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A Haughty Rant Against Argentina’s National Drink

Cinthia Solange Dhers is a 53-year-old surgeon who recently bought an apartment in Nordelta, a gated community in one of the most upscale areas of Buenos Aires. But the neighborhood didn’t live up to her high standards, and she shared her disappointment with a friend in a voice message that ended up online.

She complained in the message that her neighbors talked too loudly and didn’t put their dogs on leashes. They did not share her “moral aesthetics.” She did not expect to find “beasts, with no education, who yell and drink mate like they would at Bristol beach in Mar del Plata.”

It was Dr. Dhers’s reference to her new neighbors’ mate-drinking habits that touched…

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Featured

 Yerba Mate VS Coffee (Which Is Better & Healthier?)

Studies done on yerba mate versus coffee are unequal. Coffee was (and still is) prominent around the world. Yerba mate, not so much. As a result, there’s more research done on coffee compared to yerba mate. No worries though. The current studies on mate might still be enough to sway you on its side, and put down your morning cup of joe. So without wasting time, let’s dissect these plants…

Previously Featured

3 Ways To Prepare Yerba Mate

The traditional method is a cultural ritual which children in Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Southern Brazil grow up with. It takes time to learn how to make it well and to learn the cultural dos and don'ts.

Coffee or Yerba Mate? The benefits of drinking Yerba Mate to keep us awake

We normally drink lots of coffees to keep ourselves awake and focused in what we are doing. But, can we replace coffee with something healthier, or perhaps, stronger? Yes, we can! And South Americans have been drinking this miraculous hot beverage for centuries.

Do You Make These 5 “Stupid” Yerba Mate Mistakes?

There’s a lot that goes into drinking yerba mate. And if you don’t take proper responsibility, you can ruin your yerba mate experience. Yerba mate can be overwhelming for people just starting out.

Everything’s Easier With Mate (An Expat’s Tribute to Argentina’s National Beverage)

When Kansas native Laura Ginsberg moved to Buenos Aires and began working in educational technology development, she discovered something unique about the Argentine office environment: Argentina’s preferred source of caffeine, mate.

How to Drink Yerba Mate in South America

For some South Americans, a well-prepared mate will replace a morning coffee just as well as a 5 o’clock tea. The best part? It’s naturally caffeinated leaves give drinkers stimulation in the form of a balanced sense of focus and alertness that lasts...

Is there any benefit to drinking Yerba mate tea?

The Guarani Indians of Paraguay and Argentina have been brewing this beverage for centuries and claim it can do everything from boosting energy levels and intelligence to providing all the nutrients needed for life. In Europe mate is often used for weight loss, though there is no scientific evidence to show that the plant boosts metabolism or acts as an appetite suppressant. But what about the other claims?

Location, Libation, Libation

A tale of two quintessential Argentine beverages: wine and yerba mate.

Mate Is The South American Drink That Puts Our Coffee Game To Shame

Mate has a long history in Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Southern Brazil and Bolivia. It is not uncommon to see people walking the streets with mate in hand in those countries — some even with a thermos of hot water in the other hand to refill the drink as it gets low. It’s custom to add water to yerba mate around 15-20 times, until it loses its flavor. Drinking mate is often times a group experience; it’s a symbol of hospitality and friendship.

The Many Meanings of Yerba Mate

I first encountered yerba mate as a Peace Corps volunteer in rural Paraguay. Everywhere I went, and at all times of the day, I saw small groups of people passing around a hollowed out cow’s horn or gourd (guampa) filled with ground leaves and a single metal straw sticking out of the top. I had never thought of drinking from a cow’s horn or gourd. Drinking out of the same metal straw (bombilla) was even more jarring. Wasn’t anyone worried about germs?

The Wonderful World of Yerba Mate Tea

Way back when, in 1998, a student on my year abroad in Argentina, I went round to a friend’s house. She cooked, we might have smoked a cigarette, and then she offered me some green leaves, served up in a cup. Hoping it was some new kind of illegal substance I could boast about back home, it made me a little dizzy although I wasn’t hooked from the first sip. And as she patiently explained the origins of this drink to me, I suddenly realised that yerba mate wasn’t some illicit herbal secret, and that all the Argentines were at it.

Yerba Mate, Ancient Antidote To South America's Heat

For many here, the early light of day is met with hot yerba mate. As the day progresses, businessmen and farm laborers alike stop to sip terere, a cool version of yerba mate. The drinking of hot or cold infusions of the native yerba plant is an intrinsic element in the everyday routine in both the country and the city.

Resources

Yerba Mate Blog

The Yerba Mate Blog is a website dedicated to all fans of mate and its very special properties. We are aiming to become an eco-system designed to serve the yerba mate community.

Yerba Mate Lab

Tutorials, tips, reviews and more.

Aviva

We invite you to browse our categories of products... When you combine our free shipping special with our premium grade yerba you won't find a better value on the 'net!

Eco Teas

The first people to discover yerba mate were the Guarani (pronounced wa-ra-nee). Their traditional homeland in Paraguay, northern Argentina, and southern Brazil overlaps the home range of wild yerba mate. The Guarani enjoy yerba mate as a daily tonic, and also as the basis of their medicinal system. They have a legend telling how yerba mate was the gift of a benevolent god, who gave the tree to a small group of weary travelers as a reward for their righteousness.

Guayaki

We are working to make organic, fair-trade yerba mate the mainstream energy source of choice, and prove that a company can be profitable while operating sustainably. We are an organization of individuals who's daily work is to bring you the finest yerba mate on the planet

Nativa Yerba Mate

Nativa Yerba Mate specializes in the sustainable wild-harvesting, air-drying, and packaging at the source 100% pure yerba mate leaves from the oldest growing region in the world; San Mateus, Brazil.

Yerba Mate Tea Gourd

Yerba Mate, Ilex Paraguariensis, is a tea (...o.k.--a "tisane" really) loaded with vitamins and minerals. With yerba mate you can experience the great benefits of an herbal health supplement--and a coffee substitute--without all of the negative side-effects.