The Guaraní people started drinking mate in the region that now includes Paraguay, southern Brazil,Uruguay, and north-east Argentina. The Guaraní have a legend that says that the Goddesses of the Moon and the Cloud came to the Earth one day to visit it but they instead found a Yaguareté (a kind of jaguar) that was going to attack them. An old man saves them, and, in compensation, the Goddesses gave the old man a new kind of plant, from which he could prepare a "drink of friendship".
There is another drink that can be prepared with specially cut dry leaves, very cold water and, optionally, lemon or another fruit juice, called "tereré". It is very common in Paraguay. Drinking and harvesting of Mate started in Paraguay in pre-Hispanic times. (Notice its scientific name, "Ilex paraguayensis".)
In Brazil the traditional "mate" or "cuia" is usually big with a corresponding large hole. In Uruguay and Argentina (especially in the capital, Buenos Aires) the mate is small and has a small hole, and people sometimes add sugar for flavor. In Bolivia and Peru, "mate de coca" is often sipped instead of ordinary mate.
In Uruguay there is even a national law that prohibits drinking "mate" while driving, because it caused many accidents of people getting scalded with hot water while driving. For the same reason, there is also a "forbidden to drink mate" sign in all public transportation buses.
In Uruguay and in the northeast of Argentina it is not uncommon to see people walking around the streets toting a "mate" and a thermos with hot water. In Montevideo, Uruguay’s capital, it is possible to see some construction worker drinking mate while riding his bicycle early in the morning, on his way to work. In some parts of Argentina, gas stations sponsored by "yerba mate" producers provide free hot water to travellers, specifically for the purpose of drinking during the journey. There are disposable mate sets with a plastic mate and bombilla, and sets with a thermos flask and stacking containers for the yerba and sugar inside a fitted case.
In Brazil, traditionally prepared mate is known as "chimarrão", although in areas near the border with Uruguay the word "mate" is also used. Nowadays, in Brazil, "mate" is often toasted with sugar and prepared in a similar manner to tea, a custom that originated in Paraguay. Supermarkets, restaurants and fast food chains sell "tea bags" and prepacked "iced tea" packages and bottles. In Argentina, "mate cocido" (cooked mate) is made with a teabag or leaves and drunk from a cup or mug, with or without sugar and milk.
At the beginning of the 21st century most urban Chileans are not mate drinkers, but travel narratives such as Maria Graham's Journal of a Residence in Chile [2003(1824):8], show that there is a long history of mate drinking in central Chile. Many rural Chileans drink "mate", in particular in the southern regions, particularly Chiloé and Magallanes, perhaps due to the influence of neighboring areas of Argentina.
According to a major retailer of mate in San Luis Obispo, California, by 2004 "mate" had grown to about 5% of the overall natural tea market in North America . Bottled iced mate is widely available in California.
Bear (disambiguation)
Bears are a group of large mammals. They form the family "Ursidae", in the order "Carnivora".
The word bear could also mean:
Yerba mate
Yerba mate, Ilex paraguariensis, is a species of holly (family Aquifoliaceae) native to subtropical South America. It grows in Argentina, southern Paraguay, western Uruguay and southern Brazil.
The yerba mate plant is a shrub or small tree. It can grow up to 15 meters tall. The leaves are evergreen, 7–11 cm long and 3–5.5 cm wide. They have a serrated margin. The flowers are small, greenish-white, with four petals. The fruit is a red berry 4–6 mm diameter.
The infusion called "mate" is prepared by steeping dry leaves (and twigs) of yerba mate in hot water, rather than boiling water like black tea or coffee. It is slightly weaker than coffee and much gentler on the stomach. Drinking mate with friends from a shared hollow gourd (also called a "mate" in Spanish, or "cabaça" or "cuia" in Portuguese) with a metal straw (a "bombilla" in Spanish, "bomba" or "canudo" in Portuguese) is an extremely common social practice in Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, southern Chile, eastern Bolivia and Brazil
Brewed yerba tastes a lot like vegetables, herbs, and grass. It is similar to that of some varieties of green tea. Many consider the flavor to be very agreeable, but it is generally bitter if steeped in boiling water. It is therefore made using hot but not boiling water. Unlike most teas, it does not become bitter and astringent when steeped for extended periods, and the leaves may be infused several times. Additionally, one can purchase flavored mate in many varieties.
In Brazil, a toasted version of mate, known as "chá mate" or "mate tea", is sold in teabag and loose form, and served, sweetened, in specialized shops, either hot or iced with fruit juice or milk. An iced, sweetened version of toasted mate is sold as a soft drink, with or without fruit flavoring. The toasted variety of mate has less of a bitter flavor and more of a spicy fragrance. It is more popular in the coastal cities of Brazil, as opposed to the far southern states where it is consumed in the traditional way (green, drunk with a silver straw from a shared gourd).
Similarly, a form of mate is sold in Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay in tea bags to be drunk in a similar way to tea. This is known in Spanish as "mate cocido" or "cocido". In Argentina this is commonly drunk with breakfast or as part of "merienda" (roughly, afternoon tea), often with a selection of "facturas" (sweet pastries). It is also made by heating yerba in water and straining it as it cools.
The plant is grown mainly in South America, more specifically in Northern Argentina (Corrientes, Misiones), Paraguay, Uruguay and southern Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina and Paraná). The Guaraní are reputed to be the first people who cultivated the plant; the first Europeans to do this were Jesuit missionaries, who spread the drinking habit as far as Ecuador.
When the yerba is harvested, the branches are dried sometimes with a wood fire, imparting a smoky flavor. Then the leaves and sometimes the twigs are broken up.
There are many brands and types of yerba, with and without twigs, some with low powder content. Some types are less strong in flavor ("suave", "soft") and there are blends flavored with mint, orange and grapefruit skin, etc.
Mate contains xanthines, which are alkaloids in the same family as caffeine, theophylline, and theobromine, well-known stimulants also found in coffee and chocolate. Mate also contains elements such as potassium, magnesium and manganese. Caffeine content varies between 0.3% and 1.7% of dry weight (compare this to 2.5–4.5% for tea leaves, and 1.5% for ground coffee).
Mate products are sometimes marketed as "caffeine-free" alternatives to coffee and tea, and said to have fewer negative effects. This is often based on a claim that the primary active xanthine in mate is "mateine". This is wrongly said to be a stereoisomer of caffeine (it is not chemically possible for caffeine to have a stereoisomer). "Mateine" is an official synonym of caffeine in the chemical databases. So mateine "is" caffeine.
Researchers at Florida International University in Miami have found that yerba mate does contain caffeine, but some people seem to tolerate a mate drink better than coffee or tea. This is because, caffeine aside, mate contains different chemicals from tea or coffee.