Green mate

Le maté (en espagnol, mate) ou chimarrão, en_cc781905- 5cde-3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_portugais, est une boisson traditionnelle sud-américaine issue de la culture des Amérindiens Guaranis , prepared in infusant desfeuilles de yerba mate. Mate is a stimulant, improving reactivity and concentration abilities1 whose long-term consumption has several beneficial effects on health 2,3,4,5.

Avec le thé et le café, le maté fait partie des trois principales boissons contenant de la caféine_cc781905-5cde- 3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_ the most consumed in the world. Le maté est ainsi fortement consommé en Argentine, au Chili, au Paraguay, en Uruguay, au_cc781905-5cde- 3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_Brésil méridional et en Bolivie. La plante utilisée, la yerba mate (Ilex paraguariensis), parfois appelée « thé du Paraguay ", "tea of the Jesuits" or "tea from Brazil", is a South American species of the genus Ilex (like the holly) and whose leaves, which are roasted and pulverized, provide, infused in hot water, a stimulating drink, with effects similar to those of coffee or tea. Mate belongs to the Aquifoliaceae family. It is traditionally used in functional asthenia. The leaves are listed in the French Pharmacopoeia and there are several pharmaceutical specialties.

This plant contains xanthic bases: caffeine, theobromine, theophylline. It also contains flavonoids, triterpene saponins and vitamins. It stimulates the central nervous system. It is also cardiotonic and diuretic and it increases glycolysis and lipolysis.  This drink, consumed hot or cold in Brazil and Paraguay (cold, it is called tererè and is drunk in a kind of horn, the guampa), with a strong and bitter taste, is prepared with yerba mate leaves. It is drunk in a calabash thanks to a metal tube which also serves as a filter, the bombilla.

To savor it, the gauchos stand in a circle and pass the drink from hand to hand according to a very precise ritual which invites, for example, the participants to circulate the calabash counter-clockwise in order to pass the time less quickly. This traditional drink is said to help bear the cold of winter and symbolizes, through its drinking rites, the fraternity and hospitality of the gaúchos. Mate is an infusion, which for many users involves the use of utensils specific.