Che Mate Organic Pure Green Mate Tea. Loose Leaf With Stems 500g

Traditional Ché Mate Pure Green Maté with stems

Loose leaf coarse ground

Also Known As Yerba Mate

Maté is a revitalising herbal beverage. The leaves grow naturally in the subtropical iron-red soil of South America where mate has been enjoyed locally over the centuries. Maté is recognised around the world for its valuable nutrients and anti-oxidants and today millions benefit from its many virtues. Maté has been aptly called “ Nature’s most perfect beverage”.

Our mate leaves are sourced in the Alto Paraná region on an estate that has pioneered organic farming. In keeping with traditional methods, the mate leaves are smoke-dried and then stored at the oldest mate mill in the area to allow the distinctive flavour to develop.

Maté - pronounced mah-tay - is an evergreen shrub belonging to the holly family. Its botanical name is ilex paraguariensis and it is grown in the iron-red soils of northern Argentina, Paraguay and southern Brazil.

The leaves of the shrub are picked and dried, and used to make a herbal infusion which is mainly consumed by the peoples of South America.

The word maté comes from the Quechua Indian dialect word "mati" meaning gourd, the vessel traditionally used to drink maté. The large maté plantations in the north-eastern Misiones province of Argentina were developed and expanded by Jesuit missionaries in the 17th century. After the Jesuits were expelled these plantations gradually passed into private ownership

Maté's health-giving properties were first recognised by the Guarani Indians who drank copious amounts of maté to combat fatigue, stimulate the mind, detoxify the blood - and even restore youthful hair colour. In more recent times, Charles Darwin declared maté the "perfect stimulant", although history does not reveal whether he was referring to his youthful hair colour.

Currently maté accounts for 53% of the hot beverage market in Argentina, and it knows no social boundaries. Offering and accepting maté is a gesture of hospitality and friendship - not only for the gauchos riding across the pampas with only maté to keep them going, but also for city-dwellers drinking maté in the cafés of Buenos Aires.