History and Culture

The indigenous GuaranĂ­ first cultivated and consumed yerba mate prior to European colonization of the Americas. Mate was originally consumed from a gourd, using a metal straw, and this is still how it is consumed in many parts of South America. Preparation Although traditionally made from a hollowed calabash gourd, these days mate "gourds" are … Read more

Benefits of Drinking Yerba Mate Tea

What does drinking yerba mate tea do? Mate is a plant native to South America. Its leaves are used to make mate tea. This tea is popular in Argentina, Uruguay, Bolivia, Paraguay, Brazil and Chile. To prepare mate, leaves are dried, chopped, ground, toasted and aged. Then they are packaged and sold. People drink mate … Read more