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Yerba mate, from Paraguay to Syria

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Re: Yerba mate, from Paraguay to Syria

#31

Post by o_____________o »

cess11 wrote: post #15

This part is rather easily explained, I think: "how did it captivate so many millions of daily drinkers around the world?" Unlike coffee beans it's trivial to produce, you basically just chop leaves and dry them, possibly with smoke. Unlike coffee there are no adrenergic heebie-jeebies, only a rather strong and 'pure' caffeine high. Supposedly there's a mineral content that'll be nice to the nervous system too. There…

> some countering that it might just be the practice of drinking a very hot infusion

Yeah and from what I remember, frequently cited studies were looking at the combination of maté with tobacco and alcohol, others didn't control for the delivery style. Maté, especially when consumed in a tiny gourd that's constantly refreshed with boiling water, can make the tissues in your mouth and neck more vulnerable to subsequent cigarettes.

On top of that, maté leaves are often smoke dried, which carries some self-evident risks. My conclusion was to get air dried leaves and be mindful of how hot the water is.

Re: Yerba mate, from Paraguay to Syria

#33

Post by pizzafeelsright »

soneca wrote: post #3

> ”sipping a hot, slightly bitter infusion of caffeinated leaves from a dried gourd through a filtered metal straw, before passing the gourd to their friends to share” Someone might correct me, but I believe it is only in Brazil south that “chimarrão” (how they call this drink) is drank like this, hot and shared. In Argentina and Uruguay you drink it individually. You can share the recipient with the mate in it, but…

As a kid I tried hanging with adults doing this.

That social circle was fun. I do miss it.

The idea of sitting in a circle today for four hours between meals seems unattainable today.

Re: Yerba mate, from Paraguay to Syria

#34

Post by gota »

sombragris wrote: post #29

Paraguayan here. Nice to see a good article talking about Yerba Mate. A nitpick on Tereré. Tereré is usually the ice-cold version of mate. You drink mate with hot water, tereré with ice-cold water as a refreshment. The practice of drinking it with fruit juice or some sweet beverage is mostly prevalent on northern Argentina. Here it is mostly viewed as a sacrilege. You drink your yerba mate, whether hot or cold, unswe…

Parts of southern and central-western Brazil also drink Tereré ("Tererê") with fruit juice, most tipically lemonade, so I'd guess there may be some other places here and there in South America where that's also regionally true

In those same regions a sort of sweetened hot mate drink is typically made for children. Do you have that in Paraguay? It's called "Mate-doce", and I'm pretty sure it's not related to what you described as "cocido", which I've never heard of and sounds like it prepares the leaves in a different way

Does anyone have a 'recipe' for this cocido? I'm curious to check it out

Re: Yerba mate, from Paraguay to Syria

#35

Post by cess11 »

freefaler wrote: post #21
cess11 wrote: post #15

This part is rather easily explained, I think: "how did it captivate so many millions of daily drinkers around the world?" Unlike coffee beans it's trivial to produce, you basically just chop leaves and dry them, possibly with smoke. Unlike coffee there are no adrenergic heebie-jeebies, only a rather strong and 'pure' caffeine high. Supposedly there's a mineral content that'll be nice to the nervous system too. There…

There is some evidence of prolonged use and cancer: https://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/integrative-medicine/herbs...

This study, https://sci-hub.wf/10.1007/s10552-012-9968-z ?

If so they just decided that alcohol and tobacco don't have any effect on prostate cancer prevalence and then went on and crunched some numbers on threehundred or so cases, out of which a third said they'd been smokers for more than fifty years.

I think it's very hard to generalise from that study alone.

Re: Yerba mate, from Paraguay to Syria

#36

Post by baerrie »

IndrekR wrote: post #30
pfdietz wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> yaupon holly Its Latin name is unfortunate, though.

Ilex vomitoria

It was named this way because colonialists thought it was what was primarily used in Cherokee medicine that caused vomiting. In reality it may have merely just have been one ingredient or not used at all. The berries also cause stomach upset

Re: Yerba mate, from Paraguay to Syria

#38

Post by mmmBacon »

pfdietz wrote: post #28
comfrey11 wrote: post #25

It’s interesting to see the love for yerba mate here! Fun fact: until the 1800s, yaupon holly was the go-to caffeinated beverage in the USA. Native Americans and early settlers drank it regularly, much like how yerba mate is enjoyed in South America. It was called “black drink” and was prized for its stimulating effects and health benefits. However, coffee’s rise in popularity pushed yaupon holly out of the spotlight…

> yaupon holly Its Latin name is unfortunate, though.

According to Wikipedia the Latin name was given for a reason.

* Historically the ceremonial consumption often included vomiting, and Europeans deduced that yaupon caused it (hence the Latin name - Ilex vomitoria).[11] The active ingredients, like those of the related yerba mate and guayusa plants, are caffeine, theobromine, and theophylline;[12][13] the vomiting may have resulted from the great quantities in which they drank the beverage, coupled with fasting.[6][14]*

Re: Yerba mate, from Paraguay to Syria

#39

Post by Izikiel43 »

soneca wrote: post #3

> ”sipping a hot, slightly bitter infusion of caffeinated leaves from a dried gourd through a filtered metal straw, before passing the gourd to their friends to share” Someone might correct me, but I believe it is only in Brazil south that “chimarrão” (how they call this drink) is drank like this, hot and shared. In Argentina and Uruguay you drink it individually. You can share the recipient with the mate in it, but…

No, that’s not correct at all.

In meetings, you share the mate across, I’ve only seen 1:1 people:mate relations in American shows (grace and Frankie for example) and we consider that very weird.

The social point of mate is to meet and chat with other people, and spend some time together, sharing mate and food

Re: Yerba mate, from Paraguay to Syria

#40

Post by pelagicAustral »

gota wrote: post #34
sombragris wrote: post #29

Paraguayan here. Nice to see a good article talking about Yerba Mate. A nitpick on Tereré. Tereré is usually the ice-cold version of mate. You drink mate with hot water, tereré with ice-cold water as a refreshment. The practice of drinking it with fruit juice or some sweet beverage is mostly prevalent on northern Argentina. Here it is mostly viewed as a sacrilege. You drink your yerba mate, whether hot or cold, unswe…

Parts of southern and central-western Brazil also drink Tereré ("Tererê") with fruit juice, most tipically lemonade, so I'd guess there may be some other places here and there in South America where that's also regionally true In those same regions a sort of sweetened hot mate drink is typically made for children. Do you have that in Paraguay? It's called "Mate-doce", and I'm pretty sure it's not related to what you…

Mate cocido is indeed a known concept, at least in southern Patagonia. It's a Mate infusion that is generally sweetened... I still do drink Mate Cocido every now and again...
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