Mate or maté also known as chimarrão or cimarrón, is a traditional South American caffeine-rich infused drink. It is made by soaking dried leaves of the yerba mate, in hot water and is served with a metal straw in a container typically made from a calabash gourd, but also in some areas made from a cattle horn .
Mate was consumed by the Guaraní and Tupí peoples. It has been drunk in South America since before the arrival of Europeans. Its consumption was exclusive to the natives of Paraguay, more specifically the departments of Amambay and Alto Paraná. Some ethnic groups that consumed it are the Avá, the Mbyá and the Kaiowa, and also, to a lesser extent, other ethnic groups that carried out trade with them, such as the ñandevá, the Taluhet (ancient pampas) and the Qom people (Tobas).(citation needed) It is the national beverage of Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay and is also consumed in the Bolivian Chaco, Northern and Southern Chile, southern Brazil, Syria (the largest importer in the world) and Lebanon, where it was brought from Paraguay and Argentina by immigrants.
Yerba Mate (Ilex paraguariensis), ka'a in the Guarani language, contains (among other compounds) the stimulant caffeine. The leaves are dried and chopped or ground to make the coarse powdery preparation called yerba (meaning 'herb'), which is then soaked in hot water.
The metal straw is known as a bombilla or bomba and is traditionally made of silver. Modern straws are typically made of nickel silver, stainless steel, or hollow-stemmed cane. The bombilla functions both as a straw and as a sieve. The submerged end is flared, with small holes or slots that allow the brewed liquid in, but block the chunky matter that makes up much of the mixture. A modern bombilla design uses a straight tube with holes or a spring sleeve to act as a sieve.
The container the mate is served in is also known as mate. It is commonly made from calabash gourd but may also be made out of other materials.
Today, mate tea is sold commercially in tea bags and as bottled iced tea.