What is Yerba Mate?

Have you heard of "mate" (pronounced 'mah-tay') tea and wondered what all the fuss was about? Yerba mate is a plant in the holly family, and its dried leaves are used to make a popular tea drink in Argentina, Uruguay and other South American countries. It's believed to have stimulant properties similar to coffee, but with fewer side effects.

In South America, drinking yerba mate is a very social activity. Tea drinkers brew the mate in beautiful gourd cups, and sip it with a silver straw called a bombilla. There is a ritual way of preparing the leaves and steeping them in the water. You can see a great slideshow on how to do it here, from a website that sells the gourds and the mate tea. This special steeping method allows mate addicts to drink from the same leaves all day. In fact, avid mate drinkers carry thermoses of hot water around to refresh their tea.

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