Mate tea. A beverage. A health cocktail. A way of life.
Mate will probably be different from any other drink you've ever had.
you have met, distinguish them, in taste as well as in type and
How to drink mate.
What is mate tea?
What is mate?
Mate comes from Matí, a Guaraní word meaning drinking vessel. The Guaraní, who discovered the wonderful effects of yerba mate leaves on the human body, always drank them from their Matí. Mate became the established term for this infusion, in which, similar to tea , the leaves of the yerba mate tree (Yerba/Erva) are steeped in hot or cold water. The Yerba/Erva mate is placed in a mate cup and then topped up with water. This invigorating brew is then drunk through a special filter tube called a bombilla . Due to the way it's drunk, its taste, and its effects, mate tea is probably unlike any other beverage you've ever tasted.
Ingredients of mate tea
Mate tea combines the beneficial properties of tea (antioxidants), chocolate (theobromine), and coffee (caffeine) in one beverage. This is why the people of South America, where the mate tree grows and where the culture of this drink originated, know this. Every day there begins with a mate, the drink of the gods. It revitalizes people, provides them with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, and invigorates both body and mind. Those who drink mate start the day alert and energetic, focused, creative, and relaxed all at once.
This unique effect could not be ignored, and mate spread rapidly, especially throughout Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, and southern Brazil. Here, the mate leaves were even used as currency in some places, earning them the nickname "green gold." Its spread continued, first to Peru, Bolivia, and Chile, then across the continent to Europe and Asia.
Mate tea is coming to Germany
While in South America mate almost always refers to the combination of a mate straw , a mate vessel , and the steeped mate leaves , a new form developed in Germany as early as the beginning of the 20th century: mate as a soft drink. As early as 1906, the first mate-flavored soft drink, "Yermeth," appeared on the market, the forerunner of today's well-known Club-Mate. It took about 100 years for mate-flavored soft drinks to achieve widespread popularity. Since the beginning of the 21st century, this mate craze, originating from high culture, has been underway. There are now more than 50 different mate-flavored soft drinks, and new ones are added every year. Many young people today associate mate not with the hot mate infusion, but with mate-flavored soft drinks.
Mate tea, as the mate infusion is often called, is not strictly speaking tea ; the mate tree has nothing to do with the tea plant. It grows as a natural part of the Atlantic rainforest. Unfortunately, since the 19th century, mate has also been cultivated in monocultures. This not only harms nature but also the local people and animals, who are exposed to chemical pesticides. Furthermore, the quality suffers; a large proportion of mate varieties/teas are contaminated with pesticides, and the strong sunlight causes a high acidity in the leaves, which is not well tolerated by the human body. Therefore, when buying mate, it is important to ensure that it is organic, ideally sourced from mixed forests, and fair trade. We at caámate offer only such varieties: organic, fair trade, and shade-grown.
I've also included a few mate terms with brief explanations and a preparation video. This is just a small selection of mate vocabulary. A mate glossary will follow shortly on this page.
In conclusion, the term "mate" can refer to different things. "Der Mate" can mean either the mate drinking vessel or the prepared mate. "Die Mate" can also refer to the mate leaves used in the mate or simply to a mate-based soft drink.
Mate terms
• Mate – prepared mate, mate tea, mate drinking vessel,
• Mate lemonade
• Mate tree – Ilex paraguariensis
• Mate round – A group of friends passing around a mate drink.
• Matero/a – Mate drinker
• Mate cocido – mate leaves brewed like regular tea
• Yerba Mate – Mate leaves for mate
• Erva Mate – Mate leaves for mate
• caá mate – original name for the mate leaves
How is mate tea prepared?
How to prepare your perfect mate tea with a French press – A step-by-step tutorial video
