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Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: MAR-MEC |
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MATE, or PARAGUAY TEA , the dried leaves of Ilex paraguariensis,' an evergreen shrub or small tree belonging to the same genus as the common holly, a plant to which it bears some resemblance in size and habit. The leaves are from 6 to 8 in. long, shortly stalked, with a somewhat acute tip and finely toothed at the margin. The small white flowers
Asuncion
Uruguay and Parana.Although mate appears to have been used from time immemorial by the Indians, the Jesuits were the first to attempt its cultivation. This was begun at their branch missions in Paraguay and the province of Rio Grande de San Pedro, where some plantations still exist, and Veld the best tea that is made. From this circumstance the names JJesuits' tea, tea of the Missions, St Bartholomew's tea, &c., are sometimes applied to mate. Under cultivation the quality of the tea improves, but the plant remains a small shrub with numerous stems, instead of forming, as in the wild state, a tree with a rounded head. From cultivated plants the leaves are gathered every two or three years, that interval being necessary for restoration to vigorous growth. The collection of mate is, however, chiefly effected by Indians employed for that purpose by merchants, who pay a money consideration to government for the privilege. When a yerbal or mate wood
1 I. gigantea, I. ovalifolia, I. Humboldtiana, and I. nigropunctata, besides several varieties of these species, are also used for preparing mate.and settle down to the work for about six months. Their first operation is to prepare an open space, called a tatacua, about 6 ft. square, in which the surface of the soil is beaten hard and smooth with mallets. The leafy branches of the mate are then cut down and placed on the tatacua, where they undergo a preliminary roasting from a fire kindled around it. An arch of poles, or of hurdles, is then erected above it, on which the mate is placed, a fire being lighted underneath. This part of the process demands some care, since by it the leaves have to be rendered brittle enough to be easily pulverized, and the aroma has to be developed, the necessary amount of heat being only learned by experience. After drying, the leaves are reduced to coarse powder in mortars formed of pits in the earth well rammed. Mate so prepared is called caa gazu or yerva do polos, and is chiefly used in Brazil. In Paraguay and the vicinity of Parana in the Argentine Republic, the leaves are deprived of the midrib before roasting; this is called caa-miri. A very superior quality, or caa-cuys, is also prepared in Paraguay from the scarcely expanded buds. Another method of drying mate has been adopted, the leaves being heated in large cast-iron pans set in brickwork, in the same way that tea is dried in China; it is afterwards powdered by machinery. The different methods of preparation influence to a certain extent the value of the product, the mate prepared in Paraguay being considered the best, that of Oran and Paranagua very inferior. The leaves when dried are packed tightly in serons or oblong packages made of raw hides, which are then carefully sewed up. These shrink by exposure to the sun, and in a couple of days form compact parcels each containing about aoo m of tea; in this form it keeps well. The tea is generally prepared for use in a small silver-mounted calabash , made of the fruit of Crescentia cujete (Cuca) or of Lagenaria (Cabaco), usually about the size of a large orange, the tapering end of the latter serving for a handle. In the top of the calabash , or mate,2 a circular hole about the size of a florin is made, and through this opening the tea is sucked by means of a bombilla. This instrument consists of a small tube 6 or 7 in. long, formed either of metal or a reed, which has at one end a bulb made either of extremely fine basket-work or of metal perforated with minute holes, so as to prevent the particles of the tea-leaves from being drawn
2 The word caa signified the plant in the native Indian language. The Spaniards gave it a similar name, yerba. Mate comes from the language of the Incas, and originally means a calabash. The Paraguay tea was called at first yerva do mate, and then, the yerva being dropped, the name mate came to signify the same thing. Mate (Ilex paraguariensis). Portion of plant. Flower, drupe and nuts. Part of under-side of leaf showing minute glands, natural size. 878 A little burnt sugar or lemon juice is sometimes added instead of milk. The beverage is then handed round to the company, each person being furnished with a bombilla. The leaves will bear steeping about three times. The infusion, if not drunk soon after it is made, rapidly turns black. Persons who are fond of mate drink it before every meal
damp
Since the beginning of the 17th century mate has been drunk by all classes in Paraguay, and it is now used throughout Brazil and the neighbouring countries. The virtues of this substance are due to the occurrence in it of caffeine, of which a given quantity of mate, as prepared for drinking, contains definitely less than a similar quantity of tea or coffee. It is less astringent than either of these, and thus is, on all scores, less open to objection. See Scully, Brazil (London, 1866) ; Mansfield, Brazil (London, 1856) ; Christy, New Commercial Plants, No. 3 (London, r88o) ; Kew Bulletin (1892), p. 132. End of Article: MATE, or PARAGUAY TEA If you wish, you can link directly to this article.
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