Mate history
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Mate Preparation
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Mate and Your Health
Mate
Mate is a caffeinated infusion prepared by steeping dried leaves of 
yerba mate (Ilex paraguariensis) in hot water. It is the national drink in in Uruguay, and Argentina and a common beverage in Paraguay, Chile, Brazil, eastern Bolivia, Lebanon, and Syria.
It is brewed from the dried leaves and stems of the perennial yerba mate tree which is a member of the holly family. The indigenous people of the native regions have been drinking infusions of yerba mate since pre-Columbian times. According to their traditions, it is the gift of a benevolent god. In the wild, the plant needs about twenty five years to develop completely, where it can reach a height of up to fifty feet.
In South America, it is also known as Paraguay Tea, Jesuit Tea. There, it is not only an infusion used widely as a drink, it is a popular medicine and is employed in commercial preparations as a stimulant, a diuretic, and an anti rheumatic.
