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{{short description|Species of plant}}
{{Redirect|Yerba|the US city|Yerba, West Virginia|the herbs|Yerba buena|other places|Yerba Buena (disambiguation){{!}}Yerba Buena}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2017}}
{{speciesbox
| image = Ilex_paraguariensis_-_Köhler–s_Medizinal-Pflanzen-074.jpg
| image_caption =
| status = NT
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| genus = Ilex
| species = paraguariensis
| authority = [[Augustin Saint-Hilaire|A.St.-Hil.]]
| range_map = Ilex paraguariensis native range.svg
| range_map_caption = Native range of ''Ilex paraguaiensis''
| status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=World Conservation Monitoring Centre |date=1998 |title=''Ilex paraguariensis'' |volume=1998 |article-number=e.T32982A9740718 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.1998.RLTS.T32982A9740718.en |access-date=19 November 2021}}</ref>
}}

'''Yerba mate''' or '''yerba maté''' ({{IPAc-en|'|j|ɜːr|b|ə|_|'|m|ɑː|t|eɪ}}),<ref>{{OED|yerba}},<br />{{Cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.lexico.com/definition/yerba |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210309045433/https://www.lexico.com/definition/yerba |archive-date=9 March 2021 |title=yerba |dictionary=[[Lexico]] UK English Dictionary |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]}}<br />{{MW|yerba maté}}<br />{{Cite Collins Dictionary|yerba maté}}<br />{{dict.com|yerba mate}}</ref><ref>from Spanish {{langx|es|yerba mate}}, {{IPA|es|ˈɟʝeɾβa ˈmate|}}; locally also {{langx|pt|erva-mate}}, {{IPA|pt|ˈɛʁvɐ ˈmatʃi|}}, and {{langx|gn|kaʼa}}, {{IPA|gn|kaʔa|}}</ref> '''''[[Ilex]] paraguariensis''''', is a plant [[species]] of the [[holly]] genus native to South America.<ref>{{cite web |publisher= itis.gov |title=ITIS Report |url= https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=506475 |access-date=26 February 2015}}</ref> It was named by the French botanist [[Augustin Saint-Hilaire]].<ref>{{cite web |publisher= harvard.edu |title=Index of Botanists |url= http://kiki.huh.harvard.edu/databases/botanist_search.php?botanistid=853 |access-date=4 March 2015}}</ref> The leaves of the plant can be steeped in hot water to make a beverage known as [[mate (drink)|mate]]. Brewed cold, it is used to make ''[[tereré]]''. Both the plant and the beverage contain [[caffeine]].

The indigenous [[Guaraní people|Guaraní]] and some [[Tupi people|Tupi]] communities (whose territory covered present-day [[Paraguay]]) first cultivated and consumed yerba mate prior to [[European colonization of the Americas]]. Its consumption was exclusive to the natives of only two regions of the territory that today is Paraguay, more specifically the departments of [[Amambay Department|Amambay]] and [[Alto Paraná Department|Alto Paraná]].<ref name="Tres">{{Cite book|last=Del Techo, Ximénez, Dobrizhoffer. p. 40.|first=Nicolás; Bartolomé, Martín|title=Tres encuentros con América|publisher=Editorial del Centenario|year=1967}}</ref><ref name="Cervantes">{{Cite web|last=Cervantes|first=Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de|title=En busca del hueso perdido: (tratado de paraguayología) / Helio Vera|url=http://www.cervantesvirtual.com/obra-visor/en-busca-del-hueso-perdido-tratado-de-paraguayologia--0/html/ff4b16b6-82b1-11df-acc7-002185ce6064_17.html|access-date=25 March 2021|website=Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes|language=es}}</ref> After the [[Jesuits]] discovered its commercialization potential, yerba mate became widespread throughout the province and even elsewhere in the Spanish Crown.<ref name="Cervantes"/>

Mate is traditionally consumed in central and southern regions of South America, primarily in Paraguay, as well as in Argentina, Uruguay, [[South Region, Brazil|Southern Brazil]], the [[Gran Chaco]] of Bolivia, and [[Southern Chile]].<ref>{{Cite iucn | author = World Conservation Monitoring Centre | author-link = World Conservation Monitoring Centre | title = Ilex paraguariensis | volume = 1998 | article-number = e.T32982A9740718 | date = 1998 | doi = 10.2305/IUCN.UK.1998.RLTS.T32982A9740718.en }}</ref> It has also become popular in the [[Druze]] and [[Alawite]] community in the Levant, especially in Syria and Lebanon, where it is imported from Paraguay and Argentina, thanks to 19th-century [[Syrian Argentines|Syrian immigrants to Argentina]].<ref>{{cite web |publisher= globalpost.com |title=Argentina's 'yerba mate' crunch |url= http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/americas/argentina/120426/yerba-mate-price-crunch |access-date=30 April 2015}}</ref> Yerba mate can now be found worldwide in various [[energy drink]]s as well as being sold as a bottled or canned iced drink.

