A plant species of the holly genus Ilex endemic to South America is known as Yerba Mate or yerba-mate. Augustin Saint-Hilaire, a French botanist, gave it its name. The plant's leaves may be used to prepare the mate beverage by steeping them in hot water. It is used to produce tereré when cold brewed. Caffeine may be found in both the plant and the beverage.
Before the arrival of the Europeans to the Americas, the native Guaran and certain Tup populations were the first to plant and use Yerba Mate. Its usage was restricted to the locals of just two departments in the area that is now Paraguay, namely Amambay and Alto Paraná. Upon the Jesuits' discovery of its potential for commercialization, Yerba Mate expanded across the province and even to other parts of the Spanish Crown. Yerba Mate is historically eaten in Argentina, Uruguay, Southern Brazil, the Gran Chaco of Bolivia, and Southern Chile, as well as in the central and southern parts of South America, particularly in Paraguay. As a result of 19th-century Syrian immigration to Argentina, it has also gained popularity among the Druze and Alawite communities in the Levant, particularly in Syria and Lebanon, where it is imported from Paraguay and Argentina. IN addition to being offered as an iced tea in bottles or cans, Yerba Mate is now distributed all over the world in a variety of energy drinks. The plant is known by the Guaran name ka'a, which translates to "herb" in English. The Portuguese phrase "congonha," which refers to a number of plant species, is derived from the Tup idiom "k'gi," which roughly translates to "what keeps us alive." However, this language is no longer often used. Mate is derived from the Quechua word mati, which also means "gourd" and "container for a drink." Both contemporary Portuguese and Spanish use the word mate. The first syllable of the word "mate" is stressed. The Spanish term hierba, which is also spelt yerba in Latin America, means "herb." Yerba is a word that can mean "herb," "grass," or "weed." It could also be applied to marijuana. Yerba only refers to the Yerba Mate plant in Argentina. As a result, Yerba Mate was initially interpreted as the "gourd herb," or the herb that is consumed from cantaloupe. Lex paraguariensis starts as a shrub and develops into a tree that may reach a height of 15 metres. The evergreen leaves have serrated edges and are 7-110 millimetres long by 30-55 millimetres broad. The names yerba and erva, both of which mean "herb," are sometimes given to the leaves. They are commercially harvested, contain caffeine (also known as mateine in various regions of the world), and similar xanthine alkaloids. The blooms have four petals, are tiny, and are greenish-white. Red drupes with a diameter of 4-6 millimetres make up the fruit. The indigenous Guaran people of Paraguay's area were the first to use Yerba Mate, and it then extended to the Tup people who resided in the districts of Amambay and Alto Paraná. Its usage increased widely throughout European colonization, especially in the Spanish colony of Paraguay in the late 16th century, among both Spanish immigrants and indigenous Guaran who had already been using it to some extent before the Spanish arrival. Due to its extensive use, it became Paraguay's primary export over other goods like tobacco, and indigenous peoples' labour was utilised to harvest wild stands.
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