Where Does Mate Come From (The History and Origins of Mate)?
Yerba mate: an ancient beverage made with yerba mate leaves is quickly becoming popular. With functional beverages on the rise, yerba mate can now be consumed on the go. But, where does mate come from? You might wonder. And, what exactly is it?
For those not steeped in this earthy herb’s culture, the materos at Ola Mate have you covered. We’re diving into the history, the culture, and the indigenous roots of one of South America’s favorite infusions.
In this article, we’ll take a look at a few of the indigenous populations that helped birth and enshrine yerba mate in the annals of history as an essential part of Latin and South American beverage culture.
Some of these groups include:
-
Creek people
-
Hibaro
-
Quechua people
-
Ch’unchu
-
Guaraní people
-
Tupí people
-
Xetá people
-
Kaingang
-
Charrúas
-
Pampas
-
Mapuche people
Join us as we take a brief tour through over 3,000 years of yerba mate history.
What is yerba mate?
Yerba mate is a traditional caffeine-rich infused herbal drink that is popular and comes from South America. It’s most popular in Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina, and Brazil.
Mate itself comes from the leaves of the Ilex paraguariensis holly tree that’s native to South America. When processed for traditional drinking, it consists of three key components:
-
Hoja (the leaf)
-
Polvo (the dust)
-
Palo (the stem)
Loose-leaf yerba mate includes a mix of all three of these ingredients. Traditionally, it is sipped through a bombilla (a metal straw) from a mate (gourd). This earthy, herbal, and slightly bitter-tasting plant is a mix between coffee and tea.
Though this sugar-free drink is fast becoming popular, it traces its origins to hundreds of years. Let’s see where this fan-favorite drink got its initial start.
Where does mate come from? Hint: Colonial roots and people
Mate hails its roots from South American indigenous peoples. As consumption of yerba mate grew, each region in South America adapted this herbal remedy to fit its needs.
Let’s take a look at the origins of yerba mate, and its relatives, for each group of people who encountered yerba mate.
The Creek people (from the Appalachian Mountains)
Ironically, the Creek people aren’t from South America. They’re actually from the Appalachian Mountains in North America.
Also known as the Muscogee, or Mvskoke people, the Creek people are a group of indigenous people from Southeastern North America, where a plant called the Ilex dahoon grows.
This plant was used to create a beverage that’s famous for its black color and bitter taste, and while not quite yerba mate, the Ilex dahoon plant is a close cousin to the Ilex paraguariensis plant.
The Jívaroan people
Next, we move to the Jívaroan people, the South American Indian people living in the eastern region of the Andes, which is now Ecuador, Colombia, and Venezuela. They consumed another variety of the Ilex plant called Ilex guayusa, a drink that had narcotic properties.
Since the Jívaroan people were fairly militant and warlike (they’re known for shrinking human heads after killing their enemies, yikes!), they often drank the ilex guayusa to enhance their physical prowess while fighting in wars.
The Jívaroan weren’t exactly the most peaceful, nor did they use the Ilex plant for peace-keeping, but we can trace the origin of yerba mate consumption to this region of South America.
The Quechua people
The Quechua group comprises many different civilizations but hail from the Andean highlands from Ecuador to Bolivia. Many live and work as farmers in the high Andes mountains.
In fact, historians have chronicled how the term for cup, or mate, “became associated not only with the vessel in which the yerba is placed, but also with the ritual that surrounds consumption” of yerba mate, says Rebekah E. Pite, author of Sharing Yerba Mate: How South America’s Most Popular Drink Defined a Region.
Many archaeologists have found yerba mate leaves, and other yerba mate paraphernalia, among some of the tombs of the dead in their personal belongings. In essence, the term, yerba mate, traces its roots to the Quechua people and the traditions that surrounded their lifestyle.
The Ch’unchu
The Ch’unchu tribe lived in what is now the northeast of Peru. Similar to the Jívaroan people, they prepared Ilex guayusa as an infusion.
The Ch’unchu also used the ilex guayusa plant, a close cousin to yerba mate, for its magical effects aimed at elevating everyday living.
The Guaraní people
Like the Quechua people, the Guaraní is an umbrella term for groups of different tribes. During the 18th century, after parts of South America were colonized, the Guaraní people were forced to work in agriculture, cattle raising, and other tasks.
Yerba mate was often consumed by tribes that spread out across Paraguay and Uruguay. In fact, Paraguayan yerba mate was widely used by the Guaraní people for their religious rites.
During their colonization by the Spanish empire, the Guaraní people created a medical infusion using the yerba mate plant. This infusion became so popular that the inhabitants of the region quickly picked up on and desired to consume this concoction. As a result, over time, yerba mate became a common item in daily commerce and regional marketplaces.