==Name and pronunciation==
The name given to the plant in the [[Guaraní language|Guaraní]] language (of the indigenous people who first used mate) is {{lang|gn|kaʼa}}, which has the same meaning as 'herb'.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lemos Barbosa |first=Antônio|author-link=Antônio Lemos Barbosa|url=https://archive.org/details/barbosa_1956/page/n9/mode/2up |title=Curso de Tupi Antigo |publisher=Livraria São José |year=1956 |location=Rio de Janeiro}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=de Almeida Navarro |first=Eduardo |title=Dicionário do Tupi Antigo: a língua indígena clássica do Brasil |publisher=Global Editora |year=2013 |isbn=978-85-260-1933-1 |location=São Paulo}}</ref> {{lang|pt|Congonha}}, in Portuguese, a term describing several herb species,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Congonha - Arca del Gusto |url=https://www.fondazioneslowfood.com/en/ark-of-taste-slow-food/congonha/ |access-date=2022-10-29 |website=Slow Food Foundation |language=en-US}}</ref> is derived from the [[Tupian language|Tupí]] expression {{Lang|tup|kõ'gõi}}'','' meaning something like 'what keeps us alive', but is rarely used nowadays.<ref>FERREIRA, A. B. H. ''Novo Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa''. Segunda edição. Rio de Janeiro: Nova Fronteira, 1986. p.453</ref> ''Mate'' is from the [[Quechua languages|Quechua]] {{lang|qu|mati}},<ref name="rae mate">Real Academia Española. [http://lema.rae.es/drae/?val=mate "Mate"]. Retrieved 23 May 2013.</ref> a word that means 'container for a drink' and 'infusion of an herb', as well as 'gourd'.<ref name="AULEX mati">[http://aulex.org/qu-es/?busca=mati&idioma=en AULEX, "Online Quechua-Spanish Dictionary"]. Retrieved 23 May 2013.</ref> The word ''mate'' is used in modern Portuguese and Spanish.

The pronunciation of {{lang|es|yerba mate}} in Spanish is {{IPA|es|ˈɟʝeɾβa ˈmate|}}, with the stress on the first syllable of ''mate''.<ref name="rae mate" /> The word {{lang|es|yerba}} is Spanish for 'herb', a variant spelling of {{Lang|es|hierba}} used throughout Latin America.<ref name="rae yerba">Real Academia Española. [http://lema.rae.es/drae/?val=yierba%20mate "Yerba"]. Retrieved 23 May 2013.</ref> ''Yerba'' may be understood as 'herb', but also as 'grass' or 'weed'. It may also be used in reference to marijuana (''[[Cannabis sativa]]''). In Argentina, {{lang|es|yerba}} refers exclusively to the {{lang|es|yerba mate}} plant.<ref name="rae yerba" /> {{lang|es|Yerba mate}}, therefore, literally means the 'gourd herb'; i.e., the herb one drinks from a gourd.

The Portuguese name for the plant is pronounced {{IPA|pt|ˈɛɾvɐ ˈmate|}} or {{IPA|pt|ˈɛɾvɐ ˈmatʃi|}} in the areas of traditional consumption. The drinks are usually called {{lang|pt|[[chimarrão]]}} {{IPA|pt|ʃimaˈʁɐ̃w|}} (hot; traditionally served in a gourd), {{lang|pt|[[tereré]]}} {{IPA|pt|teɾeˈɾɛ|}} (cold; traditionally served in a bull horn), or {{lang|pt|chá mate}} {{IPA|pt|ˈʃa ˈmate|}} (hot or cold; lit. 'mate tea', served in cups or glasses). While {{lang|pt|chá mate}} is made with roasted leaves, the other drinks are made with raw or lightly toasted green leaves, and are very popular in the south and center-west of the country. Most people, colloquially, call both the plant and the beverage by the word {{lang|pt|mate}}.<ref name="saude.abril"/>

In English, both the spellings ''mate'' and ''maté'' are used to refer to the plant or the beverage. The [[acute accent]] over the final '-e' was likely added by analogy with words of French origin like café, not to mark stress but to indicate that the '-e' is not [[Silent e|silent]] as it is in the English word ''mate'' (partner or friend);<ref name="Merriam-Webster">{{cite web |date=13 August 2010 |title=Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary |url=http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/yerba%20mate |access-date=5 June 2011 |publisher=M-w.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=mate - beverage |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] |url=http://www.britannica.com/topic/mate-beverage |access-date=8 October 2015}}</ref> indeed French also uses the spelling {{lang|fr|maté}} with an accent.<ref>{{Cite web |title=maté - traduction - Dictionnaire Français-Anglais WordReference.com |url=https://www.wordreference.com/fren/mat%C3%A9 |access-date=2023-12-29 |website=www.wordreference.com |language=fr}}</ref> In Spanish, the spelling {{lang|es|maté}} is an unrelated word meaning 'I killed', a conjugation of the verb ''matar''.<ref>[http://www.wordmagicsoft.com/dictionary/es-en/mat%E9.php "Word Magic Spanish Dictionary"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140523230345/http://www.wordmagicsoft.com/dictionary/es-en/mat%E9.php |date=23 May 2014 }}. Retrieved 23 May 2013.</ref>

==Description==
''Ilex paraguariensis'' begins as a [[shrub]] and then matures to a tree, growing up to {{convert|15|m|ft|round=5|sp=us}} tall. The leaves are [[evergreen]], {{convert|7|–|110|mm|in|frac=8|sp=us}} long and {{convert|30|–|55|mm|in|frac=8|sp=us}} wide, with serrated margins. The leaves are often called {{lang|es|yerba}} (Spanish) or {{lang|pt|erva}} (Portuguese), both of which mean "herb". They contain [[caffeine]] (known in some parts of the world as mateine) and related [[xanthine]] [[alkaloids]], and are harvested commercially.{{Citation needed|date=August 2024}}

The [[flower]]s are small and greenish-white with four petals. The fruit is a red [[drupe]] {{convert|4|–|6|mm|in|frac=32|sp=us}} in diameter.

