Mate history
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Mate Preparation
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Mate and Your Health
Mate History
Mate is a popular beverage consumed mainly in Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, and southern Brazil. In fact, it is the national drink an several of these Latin 
American countries, where in some cases, its preparation takes on ceremonial qualities.
The Guaraní people, indigenous to Paraguy, started drinking mate in the region that now includes Paraguay, southern Brazil, and north-east Argentina. The Guaraní have a legend that says that the Goddesses of the Moon and the Cloud came to the Earth one day to visit it but they instead found a Yaguareté (a kind of jaguar) that was going to attack them. An old man saves them, and, in compensation, the Goddesses gave the old man a new kind of plant, from which he could prepare a "drink of friendship".
Mate is traditionally drunk in social settings, such as family gatherings or with friends. One person (known in Spanish as the cebador) assumes the task of server. Typically, the cebador fills the gourd and drinks the mate completely to ensure its quality. The server subsequently refills the gourd and passes it to the next drinker who likewise drinks it all, without thanking the server. The ritual proceeds around the circle in this fashion until the mate becomes lavado ("washed out" or "flat"), typically after the gourd has been filled about ten times or more depending on the yerba used. Finally When one has had his fill of mate, he or she politely thanks the cebador passing the mate back at the same time.
