The Indians known as the Guaraní began drinking yerba mate in the region that now includes Paraguay, southern Brazil, southeastern Bolivia, northeastern Argentina and Uruguay. To the Guarani, yerba mate is known as the ‘drink of the gods’.By 1639, yerba mate had already become immensely popular naming the Spanish setllers as well, much to Ruiz de Montoya’s dismay, who claimed to have seen people ‘who lost their minds for several days’ as a result of its abuse.
The Guarani did not drink mate as a regular beverages; for them, it was medicine. Yerba mate was originally drunk out of special hollowed gourds, also called mates, although they are commonly made out of metal today, as well as other materials such as wood or ceramic.
The word mate is derived from the Quichua a word mati, which names the hollowed–out gourd that is traditionally used for drinking the infusion.
History of yerba mate beverage
