Name
Yerba Maté, also known as Paraguay tea, Jesuit tea, Missionary tea and South American holly

Latin Name
Ilex paraguariensis

Origin
Maté is a dioecious (has male and female forms) evergreen tree which grows up to 18m in height. It grows wild in Argentina, Chile, Peru, and Brazil, but is most abundant in Paraguay where it is also cultivated.

Cultivated/Parts Used
Leaves dried

History of Use
Traditional popular South American beverage widely used as a nourishing tonic and stimulant. Tribes and missionaries alike were commonly reported to have gone many weeks or months without food, being nourished solely by Mate with no ill effects other than a little weight loss. Maté is the most popular household drink in Argentina and Paraguay across all social classes, and is more widely drunk than tea, coffee or other herbal preparations. It’s use with a gourd and bombilla make it a sociable drink to share with friends, each person taking a few sips, passing it along and topping up with hot water until there is no longer any taste.

Properties
Alterative, aperient, aromatic, astringent, bitter, diuretic, febrifuge, purgative, stimulant, sudorific.

Nutritional Breakdown
There is the usual array of resins, fibre, volatile oil, and tannins that characterize many plant substances. But then there is the growing list of vitamins and minerals, including carotene, vitamins A, C, E, B1, B2, B complex, riboflavin, nicotinic acid, pantothenic acid, biotin, vitamin C complex, magnesium, calcium, iron, sodium, potassium, manganese, silicon, phosphates, sulphur, hydrochloric acid, chlorophyll, choline, inositol and Matéine. Different assays find different nutrients; there is probably no single assay that has found all of them. There are certainly still other nutrients that have not been identified as yet.

How it works
In terms of its energising qualities Maté contains Matéine which has the same chemical make up as caffeine, but with the molecules arranged in a different way structurally. Mateine has a unique pharmacology and it is unfair to compare it to caffeine. Matéine appears to possess the best combination of xanthine properties possible. For example, like other xanthines, it stimulates the central nervous system, but unlike most, it is not habituating or addicting. Likewise, unlike caffeine, it induces better, not worse, attributes of sleep. It is a mild, not a strong, diuretic, as are many xanthines. It relaxes peripheral blood vessels, thereby reducing blood pressure instead or raising it as do most xanthines. We also know that it improves physical and mental activity without the typical xanthine-induced depressant after effects.

Dr. Jose Martin, Director of the National Institute of Technology in Paraguay, writes, "New research and better technology have shown that while Matéine has a chemical constituency similar to caffeine, the molecular binding is different. Matéine has none of the ill effects of caffeine."

Horacio Conesa, professor at the University of Buenos Aires Medical School, states, "There is not a single medical contraindication for ingesting Maté. Clinical studies show, in fact, that individuals with caffeine sensitivities can ingest Maté without adverse reactions”.

Contraindications/Interactions
Yerba Maté has been reported to have MAO-inhibitor activity in one in vitro study. Those persons taking MAO-inhibitor drugs should use Yerba Maté with caution to monitor these possible effects.

Do not use when pregnant or breastfeeding.

Instructions For Use/Dosages
For therapeutic purposes drink anything up to 2-3 cups per day for 4-5 days. Another approach is to steep about two tablespoons for 4-5 minutes in 16-32 ounces of water, and drink this daily, first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. Dieters drink one cup of tea 10-15 minutes before meals.

How to prepare a traditional Maté infusion
There are many different ways to prepare Maté. This is the traditional method.
• Fill the cup with Maté leaves to the desired level, a traditional cup would be filled up to ¾ of its capacity but for those new to the Yerba it’s best to start with about a ¼ of a cup until you get used to the taste.
• Pour in hot water, not boiling
• Drink (Maté is traditionally drunk with a strainer-straw called bombilla) and replenish the Maté with hot water.
• Repeat until there is no more flavour from the infusion. The repetitive extraction with hot water is the most efficient way of extracting the beneficial properties of the herb.
Some people add honey or herbs & spices (like mint, chamomile, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, ginger, or clove). You can also use warm milk instead of water to infuse the Mate.
Although the first taste will be an unusual flavour for newcomers, it is a haunting taste that beckons you back time and time again. It's almost as if the body knows how good Maté is for you and calls out for you to take in more.