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So, what is the Mate ?
An easy answer will be to describe it as the container that holds an infusion that argentines call...a mate. Confused ? Well, both the container and its drink carry the same name.
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The little, hollow pumpkin, decorated sometimes with silver ornaments as if it were a piece of jewelry is actually much more than a drink for argentines (People from Uruguay and chile have the same habit, in particular from Uruguay). It is, in fact, s social ritual and a part of everyday life.
In essence, Mate is a tea brewed from a plant grown in the Northeast, Yerba, or at times, Yerba Mate. This bitter green tea is obtained by adding hot water to leaves held in a seasoned gourd (the 'mate' container).
The gourd (mate) is then passed to each participant un turn who drains it through a metal straw (bombilla), before refilling it with hot water for the next participant.
The mate will do several circuits before it is deemed washed out (lavado). Then, someone usually adds more mate (the leaves) and starts a new round of mate (the drink). If you are still confused, then, we recommend that the best is to try the experience for yourself.
The fact is, that the thirst-quenching properties of this home-brewed tea are of secondary importance to its social role. Passing the mate around is a decorous ritual, a convivial part of life, not only in the countryside, but anywhere in the city. Even in airplanes throughout a trip !!
During the Viceroyalty of 'Rio de La Plata', that is, during teh Spanish Colonization period, Paraguay was governed by Hernandarias, who observed that natives indians would cope better with the demands of the rigorous tasks imposed each day on them than his own troops from Spain.He soon discovered natives were in the habit of drinking a tea made out of 'yerba silvestre caa', the old and famous...mate.
Jesuits tried to ban mate for they consider it was addictive, but as soon as they discovered natives would actually work more and better, they abandoned the idea. In fact, they decided to start its massive cultivation, as opposed to picking up the leaves in the wild. They studied the plant in depth and soon it became a major crop in wach of the 30 villages they were controlling.
After Jesuits were expelled from the colonies and replaced by the religious order of Fransiscans, the crops were somewhat abandoned, but the demand never stopped and was actually filled by crops from other regions. Much later, in 1876, it was the State of Corrientes who issued reglamentation to regulate its crop...and a whole industry was born.Mate is not only drunk through a gourd, sometimes it is brewed just as a tea, and it is known as 'mate cocido'. It has become such a social symbol that not accepting a sip, provided you are in typical 'mate' setting, may not be well received.
Misiones today, devotes 180,000 has to its crop and Corrientes in turn devotes 21,000 has. Mate, not only has crossed borders in South America, global expansion has made it reach the shores of the United States and can be found in major cities where latinos leave.
Hopefully, one or two sips Mate and the confusion goes away...
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