The Yerba Mate tea is a beverage from South America, very popular in Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, and Paraguay.
The “Gauchos” (Argentinean cowboys) adopted the Yerba Mate as part of their culture.
As well as riding and wearing leather clothing.
They took mate in a group, for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and before bedtime.
Yerba Mate is cultivated in Argentina, Paraguay, and southern Brazil, where the conditions of the land, temperature, and humidity are ideal.
Like those gauchos of yesteryear, the mate is part of the daily life of an average Argentine.
It is consumed, not only for its properties as an infusion but for its role as a social bond.
Mate is an herbal infusion that is prepared with Yerba mate, made from a plant called Ilex Paraguariensis. It has a slightly bitter taste and although there are several ways to take it.
The most traditional is hot primed mate, which is prepared by adding hot water to the Yerba mate in a special container and taking the infusion through a thin tube called a bulb.