Mate tea

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Mate in a traditional calabash with bombilla

The mate tea or mate , mate tea , Jesuit , missionary , Paraguay- or Paranatee , Spanish yerba mate , Portuguese Erva Mate , Chimarrão is a Aufgussgetränk from the chopped dry leaves of the Mate shrub Ilex paraguariensis . The drink is common in South America .

Mate originally referred to the drinking vessel ( Quechua mati 'drinking vessel' ), nowadays also the drink that the Guaraní called caiguá . In Uruguay , Paraguay and Argentina, the crushed leaves are known as yerba , whereas in Brazil the leaves are finely ground and sold as erva mate ; the resulting drink is called Chimarrão .

Mate as an infusion drink

Infused mate

Mate was already drunk by the indigenous people of South America before colonization. In the vicinity of the traditional cultivation areas, Rio Grande do Sul , Santa Catarina , Paraná , Paraguay, Argentina, Uruguay, in parts of Chile and in the Bolivian Gran Chaco , the majority of people nowadays regularly drink mate or chimarrão - in Argentina about 80% of the population drink Mate at least once a week, the annual consumption in 2011 was 6.8 kg per person. In other countries, however, the drink was never able to establish itself, which is why exports remained low and production is mainly for personal use. The Canary Islands , Syria and Lebanon are an exception . Mate was introduced there at the beginning of the last century by Arab emigrants who returned to the country, and is considered "the main drink" in some provinces ( Piporé , Yerba Mate ) . However, not all of the customs associated with mate drinking in South America have remained there. Originally and now again in the more northern, warmer areas of southern South America, the brew is drunk cold as tereré (ice).

In South America, other infusion drinks are also called mate , e.g. B. in Bolivia and Peru generally infusions from other plants such as mate de coca , prepared from the leaves of the coca bush .

Cultivation

Since the late second half of the 19th century, it is mainly in Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil in culture cultivated. Even today, however, around half of the mate on the market is harvested from trees growing in the wild.

Optimal growth conditions for Ilex paraguariensis are a relatively constant average temperature of 20 to 23 ° C, medium to high humidity and altitudes of 400 to 800 meters.

For the cultivation of the mate bush, the fruits are mechanically damaged and soaked in water. Germination takes up to three months. In the first two years, the small plants are sensitive to light and need to be shaded. The two-year young plants are cut just above the ground, the new shoots are then stronger and fuller. The first harvest takes place after four years, and the subsequent harvests take place every one or two years, depending on the growing area.

Largest mate producers (2018)
rank country Quantity
(in t )
1 BrazilBrazil Brazil 546.618
2 ArgentinaArgentina Argentina 302.099
3 ParaguayParaguay Paraguay 116.192

Manufacturing

In the South American winter (May – September), whole branches, ideally covered with two-year-old leaves, are cut off. Green mate (Taragin) and roasted mate ( Chá Mate ) are traded . For the latter, the whole branches, today mostly only the leaves, petioles, flower stalks and the young shoot tips are traditionally twisted in wire drums over a fire. This destroys the enzymes and thus stops fermentation , the color is retained and characteristic aromas are created. For the green mate, the shredded crop is fermented at 50 to 60 ° C for about a month, then heated to 400 ° C for one minute, with the water content falling from about 60% to 25%. Both types are then dried to around 8 to 9% residual moisture and cut into pieces or ground into powder and packaged. Depending on the region, different granularities are processed and consumed. In Brazil mainly fine with a strongly aromatic taste and Argentina coarse with a lighter aroma. The annual production in South America is around 300,000 tons (250,000 of which in Argentina alone, as of 2010).

For instant mate and soft drinks containing mate, the aroma components are distilled over steam and extracted with ether . The aroma of mate is smoky-earthy and somewhat sweet-sour like withered leaves, the fruity-bitter taste is often "refined" with different flavors in some regions such as Argentina (including orange flavor, cherry, cinnamon, peppermint).