Junqueira 2001 reported [[extrafloral nectaries]] on its leaves.<ref>{{cite journal |date=2012-10-18 |first1=Marjorie G. |last1=Weber |first2=Kathleen H. |last2=Keeler |title=The phylogenetic distribution of extrafloral nectaries in plants |pages=1251–1261 |doi=10.1093/aob/mcs225 |journal=Annals of Botany |eissn=1095-8290 |volume=111 |issue=6|pmc=3662505 }}</ref>

==History==
{{main|History of yerba mate}}
[[File:Yerba Mate.jpg|thumb|right|Yerba mate growing in the wild]]
Mate was first consumed by the indigenous [[Guaraní people]] and also spread in the [[Tupí people]] that lived in the departments of [[Amambay Department|Amambay]] and [[Alto Paraná Department|Alto Paraná]]<ref name="Tres"/> the territory of Paraguay.<ref name="Cervantes"/> Its consumption became widespread during European colonization,<ref name=EB1911>{{Cite EB1911 |wstitle=Maté |volume=17 |pages=877–878}}</ref> particularly in the Spanish colony of Paraguay in the late 16th century, among both Spanish settlers and indigenous Guaraní, who had, to some extent before the Spanish arrival, consumed it.<ref name=EB1911/> This widespread consumption turned it into Paraguay's main commodity above other wares, such as [[tobacco]], and the labour of indigenous peoples was used to harvest wild stands.{{Citation needed|date=December 2012}}

In the mid-17th century, [[Jesuit]]s managed to domesticate the plant and establish plantations in [[Jesuit reduction|their Indian reductions]]<ref name=EB1911/> in [[Misiones]], Argentina, sparking severe competition with the Paraguayan harvesters of wild stands. {{Citation needed|date=December 2012}} It is here when the plant began its incursion into other non-Paraguayan territories. After [[suppression of the Society of Jesus|their expulsion]] in the 1770s, their plantations fell into decay, as did their domestication secrets.{{Citation needed|date=December 2012}} The industry continued to be of prime importance for the Paraguayan economy after independence, but development in benefit of the Paraguayan state halted after the [[Paraguayan War|War of the Triple Alliance]] (1864–1870) that devastated the country both economically and demographically.{{Citation needed|date=December 2012}} Some regions with mate plantations in Paraguay [[Paraguayan War#Effects on yerba mate industry|became Argentine territory]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Reber |first=Vera Blinn |date=July 1985 |title=Commerce and Industry in Nineteenth Century Paraguay: The Example of |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/americas/article/abs/commerce-and-industry-in-nineteenth-century-paraguay-the-example-of-yerba-mate/A7B61EBD98F37BD7029AE705E20D5328 |journal=The Americas |language=en |volume=42 |issue=1 |pages=29–53 |doi=10.2307/1006706 |jstor=1006706 |s2cid=147135625 |issn=0003-1615|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

Brazil then became the largest producer of mate.<ref>[http://www.gazetadopovo.com.br/vidaecidadania/especial-erva-mate/ "Erva-mate - o ouro verde do Paraná"]. Retrieved 10 July 2013.</ref> In Brazilian and Argentine projects in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the plant was domesticated once again, opening the way for plantation systems.{{Citation needed|date=December 2012}} When Brazilian entrepreneurs turned their attention to [[Coffee production in Brazil|coffee]] in the 1930s, Argentina, which had long been the prime consumer,<ref name="lasmarias1">{{cite web |title=Can Yerba Mate cause cancer? |date=7 December 2024 |url=https://netdoctorcenter.com/diseases/cancer/yerba-mate-tea-and-cancer-risk/ |publisher=Netdoctorcenter.com}}</ref> took over as the largest producer, resurrecting the economy in [[Misiones Province]], where the Jesuits had once had most of their plantations. For years, the status of largest producer shifted between Brazil and Argentina.<ref name="lasmarias1"/> Today, Brazil is the largest producer, with 53%, followed by Argentina, 37%, and Paraguay, 10%.<ref name="fao"/><ref name="dol">{{cite web|url=http://www.dol.gov/ilab/reports/child-labor/list-of-goods/|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140416231014/http://www.dol.gov/ilab/reports/child-labor/list-of-goods/|archive-date=16 April 2014|website=dol.gov|title=List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor|access-date=28 March 2021}}</ref>

In the city of [[Campo Largo, Paraná|Campo Largo]], state of [[Paraná (state)|Paraná]], Brazil, there is a Mate Historic Park ({{langx|pt|Parque Histórico do Mate}}), funded by the state government to educate people on the sustainable harvesting methods needed to maintain the integrity and vitality of the oldest wild forests of mate in the world. As of June 2014, however, the park is closed to public visitation.<ref name="parquehistorico">{{cite web |url=http://www.museuparanaense.pr.gov.br/modules/conteudo/conteudo.php?conteudo=56 |title=Parque Histórico do Mate |language=pt |trans-title=Mate Historic Park |publisher=Paraná State Secretariat for Culture |access-date=3 June 2014 |archive-date=6 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006151726/http://www.museuparanaense.pr.gov.br/modules/conteudo/conteudo.php?conteudo=56 }}</ref>

