Yerba mate, or “mate” as it is most commonly called, is a widely consumed beverage in South America. It was introduced to Western civilisation by the Guaraní indians who used it as a medicinal herb to invigorate the mind and body, boost immunity, fight fatigue, slow down ageing, cleanse and detoxify the blood, reduce stress, and control the appetite among others. As a matter of fact, Jesuits noticed that the Guaraní could go for several days without eating whilst consuming mate.

In South America it is consumed as an infusion in different ways. The most common is the mate itself --pouring hot water into a gourd filled with yerba mate. It also replaces coffee or tea in its “cocido” form.
Yerba mate´s production is mainly consumed in South America, with the second consumer region being the Middle East (Syria and Lebanon). In all of these countries, yerba is most commonly used as mate (see photograph). To prepare this beverage, hot water is poured into a gourd that is ¾ filled with yerba mate.The infusion so prepared is sipped through a bombilla –a straw with filter.

Recently, the world seems to have rediscovered the great many beneficial properties yerba mate has of which the Guaraní were well aware. The emphasis in nutrition and wholesome diets has given place to a profitable market on medicinal herbs and yerba mate seems to have an important position in this area. Just as an illustration, a search of “yerba mate” in Google (the most used search engine in the web), offers 53,900 entries, most of which stress the medicinal properties of this herb.