Etymology and history

Mate was used by the indigenous people of Latin America . The word comes from the Quechua word mati , which describes a hollowed-out calabash as a drinking vessel, i.e. the container in which the leaves are poured. Today the ready-to-use dried leaves are sold in Brazil as erva-mate, congonha or simply erva , whereby congonha comes from the Tupi language and means 'what preserves being'. In the Spanish-speaking countries yerba or hierba 'herb' (this means medicinal herb ) is called. At the end of the 16th century, the Spanish conquistador and founder of Buenos Aires , Pedro de Mendoza , reported an encouraging drink used by the Indians . When the Jesuits settled what is now Paraguay in the following century , they began to systematically cultivate the mate plant and until they were expelled in the 18th century they had a kind of trade monopoly in all of Latin America.

The French botanist Auguste de Saint-Hilaire also systematically classified the mate plant during his travels through Brazil between 1816 and 1822. According to a scientific legend, the fact that it is not brasiliensis, but paraguayensis (or paraguaiensis ) is due to a mix-up when labeling the samples in Curitiba .

ingredients

Mate - leaves cut here: ready for preparation

The fresh leaves contain 0.35 to 1.7% caffeine , about 0.1 to 0.2% theobromine , theophylline and 4 to 16% tannins . The infusion is yellow-green and, depending on the strength, contains caffeine, theobromine, chlorophyll , tannic acid, essential oil and vanillin . It found that vitamins A , B1 , B2 and C . The aroma of the green and roasted matter was separated by gas chromatography and analyzed by mass spectrometry ; about 200 of more than 250 components were identified. In descending order, ketones , aldehydes and aliphatic alcohols , heterocyclic compounds, carboxylic acids and lactones , terpene alcohols , furanones , phenols , aromatic compounds, pyrazines and pyrroles were detected. Pyrroles, pyrazines and furanones are mainly formed in the Maillard reaction during the roasting process.

Therapeutic properties

Mate tea is said to have a number of therapeutic properties: stimulating nerves, muscles and metabolism, diuretic, promoting the formation of saliva and gastric juice and thus helpful for digestion, making sweat, activating due to the caffeine content and strengthening the circulation. In addition, mate has a slight laxative effect , especially in the form of tereré . Due to its tanning effect, it can also be used for the external treatment of skin irritations (eczema).

In Germany it is approved as a medicinal product, but is also sold in tea shops. It is traditionally valued as a performance-enhancing, hunger-reliever and as a "slimming product".

Health risks

However, frequent consumption of mate tea is also associated with a carcinogenic risk. In particular, the development of bladder cancer , esophageal cancer and lung cancer due to high levels of PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) and benzo (a) pyrene are associated with the consumption of mate tea. It is assumed that a high concentration of PAHs results from the smoke drying of the yerba mate. However, there is also yerba mate, which is not dried over fire. Research into esophageal cancer suggests that a higher temperature of the drink increased the incidence of cancer.

However, other studies showed the opposite results, for example a study by the University of Illinois from 2012. As part of the research work, human colon cancer cells were isolated and then mixed with caffeine from mate tea, so-called CQA derivatives. It was initially observed that these substances inhibited inflammation, which promotes the growth of cancer cells. It was also found that a high concentration of CQA derivatives killed the colon cancer cells. Study leader Elvire de Mejia stated "We particularly recommend people who are at risk of colon cancer to drink plenty of mate tea".

Animal experiments are also available on the protective effects of mate tea on exposure to nitrosamines .

