Mate Drinks: Evolution, History, and Contemporary Times!

Abstract

Stimulating beverages are often consumed by people because these help them to rejuvenate. There are a variety of non-alcoholic drinks that are prepared for consumption daily. Caffeine is the primary stimulant observed in most beverages like coffee and tea. People worldwide consume this drink. On the other hand, green tea is a new but popular concoction prepared by steeping green tea leaves, but the caffeine content here is low enough. Therefore, despite the benefits of green tea, people still searched for a potent caffeine drink that was not safe for regular consumption. In the search for appropriate caffeinated drinks, the name Yerba Mate features a prominent one. Yerba mate is extracted from Ilex paraguariensis plants, commonly found in North-East Argentina, Southern Brazil, and Paraguay. Yerba Mate is not a discovery. People traditionally consumed it as a hot or cold beverage before the Spanish colonial era. It was common among the Káingang and Guaraní people. The Yerba Mate became famous in South America during the Spanish colonial era. In the 1900s, Julio Martin initiated the first commercial and organized production of Yerba Mate. Argentina is the biggest producer and exporter of Yerba Mate among other South American countries. Several different varieties of tea are available for consumption, but the drinking of Yerba Mate is associated with a friendly gesture, and its drinking is rooted in deep social ties. The sense of sharing in a community is a prominent feature associated with the drinking of Yerba Mate. Sharing the drink in a community serves as an invitation to open communication among people. The custom of giving messages through the Yerba Mate drink is age-old. For instance, if a woman served Yerba Mate to a Man with lemon verbena leaves, it hinted love. On the other hand, if the drink was served with bombú tree leaves, it showed rejection. During the Pandemic, the physical sharing custom of the drink replaced this tradition with video sharing. But this brought people closer in another form. The popularity of Yerba Mate, with its social roots, made its way into the world. The study aims to document the history and present popularity of Yerba Mate. Apart from the social and aphrodisiac nature of the drink, the study also focuses on the benefits of Yerba Mate. The research compares Yerba Mate with other popular beverages to assess the effectiveness of this drink.