==Cultivation==
[[File:Yerba-mate-misiones.JPG|thumb|Plantation in [[Misiones]], Argentina]]
The yerba mate plant is grown and processed in its native regions of South America, specifically in Paraguay, some parts of northern Argentina ([[Misiones Province|Misiones]]), Uruguay, and southern Brazil ([[Rio Grande do Sul]], [[Santa Catarina (state)|Santa Catarina]], [[Paraná (state)|Paraná]], and [[Mato Grosso do Sul]]). Cultivators are known as {{lang|es|yerbateros}} (Spanish) or {{lang|pt|ervateiros}} (Brazilian Portuguese).

Seeds used to germinate new plants are harvested after they have turned dark purple, typically from January to April. After harvest, they are submerged in water in order to eliminate floating non-viable seeds and detritus like twigs, leaves, etc. New plants are started between March and May. For plants established in pots, transplanting takes place April through September. Plants with bare roots are transplanted only during the months of June and July.<ref name="Yerba Mate Production">Burtnik, Oscar José, [http://www.inym.org.ar/inym/imagenes/Trabajos_Realizados/manual-produ.pdf "Yerba Mate Production"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140826113958/http://www.inym.org.ar/inym/imagenes/Trabajos_Realizados/manual-produ.pdf |date=26 August 2014 }}, 3rd Edition, 2006. Retrieved 24 May 2013.</ref>

Many of the natural enemies of yerba mate are difficult to control in plantation settings. Insect pests include ''[[Gyropsylla spegazziniana]]'', a [[Hemiptera|true bug]] that lays eggs in the branches; ''[[Hedyphates betulinus]]'', a [[Longhorn beetle|type of beetle]] that weakens the tree and makes it more susceptible to mold and mildew; ''[[Perigonia lusca]]'',<ref name="Yerba Mate Production" /><ref name="Moscardi-1999">{{cite journal | last=Moscardi | first=Flávio | title=Assessment of the Application of Baculoviruses for Control of Lepidoptera | journal=[[Annual Review of Entomology]] | publisher=[[Annual Reviews (publisher)|Annual Reviews]] | volume=44 | issue=1 | year=1999 | issn=0066-4170 | doi=10.1146/annurev.ento.44.1.257 | pages=257–289| pmid=15012374 }}</ref> a [[moth]] whose larvae eat the leaves; and several species of [[mite]]s.<ref name="Yerba Mate Production" /> ''P. lusca'' may be controlled with a [[nuclear polyhedrosis virus]] used as a [[biopesticide]]. This was first applied in 1992.<ref name="Moscardi-1999" />

When ''I. paraguariensis'' is harvested, the branches are often dried by a wood fire, imparting a [[Smoking (cooking)|smoky flavor]]. The strength of the flavor, caffeine levels, and other nutrients can vary depending on whether it is a male or female plant. Female plants tend to be milder in flavor and lower in caffeine. They are also relatively scarce in the areas where yerba mate is planted and cultivated.<ref name="nativayerbamate1">{{cite web|url=http://www.nativayerbamate/harvest.html|title=Nativa Yerba Mate|publisher=Native Yerba Mate|access-date=18 July 2011}}{{Dead link|date=July 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

According to [[FAO|Food and Agriculture Organization]] in 2012, Brazil is the biggest producer of mate in the world with {{convert|513,256|t|ST|abbr=off}} (58%), followed by Argentina with {{convert|290000|t|ST|abbr=off}} (32%) and Paraguay with {{convert|85490|t|ST|abbr=off}} (10%).<ref name="fao">{{cite web|url=http://faostat.fao.org/site/339/default.aspx|title=FAOSTAT|publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations|access-date=5 April 2015|archive-date=6 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190106233839/http://www.fao.org/faostat/en/}}</ref><!-- Figures for unspecified year need updating, and FAO site has moved -->

==Use as a beverage==
{{Main|Mate (drink)}}
[[File:Mate 02.jpg|thumb|left|Steaming mate [[infusion]] in a cup that resembles a [[gourd]], the customary vessel]]

The infusion, called {{lang|es|mate}} in Spanish-speaking countries and {{lang|pt|chimarrão}} in Brazil, is prepared by filling a container, traditionally a small, hollowed-out [[calabash|gourd]] (described below), up to three-quarters full with dry leaves (and twigs) of ''I. paraguariensis'', and filling it up with water at a temperature of {{convert|70|–|80|C|F|round=5}}, hot but not boiling. Sugar may or may not be added. The infusion may also be prepared with cold water, in which case it is known as {{lang|pt|tereré}}.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.rutadelayerbamate.org.ar/yerba-mate/hacer-un-buen-mate/|title=Cómo hacer un buen Mate &#124; Ruta de la Yerba Mate|website=www.rutadelayerbamate.org.ar|access-date=9 January 2022}}</ref><!-- source for paragraph -->

