This South American herbal tea made from the Ilex paraguariensis species of holly tree has been consumed for centuries by indigenous tribes for its stimulant properties and health benefits.
Compared to coffee, it provides a more balanced caffeine boost. The average cup contains around 70-85mg of caffeine, less than coffee but more than traditional tea. The combination of caffeine, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and amino acids gives a gentler increase in energy without the "jittery" feeling or crash later on that coffee can cause.
Many people report enhanced focus and concentration from drinking it. It’s gained popularity as a metabolism-boosting tea for weight loss, though more research is still needed. Traditional methods involve steeping it in warm (not boiling) water and drinking it through a bombilla straw, but French presses or tea bags work too.
With its earthy, grassy flavor, this unique and healthy caffeinated beverage stimulates the mind while soothing the body. It provides the energy boost of coffee without negative side effects.
When did this South American drink become popular?
The indigenous Guarani perfected the technique of placing the leaves in a gourd with water and sipping through sugar cane straws. They understood its nutritional value and sometimes chewed the leaves directly. The word “mate” comes from the Guarani term “Caa-mate”: “Caa” means plant/herb, and “mate” refers to the gourd they used.
In Argentina, it is consumed in 90% of households. Argentinians usually drink it for breakfast with fruit juice or before sunset, hot or cold depending on weather. More than a habit, getting together to matear forges emotional links between people back to their roots. Aside from its flavor, its use has health benefits – it is rich in antioxidants, helps reduce cholesterol and contains minerals, vitamins and caffeine.
It has become popular worldwide – in North America as an alternative to coffee/tea, and in Asian countries like Japan and South Korea due to its unique taste and perceived benefits.
Why does coffee make me anxious but not this stimulating drink?
I cut out all caffeine because four coffees a day made my anxiety worse. Caffeine affects people differently. This herbal infusion provides balanced caffeine. With 78 mg per 5 ounces, it has less caffeine than coffee but more than tea. Its compounds release caffeine slowly so your body absorbs it in a soothing way. It increases energy without coffee’s side effects. It has muscle relaxing compounds like theobromine and theophylline. You rarely get coffee’s negative effects. The adaptogenic properties make a soothing, stimulating drink that rarely throws you off balance.
Why is everyone obsessed with this caffeine-containing beverage?
The bitter, herbal, tea-like beverage is brewed from the leaves of a native species of holly tree that can be found in the forests of South America. Over the centuries, the drink’s popularity in Argentina faltered at times as coffee and tea took hold of the caffeinated beverage market. The Guaraní Tribe of Paraná have used it for millennia, relying on its restorative, uplifting, and medicinal properties. With more healing compounds than green tea and equal amounts of caffeine as coffee, it uniquely stimulates the mind and body without crashing or jittery effects.
In the United States, the first major push to popularize and cultivate it didn’t happen until 1899, when representatives from Brazil and Paraguay boasted about its benefits at the International Commercial Congress in Philadelphia.
A cup of it typically has about 85 milligrams of caffeine, while a cup of coffee contains about 95. That means that it is more caffeinated than regular black tea, but less than coffee. Drinking a cup will give you some of the improved focus and mood you get from drinking coffee — but a bit less.
There is a trend towards healthier products, and many search out this drink as a substitute for coffee. The acidity is something to be measured on the pH scale, which uses 7.0 as neutrality. Coffee’s acidity causes gastroesophageal reflux disease. This South American beverage is less acidic but still some users might complain of this disease caused by acidity, and that might differ from one kind to another.