page_title: Mate (drink)
section_title: Culture
hierarchical_section_title: Mate (drink) / Culture
caption_attribution_description: Español: Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, ex presidente de la nación Argentina, con el Papa FranciscoDeutsch: Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, ex Präsidentin von Argentinien, mit Papst Franziskus, der eine Geschenk Kirchners (Behälter zum Trinken von Mate-Tee) in Händen hält.English: Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, ex president of Argentina, with Pope FrancisPortuguês: Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, ex presidente da Argentina, com o Papa Francisco
context_page_description: Mate or maté, also known as chimarrão or cimarrón, is a traditional South American caffeine-rich infused drink. It is made by soaking dried leaves of the yerba mate plant in hot water and is served with a metal straw in a container made from calabash gourd.
  Mate was consumed by the Guaraní and Tupí peoples. It is the national beverage of Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay and is also consumed in the Bolivian Chaco, Southern Chile, Southern Brazil, Syria and Lebanon, where it was brought from Argentina by immigrants.
  The yerba mate plant contains caffeine. Its leaves are dried, chopped, ground into a powdery mixture called yerba, which is then soaked in hot water.
  The metal straw is known as a bombilla and is traditionally made of silver. Modern straws are typically made of nickel silver, stainless steel, or hollow-stemmed cane. The bombilla functions both as a straw and as a sieve. The submerged end is flared, with small holes or slots that allow the brewed liquid in, but block the chunky matter that makes up much of the mixture. A modern bombilla design uses a straight tube with holes, or a spring sleeve to act as a sieve.
  The container the mate is served in is also known as mate.
context_section_description: Mate has a strong cultural significance both in terms of national identity and well as socially. Mate is the national drink of Argentina; Paraguay, where it is also consumed with either hot or ice cold water (see tereré); and Uruguay. Drinking mate is a common social practice in parts of Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and eastern Bolivia. Throughout the Southern Cone, it is considered to be a tradition taken from the gauchos or vaqueros, terms commonly used to describe the old residents of the South American pampas, chacos, or Patagonian grasslands, found principally in parts of Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, southeastern Bolivia, southern Chile and southern Brazil. Argentina has celebrated National Mate Day every 30 November since 2015.
  Parque Histórico do Mate, funded by the state of Paraná (Brazil), is a park aimed 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.
  Mate is also consumed as an iced tea in various regions of Brazil, originating both from an industrialized form, produced by Matte Leão, and from artisanal producers. It is part of the beach culture in Rio de Janeiro, where it is widely sold by beach vendors; the hot infused variation being uncommon in the area.
caption: Pope Francis holds a guampa and bombilla given as a gift while speaking with Cristina Fernández de Kirchner
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