Drinking mate is a common social practice in Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina, Southern Brazil, and Southern Chile among people of all ages, and is often a communal ritual following customary rules. Friends and family members share from the same container, traditionally a hollow gourd (also called a {{lang|es|guampa}}, {{lang|es|porongo}}, or simply {{lang|es|mate}} in Spanish, a {{lang|pt|cabaça}} or {{lang|pt|cuia}} in Portuguese, or a {{lang|it|zucca}} in Italian), and drink through the same wooden or metal straw (a {{lang|es|[[bombilla]]}} in Spanish or {{lang|pt|bomba}} in Portuguese). The gourd is given by the brewer to each person, often in a circle, in turns. The recipient drinks the few mouthfuls in the container, and then returns the mate to the brewer, who refills it and passes it to the next person in clockwise order. The recipient is not supposed to give thanks until they are done drinking the beverage, and if they do, they will not be served any more ''mates''. Although traditionally made from a hollowed calabash gourd, these days mate "gourds" are produced from a variety of materials including wood, glass, bull horns, ceramic, and silicone.<ref name="nativeleaf">{{cite web|url=https://www.nativeleaf.co.uk/guide-to-yerba-mate-gourds/|title=Guide to Yerba Mate Gourds|website=Native Leaf|date=12 February 2016 |access-date=28 March 2021}}</ref>

In the same way as people meet for tea or coffee, friends often gather and drink mate ({{lang|es|matear}}) in Paraguay, Argentina, Southern Brazil, Uruguay, and Southern Chile. In warm weather the hot water is sometimes replaced by [[lemonade]]. Paraguayans typically drink yerba mate with cold water during hot days and hot water in the morning and during cooler temperatures.

Yerba mate is most popular in Paraguay and Uruguay, where people are seen walking the streets carrying the {{lang|es|mate}} and often a {{lang|es|termo}} (thermal [[vacuum flask]]) in their arms. In Argentina, {{convert|11|lb|order=flip|abbr=on|0}} of yerba mate is consumed annually per capita; in Uruguay, the largest consumer, consumption is {{convert|22|lb|order=flip|abbr=on|0}}.<ref name="Mate: The Bitter Tea South Americans Love to Drink">[http://web.mit.edu/rjbarbal/Tea/yerba-mate "Mate: The Bitter Tea South Americans Love to Drink"]. Retrieved 30 May 2013.</ref> The amount of herb used to prepare the infusion is much greater than that used for tea and other beverages, which accounts for the large weights.

The flavor of brewed mate resembles an infusion of vegetables, herbs, and grass and is reminiscent of some varieties of [[green tea]]. Some consider the flavor to be very agreeable, but it is generally bitter if steeped in hot water. Sweetened and flavored mate is also sold, in which the mate leaves are blended with other herbs (such as peppermint) or citrus rind.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ma-tea.com/categories/Yerba-Mate/Loose-Leaf/Flavored/|title=Flavored Yerba Mate|publisher=Ma Tea|access-date=30 May 2013}}</ref>

[[File:Selection of Yerba Mate Gourds.JPG|thumb|Selection of yerba mate gourds and bombillas at a street vendor in Buenos Aires, Argentina]]

In Paraguay, Brazil, and Argentina, a version of mate known as {{lang|es|mate cocido}} (or just ''mate'' or ''cocido'') in Paraguay and {{lang|pt|chá mate}} in Brazil is sold in teabags and in a loose-leaf form. It is often served sweetened in specialized shops or on the street, either hot or iced, pure or with fruit juice (especially [[Lime (fruit)|lime]], known in Brazil as {{lang|pt|limão}}) or milk. In Paraguay, Argentina, and Southern Brazil, this is commonly consumed for breakfast or in a café for afternoon tea, often with a selection of sweet pastries (''facturas'').

An iced, sweetened version of ''mate cocido'' is sold as an uncarbonated [[soft drink]], with or without fruit flavoring. In Brazil, this cold version of {{lang|pt|chá mate}} is especially popular in the south and southeast regions, and can easily be found in retail stores in the same cooler as other soft drinks.<ref name="saude.abril">{{cite web |url=http://saude.abril.com.br/emagrece-brasil/beneficios-cha-mate.shtml |title=Mate: o chá da hora |access-date=4 September 2012 |archive-date=10 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121010215736/http://saude.abril.com.br/emagrece-brasil/beneficios-cha-mate.shtml |url-status=dead }}</ref> {{lang|pt|Mate batido}}, which is toasted, has less of a bitter flavor and more of a spicy fragrance. {{lang|pt|Mate batido}} becomes creamy when shaken and is more popular in the coastal cities of Brazil, as opposed to the far southern states, where it is more commonly consumed in the traditional way (green, with a silver straw from a shared gourd), and called {{lang|es|chimarrão}} ({{lang|es|cimarrón}} in Spanish, particularly Argentine Spanish).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://que-significa.com.ar/significado.php?termino=cimarron|title=Significado de 'cimarrón'|access-date=5 July 2013}}</ref>

