steeping. The yerba maté will mellow with each refill of
water. The glass should be refilled 10-15 times until all of the nutrients
are extracted.
Novice yerba maté drinkers may want to start out with just a couple of
tablespoons. Also, resist the urge to stir the yerba mate with the bombilla!
This produces dust and makes for difficult drinking.
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Read
Why Yerba Maté is a
Valuable Staple,
and
Yerba
Maté: Unequaled Natural Nutrition
they
include nutritional information, its properties & effects, constituents,
history and many accounts
derived from this (and others) marvelous herb. (This is a PDF file
& requires the free
Acrobat Reader. Well worth the effort to view this fascinating 22
page report.)
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