MATE & Yerba MATE
MATE is one of the most popular traditions in Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Chile, and Brazil. People drink MATE using special cups made out of gourds, wooden cups, and stainless steel cups, Yerba MATE (tea leaves) and sip through a metal Bombilla straw.
Yerba MATE (pronounced yer-BAH mah-TAY) is a tea plant (Ilex paraguariensis) that grows mainly in the north of Argentina, Paraguay, and Brazil. It is known as plant-based energy which has a positive effect on mental and emotional health.
Drinking soulMATE guarantees motivation and energy for the day thank to its slow release caffeine content. It increases energy and focus, favoring a better performance in daily activities that require concentration and alertness, such as study, work, or physical activities. Sometimes the peak and crash effect you get from coffee can be too strong; while Yerba MATE “awakens” people in a gradual and pleasant way. Its energizing effect comes from nature itself.
MATE also contains theophylline which is used to prevent and treat wheezing, shortness of breath, and chest tightness caused by asthma, chronic bronchitis, emphysema, and other lung diseases. It relaxes and opens air passages in the lungs, making it easier to breathe.
Another component present in Yerba MATE is Theobromine. It functions as a stimulant, it may provide a short-term boost in brain function. This is likely because it encourages blood flow to the brain, which may help people feel more mentally alert and focused.
Sometimes the peak and crash effect you get from coffee can be too strong; while Yerba MATE “awakens” people in a gradual and pleasant way. Its energizing effect comes from nature itself.
Regularly drinking MATE will improve your immune system in general, detoxify your body, provide the vitamins A, B and C which are essentials to absorb the energy provided by food, and contain calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, sodium and potassium. It is an acquired taste that is famous for its bitterness.
We can find different intensities in the flavor. Sometimes we can feel that we are drinking a soft taste Yerba MATE and sometimes a bitter Yerba MATE. This characteristic in the taste, it depends on what are the conditions where the tea plant grows. Such as in a dry area, more humid area, in the bush, in an open area and so on. Even though the tea plant is always only one that, as we said before, it changes its taste intensity depending on the area where it grows.
Drinking MATE is more than drinking tea, it's companionship, it’s friendship, it’s a sense of community. MATE is traditionally shared with family and friends. It’s the perfect ritual to create nice memories with your loved ones while encouraging a healthy social life.
Here at soulMATE, we stock first quality MATE accessories and organic Yerba MATE from our trusted growers, so that you can try the options and see what you like best.
To summarise, people drink a tea that grows in South America in this particular way which is using the MATE gourd as a cup/mug and sipping from the straw.
To finish, we can tell that drinking MATE provides you a feeling of well-being, peace of mind and health care together with companionship and a sense of sharing.
It also provides you with physical energy, lifts your spirit, making you feel healthier…and happier!