In Paraguay, Southern Brazil ([[Mato Grosso do Sul]], west of [[São Paulo]] and [[Paraná (state)|Paraná]]), and the [[Argentine littoral]], a mate infusion, called {{lang|es|[[tereré]]}} in Spanish and Portuguese or sometimes {{lang|pt|tererê}} in [[Gaúcho dialect|Gaúcho]], [[Caipira dialect|Caipira]] and Sulista Portuguese, is also consumed as a cold or iced beverage, usually sucked out of a horn cup called a {{lang|es|guampa}} with a {{lang|es|bombilla}}. The Guarani drank it in this format, but without ice, as they lacked the technology to create or store it. Thus, ''tereré'' is accredited to be the first and original way of consuming mate.<ref name="Cervantes"/> {{lang|es|Tereré}} can be prepared with cold water (the most common way in Paraguay and Brazil) or fruit juice (the most common way in Argentina). The version with water is more bitter; fruit juice acts as a sweetener (in Brazil, this is usually avoided with the addition of table sugar). Medicinal or culinary herbs, known as {{lang|es|yuyos}} (weeds), may be crushed with a [[Mortar and pestle|pestle and mortar]] and added to the water for taste or medicinal reasons.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ma-tea.com/pages/Terere.html|title=Terere|publisher=Ma Tea|access-date=30 May 2013}}</ref>

[[File:Yerba Mate shop, Puerto Iguazu, Argentina.JPG|left|thumb|Yerba mate shop, Puerto Iguazu, Argentina]]

Paraguayans have a tradition of mixing mate with crushed leaves, stems, and flowers of the plant known as {{lang|es|flor de agosto}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.mec.gov.py/cmsmec/?attachment_id=20625|title=Flor de agosto|access-date=9 January 2022}}</ref> (the flower of August, plants of the genus ''[[Senecio]]'', particularly ''[[Senecio grisebachii]]''), which contain [[pyrrolizidine alkaloid]]s. Modifying mate in this fashion is potentially toxic, as these alkaloids can cause [[veno-occlusive disease]], a rare condition of the [[liver]] which results in liver failure due to progressive occlusion of the small [[Vein|venous channels]].<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1136/jcp.29.9.788 |title=A case of veno-occlusive disease of the liver in Britain associated with herbal tea consumption |year=1976 |last1=McGee |first1=J |last2=Patrick |first2=R S |last3=Wood |first3=C B |last4=Blumgart |first4=L H |journal=Journal of Clinical Pathology |volume=29 |issue=9 |pages=788–94 |pmid=977780 |pmc=476180}}</ref>

Mate has also become very popular outside of South America. In the tiny hamlet of [[Groot Marico]], [[North West Province (South Africa)|North West Province]], South Africa, mate was introduced to the local tourism office by the returning descendants of the [[Boer]]s, who in 1902 had emigrated to [[Patagonia]] in Argentina after losing the [[Second Boer War|Anglo Boer War]]. It is also commonly consumed in Lebanon, Syria, and some other parts of the Middle East, mainly by [[Druze]] and [[Alawite]] people. Most of its popularity outside South America is a result of historical emigration to South America and subsequent return. It is consumed worldwide by expatriates from the [[Southern Cone]].<ref>{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1017/S0010417509990314| title = Stimulating Consumption: Yerba Mate Myths, Markets, and Meanings from Conquest to Present| journal = Comparative Studies in Society and History| volume = 52| pages = 6–36| year = 2009| last1 = Folch | first1 = C. | s2cid = 145175412}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.yourmiddleeast.com/features/mate-tea-a-longtime-lebanese-hit_22142|title="Mate" tea a long-time Lebanese hit|newspaper=Your Middle East|access-date=6 January 2017|archive-date=7 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170107101104/http://www.yourmiddleeast.com/features/mate-tea-a-longtime-lebanese-hit_22142|url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[Materva]] is a sweet, carbonated soft drink based on yerba mate. Developed in Cuba in 1920, and produced since the 1960s in [[Miami, Florida]], it is a staple of the Cuban culture in Miami.<ref name="Wong-2014">{{cite news |last=Wong |first=Samantha |title=Materva: Un Buchito de Cuba |url=http://www.jwu.edu/uploadedFiles/Documents/Academics/studentwork/JWUStuFoodWritingNMI.pdf |access-date=10 September 2020 |newspaper=Johnson and Wales: Student Food Writing |page=8 (PDF p.&nbsp;11) |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140113000105/https://www.jwu.edu/uploadedFiles/Documents/Academics/studentwork/JWUStuFoodWritingNMI.pdf |archive-date=13 January 2014}}</ref><ref name="Roque-2011">{{Cite book |title=The Cuban Kitchen |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vmJlvl1mVUgC&pg=PA6 |first=Raquel Rábade |last=Roque |date=2011 |edition=1st |page=6 |publisher=Alfred A. Knopf |access-date=10 September 2020 |isbn=978-0-375-71196-1 |language=en}}</ref>

===Chemical composition and properties===
[[File:Yerba Mate on Market Shelf.jpg|thumb|right|Yerba for sale in the open-air market of [[La Boqueria]] in [[Barcelona]], Spain]]

Yerba mate contains a variety of polyphenols, such as the [[flavonoid]]s, [[quercetin]] and [[rutin]].<ref name=Gambero2015>{{cite journal|vauthors=Gambero A, Ribeiro ML |title=The positive effects of yerba maté (Ilex paraguariensis) in obesity|journal=Nutrients|volume=7|issue=2|pages=730–50|date=January 2015| pmid= 25621503| pmc= 4344557| doi= 10.3390/nu7020730|doi-access=free }}</ref>

