{"id":216004,"date":"2023-07-05T22:32:16","date_gmt":"2023-07-05T20:32:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/test.visit-latin-america.com\/?p=216004"},"modified":"2024-12-17T18:31:48","modified_gmt":"2024-12-17T16:31:48","slug":"mate-the-soul-of-argentina-in-a-cup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/visit-latin-america.com\/en\/mate-the-soul-of-argentina-in-a-cup\/","title":{"rendered":"Mat\u00e9: The soul of Argentina in a cup"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u00a0Argentina is rich in traditions and customs, including the ritual of mat\u00e9, which plays a key role. This drink, made from the dried leaves of the Yerba Mate shrub (Ilex paraguariensis), is much more than a simple infusion: it is a symbol of conviviality and sharing, a strong social bond that unites Argentines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Origin and history<\/h2>\n\n\n
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Late 18th century engraving of Paraguayan Indians harvesting and drying yerba mate.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The history of mate goes back to the time of the Guaranis, an indigenous people of South America. They used the leaves of the Yerba Mate shrub not only as a staple food, but also as a currency of exchange with other peoples, and even as an object of worship. The Spanish conquistadors discovered the virtues of mate thanks to the Guaranis, and contributed to its spread.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the centuries, mate cultivation has evolved, but has remained confined to its regions of origin: Uruguay, Paraguay, the province of Misiones and the north of Corrientes in Argentina, as well as the south-west of Brazil. These regions offer a humid tropical climate ideal for the growth of the Yerba Mate shrub.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Preparation and consumption<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Preparing mate is a ritual in itself. The mat\u00e9 leaves are placed in a calabash, a type of dried gourd that serves as a container. Hot water is then added, but not boiling hot, so as not to burn the leaves and preserve their aromas. The mate is drunk through a bombilla, a metal filtering straw used to strain the broken mate. The leaves can be infused several times, up to ten times for the best mat\u00e9s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Mat\u00e9, a social bond<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In Argentina, mate is much more than just a drink. It is a symbol of sharing and conviviality. It is common to see groups of friends, colleagues or family members sharing a mate, each taking their turn to drink from the bombilla. Refusing a mate can be interpreted as withdrawing from the social circle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The benefits of mate<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Mat\u00e9 is also appreciated for its stimulating properties. It contains caffeine, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. It is a natural stimulant that helps combat fatigue. It is also a diuretic and can help relieve certain ailments such as rheumatism and migraines.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Over the last few years, this traditional drink has become a trend, winning over internationally renowned fans such as Leo Messi, Antoine Griezmann, Barack Obama, Stephen King, Pope Francis and Kevin Bacon, who is regularly seen with a mat\u00e9 calabash in his hands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Mate is much more than just a drink in Argentina<\/a>. It’s a symbol of conviviality, a social bond and a cultural heritage. So the next time you visit Argentina, don’t forget to share a mate with the locals. You’ll discover an essential part of the Argentine soul.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Discover mate, the traditional Argentinian drink. More than an infusion, it’s a symbol of conviviality, a social bond and an ally for good health<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":230985,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8198],"tags":[7750,9125,8087,9126,9127,9128,8051,9129,9130,9131,18600,9132,9133,7556,8570,9134,9135,9136,9137,8651,9138,7704,9139,7578,8303,9140,7584,9141],"class_list":["post-216004","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture-eng","tag-amerique-latine-3","tag-antioxidants","tag-argentina","tag-bombilla-2","tag-calabash","tag-conviviality","tag-culture-2","tag-cultureargentina","tag-diuretic","tag-guaranis-2","tag-health-en","tag-historyargentina","tag-infusion-2","tag-latam-2","tag-latinamerica","tag-mate-2","tag-minerals","tag-preparationmate-2","tag-social-connection","tag-southamerica-2","tag-stimulantnatural","tag-tourisme-2","tag-traditionalbeverage","tag-travel","tag-travelargentina","tag-vitamins","tag-voyages-2","tag-yerbamate-2"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/visit-latin-america.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216004","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/visit-latin-america.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/visit-latin-america.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/visit-latin-america.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/visit-latin-america.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=216004"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/visit-latin-america.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216004\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":230987,"href":"https:\/\/visit-latin-america.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216004\/revisions\/230987"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/visit-latin-america.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/230985"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/visit-latin-america.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=216004"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/visit-latin-america.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=216004"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/visit-latin-america.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=216004"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}