We can thank the guaraní people for techniques that we use to toast, mill, and dry today’s modern yerba mate concoctions.
The Tupí people
The Tupían-speaking people were fairly spread out throughout the south of the Amazon. Many of them were farmers, coastal navigators, and river dwellers.
They often chewed yerba mate leaves and would place whole leaves in a gourd with hot water. Finally, they would drink the concoction, using a reed to separate the liquid from the leaves.
The Xetá people
Located in the State of Paraná in Brazil, the Xetá people are nearly extinct today, with few remaining survivors. This rural-dwelling group of people consumed yerba mate leaves, often creating drink infusions using the leaves.
The Kaingang
Like the Guaraní people, the Kaingang had an outsized impact on the popularization and spread of yerba mate across the world. Hailing from Paraguay, southern Brazil, and northern Argentina, the Kaingang drank yerba as a tea.
Yerba mate held special significance for them in religious ceremonies and in rituals, much like many of the other Latin American peoples listed above.
The Charrúas
The Charrúa people lived in the grasslands north of the Rio de la Plata, and they were hunters and gatherers. Uruguayan mate, often called charrúa mate, includes yerba mate, where twigs and stems are removed from the tea infusion.
To be clear, today’s modern Uruguayan mate can be partially traced back to the Charrúa people. In fact, the Charrúa people often drank yerba mate as part of a social event using a gourd.
The people of the Pampas
The people of the Pampa, southern grasslands which cover central Argentina, all of Uruguay, and parts of Brazil, were mostly hunters who subsisted off meat from animals.
The Ilex plant didn’t grow in the Pampas, and the people of the Pampas practiced no agriculture, according to a Duke University research publication. Interestingly, the Ilex plant species was used more as a commodity for trade and bartering in this region.
The Mapuche people
The Mapuche people hail from the south-central region of Chile and southwestern Argentina, including parts of Patagonia, where yerba mate is widely consumed for its beneficial properties and as a way to bring people together.
The Mapuche people, in modern-day life, use yerba mate for bonding and welcoming visitors to a community. For the Mapuche people, the act of "sharing a mate" remains a vital tradition that helps enhance social harmony.
Why do we call it mate?
So, why do we call the Ilex paraguariensis plant mate? You might wonder. With such a rich and storied history, you’d be totally justified in wondering how the name came to stick.
Among the Guaraní people, the word “mate” comes from the Guaraní word “Caa-mate”, where “caa” means plant, and “mate” refers to the cup (called a calabash) or gourd that’s used to sip the yerba loose-leaf concoction. As a result, we now call this delicious infusion “yerba mate” for short.
We can thank the Guaraní culture for the popularity of this term and its spread across a variety of South American countries, and nations across the world, for that matter.
Who drinks mate today?
In the 21st century, you’ll find that people on every continent that like to drink mate. From the cities of European metropolises to small villages across Latin America, the cultural significance of yerba mate has spread from seaboard to seaboard.
Nevertheless, today, mate is mostly consumed in Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, South Chile, and some areas of Brazil, particularly in the Brazilian states of Rio Grande do Sul, Paraná, and Mato Grosso do Sul.
Moreover, people across the world are beginning to sip yerba mate due to the many positive health benefits it offers.
Quick detour on yerba mate’s popularity: did you know?
Did you know that mate connected people before phones existed? 🧉
Miss those times? We do. 📵
Take a quick peek at how people connected with yerba mate, pre cell phones and tablets.
Check it out here on our Instagram page.
Ready to start your own mate tradition?
Yerba mate is no longer consumed in South America alone. Thanks to modern transportation, shipping, and good ol’ word of mouth, mate is consumed in rural and urban spaces all over the world for all its beneficial properties.
Starting your journey into sipping yerba mate can sometimes be confusing (Novice mate drinkers: To help you find the right loose leaf yerba mate, check out our beginner’s guide to yerba mate). But, if you aren't ready to carry a gourd and a thermos everywhere, and don’t yet have the money to travel to Buenos Aires for traditional mate, but still want the benefits of this ancient herb without the prep, why not try Ola Mate?
Our all-natural, sparkling yerba mate tea is packed with plenty of antioxidants and nutrients. Plus, it’s non-GMO, USDA Organic, provides a clean caffeine boost, and comes in three delicious flavors — Berry Coconut Lavender, Grapefruit Ginger, and Raspberry Bliss.
If you’re looking for a non-GMO drink with natural caffeine that’s delicious, refreshing, and boosts mental and physical performance, we invite you to browse our entire collection of all-natural, on-the-go sparkling yerba mate beverages.