Yerba mate contains three [[xanthine]]s: [[caffeine]], [[theobromine]], and [[theophylline]], with caffeine content varying between 0.7% and 1.7% of dry weight<ref>Dellacassa, Cesio et al. Departamento de Farmacognosia, Facultad de Química, Universidad de la República, Uruguay, Noviembre: 2007, pp.&nbsp;1–15</ref> (compared with 0.4–9.3% for [[tea]] leaves, 2.5–7.6% in [[guarana]], and up to 3.2% for ground [[coffee]]).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/duke/chemical.pl?CAFFEINE |title=Activities of a Specific Chemical Query |publisher=Ars-grin.gov |access-date=5 June 2011}}</ref><ref name="Pichersky-Lewinsohn-2011">{{cite journal | last1=Pichersky | first1=Eran | last2=Lewinsohn | first2=Efraim | title=Convergent Evolution in Plant Specialized Metabolism | journal=[[Annual Review of Plant Biology]] | volume=62 | issue=1 | date=2011-06-02 | issn=1543-5008 | doi=10.1146/annurev-arplant-042110-103814 | pages=549–566| pmid=21275647 | bibcode=2011AnRPB..62..549P }}</ref> Theobromine content varies from 0.3% to 0.9%; theophylline is typically present only in small quantities or sometimes completely absent.<ref>{{cite journal |pmid=3821141 |year=1986 |last1=Vázquez |first1=A |last2=Moyna |first2=P |title=Studies on mate drinking |volume=18 |issue=3 |pages=267–72 |journal=Journal of Ethnopharmacology |doi=10.1016/0378-8741(86)90005-x}}</ref> In some circles, mateine is a referential term for caffeine when found present in yerba mate (similar to theine from tea or guaranine from guarana).<ref>{{cite book|last=Scully|first=Crispian|title=Medical Problems in Dentistry|url={{Google books|PHLvOVaB0AEC|page=693|plainurl=yes|text=Caffeine is called guaranine when found in guarana, mateine when found in mate and theine when found in tea.}}|page=693}}</ref> Yerba mate also contains [[mineral]]s, such as [[potassium]], [[magnesium]], and [[manganese]].<ref>{{cite journal |first1=Eunice |last1=Valduga |first2=Renato João Sossela |last2=de Freitas |first3=Carlos B. |last3=Reissmann |first4=Tomoe |last4=Nakashima |year=1997 |title=Caracterização química da folha de ''Ilex paraguariensis'' St. Hil. (erva-mate) e de outras espécies utilizadas na adulteração do mate |url=http://ojs.c3sl.ufpr.br/ojs-2.2.4/index.php/alimentos/article/viewArticle/14033 |language=pt |journal=Boletim do Centro de Pesquisa de Processamento de Alimentos |volume=15 |issue=1 |pages=25–36|doi=10.5380/cep.v15i1.14033 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

===Weight loss===
There is no [[evidence based medicine|good evidence]] for yerba mate having an effect on [[Human body weight|body weight]] in humans.<ref>{{cite journal|vauthors=Pittler MH, Ernst E |title=Dietary supplements for body-weight reduction: a systematic review|journal= Am J Clin Nutr|volume=79|issue=4|pages=529–36|date=April 2004|pmid=15051593|doi=10.1093/ajcn/79.4.529|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|vauthors=Pittler MH, Schmidt K, Ernst E |title=Adverse events of herbal food supplements for body weight reduction: systematic review|journal=Obes Rev|volume=6 |issue=2 |pages=93–111|date=May 2005| pmid= 15836459| doi= 10.1111/j.1467-789X.2005.00169.x|s2cid=25448193}}</ref>

===Cancer===
[[File:Benzo(a)pyrene Concentration in Processed Yerba Maté Leaves Sampled in 2006, 2008, and 2010 - Column Chart.svg|thumb|[[Column chart]] displaying [[Benzo(a)pyrene]] concentration in processed yerba mate leaves sampled in 2006, 2008, and 2010: {{legend|#8b5a2b|2006 batches}}
{{legend|#654321|2008 batches}}
{{legend|#423629|2010 batches}}]]

