Fair play., 1892-06-11
A NATIVE AMERICAN TEA.
Mate Is Its Name, and Hosts of People
iEa

| q tribune reporter the other day. as h,
handed him curiouslv- shaped bowl
full of IL thin. browni-h liquor, with
something that looked like IA tobacco.
pipe resting in it, bowl downward. The
reporter put his lips to the stem Of the
| pipe and sucked at it cautiously
What is it," he asked 1T tastes
| like weak tea"
That's just what it is" answered
| the merchant. but it's brand of tea
| nj pretty sure You never tasted before
| That'a Il genuine American tea; grown
in America. cured in America indigen-
Gus to America and consumed in large
| quantities for years by hundreds OF
thousands of americans; and yet ri be
bound You never heard Of it."
Perhaps not. admitted the reporter
ruan,cdlv. what state is it raised in!
Is som" fnurstnry brick tea farm down
here. in Water street responsible for it?
Willow leaves. arsenic and Il patent cs-
scnCc Of thcinc. or something of that
sort ch?''
Not at all, said the merchant. Il lit
tie indignant. Its perfectly genuine
and unadultcratcd article. Its native
state is Paraguay. and that country
raises enough for its own consumption
and five millions pound, annually for
export 10 other South American roun-
tries
80. South American" exclaimed the
reporter. You miSl"d me bY saying
American"
Did r." said the mrrchan, >areas-
tically. And why pray? That's one
of the annoying pcculiariti,.> of this
people. They're too conccit"d ~ get
themselves a distinctive name, but in a
lordly way dub themselves Americans
They speak of Brazilians. Canadians
Chilians. P.raruayans and the other
millions of Americans as if they had no
right 10 that title at all
But ahuu, the tea interrupted the
reporter apprchrnSivcly. What do you
call it,
''Matv is the name IF il" replied the
merchant, pronounced match. And
many South Americans are very fond
of it. Iou have just had the pleasure
of drinking it in the native manner.
That curious bowl is not made of papicr-
machc. rs yen may think, but is il guur,I.
trained into that shape while growing.
TIL, natives are experts in that line.
and by binding the green gourd here
and there with cords. or bending it one
way and another. they make it take a
diversity Of shapes before it brcgIncs
ripe enough la be cut. dried. sconprd
out and used as Il utcnSil. 1t will not
stand fire. of course: but the mate i
first put in the .rnurl. and then boiling
mcnts Il pipe or tuhc is inserted, and
the liquor is drawn off by suction.
What looks like the bowl Of the
pipe" continued the tea merchant. aS
he lifted it from the liquid and allowed
the reporter To examine it. ''iS i'll reality
a Straincr, which prevents the grounds
from reaching the mouth. 1t is made
in the shape of Il bulb or ball. and this
one is IA curiosity in its way. for it is all
woven by hand. in very fine mrShcS
from Il species of dried grass. Metal
ones are more common. and the rich
have silver straincr>. This is an old
style one. and value it on that account
1t is called bomblla. The natives
like their mate, as We would say. red
hot. Its effects is much the same rs
that of tea you are accustomed to. stn-
u!ating and restorative. and. of course,
has its enemies. who pronounce it slow
poison. and its friends. who call it the
Paraguayan equivalent for the cup that
cheers hut not. etc.
lis it real tea. botanically con
sidcrel?' persisted the skcptical re
porter.
We'll" if You come down to botany"
admitted the merchant. its really
species of holly. Hex Para@uayrnSi>. but
it contains in large proportions the con
stituent which makes other teas useful,
that of thcinr. Its leaves and green
shoots are collected, dried and ground
up unrvenly: that is, some of it gets to
h. Il fine powder in the rnurh method
of preparation. and then again You will
find twir> in il an inch long. \ large
of people get employment in its
growth. preparation and export, but |
am not aware that it finds Il market in
any but South American countries. -
y. Y. Tribune.