'Mate or maté (/ˈmɑːteɪ/ MAH-tay, Spanish: [ˈmate], Portuguese: [ˈmatʃi]) is a traditional South American caffeine-rich infused herbal drink. It is also known as chimarrão or cimarrón,' and ka’ay in Guarani. It is made by soaking dried yerba mate (Ilex paraguariensis) leaves in hot water and is traditionally served with a metal straw (bombilla) in a container typically made from a calabash gourd (also called the mate), but also made from a cattle horn (guampa) in some areas. A very similar preparation, known as mate cocido, removes some of the plant material and sometimes comes in tea bags. Today, mate is sold commercially in tea bags and as bottled iced tea.
Mate was consumed by the Guaraní and Tupi peoples. Its consumption was exclusive to the natives of Paraguay, more specifically the departments of Amambay and Alto Paraná. It is the national beverage of Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay and is also consumed in the Bolivian Chaco, Brazil, Northern and Southern Chile, Lebanon and Syria, where it was brought from Paraguay and Argentina by immigrants. (Full article...)