Hot mate consumption is associated with [[oesophageal cancer]]. Very hot beverages (above 65&nbsp;°C) are classified by the [[International Agency for Research on Cancer]] (IARC) as ''probably carcinogenic to humans'' ([[IARC group 2A|group 2A]]), which also includes hot mate, as it is typically consumed at a temperature of 70&nbsp;°C. This classification indicates that the link between very hot beverage consumption and cancer is likely, but the proportion of oesophageal cancer cases due to drinking very hot beverages is not yet known.<ref name="IARC News-15/06/2016">{{Cite web |url=https://www.iarc.who.int/media-centre-iarc-news-drinking-very-hot-beverages/ |title=FACT SHEET: CANCER OF THE OESOPHAGUS AND DRINKING VERY HOT BEVERAGES| volume= 116 |date=2016-06-15 |access-date=2024-04-29 |website=[[International Agency for Research on Cancer]] |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240429053159/https://www.iarc.who.int/media-centre-iarc-news-drinking-very-hot-beverages/ |archive-date=2024-04-29 |url-status=live |format=}}</ref> 
There is no such association for cold mate and, in general, preparations under 65&nbsp;°C are not considered carcinogenic and are evaluated as ''not classifiable as to its carcinogenicity to humans'' ([[IARC group 3|group 3]]).<ref name="IARC-Book-2018">{{Cite book |title=Drinking Coffee, Mate, and Very Hot Beverages |year=2018 |publisher=International Agency for Research on Cancer |isbn=978-92-832-0183-0 |url=https://publications.iarc.fr/Book-And-Report-Series/Iarc-Monographs-On-The-Identification-Of-Carcinogenic-Hazards-To-Humans/Drinking-Coffee-Mate-And-Very-Hot-Beverages-2018 |format= |issn=1017-1606 |author-link=International Agency for Research on Cancer |access-date=2024-04-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240429063524/https://publications.iarc.fr/Book-And-Report-Series/Iarc-Monographs-On-The-Identification-Of-Carcinogenic-Hazards-To-Humans/Drinking-Coffee-Mate-And-Very-Hot-Beverages-2018 |archive-date=29 April 2024 |url-status=live |archive-format=}}</ref><ref name="Loomis-2016">{{cite journal |last1=Loomis |first1=Dana |last2=Guyton |first2=Kathryn Z |last3=Grosse |first3=Yann |last4=Lauby-Secretan |first4=Béatrice |last5=El Ghissassi |first5=Fatiha |last6=Bouvard |first6=Véronique |last7=Benbrahim-Tallaa |first7=Lamia |last8=Guha |first8=Neela |last9=Mattock |first9=Heidi |last10=Straif |first10=Kurt |title=Carcinogenicity of drinking coffee, mate, and very hot beverages |journal=[[The Lancet Oncology]] |date=July 2016 |volume=17 |issue=7 |pages=877–878 |doi=10.1016/S1470-2045(16)30239-X |pmid=27318851 |url=https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanonc/article/PIIS1470-2045(16)30239-X/ |access-date=29 April 2024|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.iarc.who.int/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Monographs-QA_Vol116.pdf |title=Q&A on Monographs Volume 116: Coffee, maté, and very hot beverages |access-date=2024-04-29 |website=[[International Agency for Research on Cancer]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240429074410/https://www.iarc.who.int/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Monographs-QA_Vol116.pdf |archive-date=2024-04-29 |url-status=live |year=2016 }}</ref><ref name="IARC-Press Release 244">{{Cite web |url=https://www.iarc.who.int/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/pr244_E.pdf |title=PRESS RELEASE N° 244 - IARC Monographs evaluate drinking coffee, maté, and very hot beverages |date=2016-06-15 |access-date=2024-04-29 |website=[[International Agency for Research on Cancer]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240429055633/https://www.iarc.who.int/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/pr244_E.pdf |archive-date=2024-04-29 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Since the traditional preparation of yerba mate leaves involves [[Smoking (cooking)|smoking]] them they contain a high number of [[polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons]] (PAHs), such as [[benzo(a)pyrene]], which are [[Carcinogen|carcinogenic]].<ref name="Golozar-2012">{{cite journal |last1=Golozar |first1=Asieh |last2=Fagundes |first2=Renato B. |last3=Etemadi |first3=Arash |last4=Schantz |first4=Michele M. |last5=Kamangar |first5=Farin |last6=Abnet |first6=Christian C. |last7=Dawsey |first7=Sanford M. |title=Significant Variation in the Concentration of Carcinogenic Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in ''Yerba Maté'' Samples by Brand, Batch, and Processing Method |journal=[[Environmental Science & Technology]] |date=18 December 2012 |volume=46 |issue=24 |pages=13488–13493 |doi=10.1021/es303494s |pmid=23101992 |pmc=3525749|bibcode=2012EnST...4613488G }}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Black drink]]
* [[Club-Mate]]
* [[Matte Leão]]
* ''[[Ilex guayusa]]'', known as ''guayusa'', another caffeine-containing holly species of the ''Ilex'' genus, native to the Ecuadorian Amazon rainforest
* ''[[Ilex vomitoria]]'', a caffeine-containing species of the ''Ilex'' genus native to North America
* [[Kuding]], ''Ilex kudingcha''
* [[Materva]]
* [[Nativa]]
* [[Guayakí (company)|Guayaki]]
* [[Yerba Mate Playadito]]

==References==
{{Reflist|colwidth=27em}}

==External links==
{{Commonscat}}
*[https://daily.jstor.org/plant-of-the-month-yerba-mate/ Plant of the Month: Yerba Mate] at [[JSTOR Daily]]. January 5, 2023

{{Yerba mate}}
{{Herbal teas}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q117068}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yerba mate}}
[[Category:Yerba mate| ]]
[[Category:Ilex]]
[[Category:Flora of Argentina]]
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[[Category:Trees of Brazil]]
[[Category:Flora of Paraguay]]
[[Category:Flora of Uruguay]]
[[Category:Flora of the Atlantic Forest]]
[[Category:Flora of the Cerrado]]
[[Category:Latin American cuisine]]
[[Category:Caffeine]]
[[Category:Herbal and fungal stimulants]]
[[Category:Herbal teas]]
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