Mate tea can be contaminated with harmful substances. In 2017, Öko-Test examined 14 products and rated twelve as “unsatisfactory”. One of the pollutants found was anthraquinone , which is considered to be potentially carcinogenic. The consumer magazine therefore recommends only moderate consumption of mate tea.

preparation

Calabash : a hollowed out pumpkin
Bombilla : metal drinking tube with sieve

The beverage is traditionally from the end portion (the butt end) of a hollowed gourd : (Spanish mate or calabaza , Portuguese cuia , gourd ' drinking). To do this, the bottle gourd is divided across its axis so that a cup-sized piece falls off. This is hollowed out and dried. The cuia (Portuguese) or the mate (Spanish) is often decorated with lettering or logos and reinforced with metal or other materials on the upper edge. The resulting vessel is placed at the end of the stem. Instead of a stand firmly attached to the calabash, a separate support trough is sometimes used, which is made of metal, leather, natural rubber or pumpkin and is often decorated. Depending on the region, there are different types, which can differ slightly or significantly from the one described here. The variety of types ranges from simple, small and misshapen to elaborately manufactured vessels from the arts and crafts. There are also mates made of turned wood, metal, horn, plastic and porcelain (in that order of distribution).

Another traditional method, especially for tereré, is drinking from a piece of cattle horn. This method comes from South American cowherds. To do this, the horn is 'corked' on one side with a round piece of wood from a special tree. The resulting drinking vessel is called guampa (from Quechua huampa ) and has a height of about 15 cm and a diameter of about 7 cm.

For drinking, one usually uses a bombilla (called in Rio Grande do Sul Bomba), a metal drinking tube (drinking straw) with a sieve at the bottom. Bamboo stalks are also offered. The grid-like sieve prevents tea particles from being sucked in while drinking. In addition, a finer-meshed bag made of fabric / nylon can be slipped over.

The drinking vessel is filled about halfway with yerba . The opening is closed with the inside of the hand and turned over, by gently shaking the yerba is sorted a bit, whereby the coarse parts separate from the fine powder. First it is shaken vertically, then the mate is carefully turned over; the coarse parts are on the bottom of the jar. The yerba is now slightly moistened and pressed along the axis of the vessel so that the bombilla can be inserted at an angle into the empty half. If you let the yerba stand a little, it can swell and fewer grains will later get into the bombilla when you drink it . Then pour 70 to 95 ° C hot water, carefully along the drinking tube, so that the yerba pressed against the inside is not whirled up. The temperature varies by region and taste; In general, mate sweetened with sugar or stevia ( mate dulce ) is drunk with very hot water inland, while unsweetened mate ( mate amargo 'bitter mate', mate cimarrón (Spanish) or chimarrão (Portuguese), roughly 'wilder') Mate ') with moderately hot water along the coast.

The infusion is repeated many times. For this purpose, the infusion water - especially outdoors or when traveling - is often kept hot in the ubiquitous thermos flasks. The mate leaves are considered to have been used up if no bubbles form when they are poured on and individual mate leaves float on top. Then the mate is washed out. If you made sure during preparation that the water was only poured into one side of the mate (for this the yerba was initially pressed along the axis of the vessel), you can now change the position of the bombilla, whereby the yerba , which has remained dry until now, is infused ( dar vuelta al mate 'turn the mate around' ). If that doesn't help, the jar has to be filled with new yerba .

The mate is mainly drunk with friends, relatives and work colleagues; Offering a mate to a guest is a sign of courtesy and hospitality. Both the preparation and the "correct" way of drinking are celebrated as an art and more or less strictly prescribed by numerous rules (mostly in the form of orally transmitted rhymes and expressions). It is considered impolite if the bombilla does not point to the recipient when it is handed over, or if the drinker delays the round excessively. The host usually drinks the first infusion, because this is the bitterest (and unreasonable for the guests). Often the first sip is simply spat out.

It is the responsibility of the person who prepares the mate ( el cebador ) to pour the mate up again, which is then served in turn, but which each drinker empties for himself and then returns. The trick is to prepare evenly strong mate. After a few infusions, the mate must not be washed out and taste stale, the water must not be too cold or clog the bombilla.

Of course, it can also be brewed conventionally like normal tea ( mate cocido , boiled mate ) and is also drunk and flavored with milk. Cocido can be prepared as follows (for example as a breakfast drink for children): first, sugar is lightly caramelized in a saucepan, then the mate leaves are added, briefly stirred and then poured over with water and reheated. In Brazil, cold mate ( tereré ) is sometimes drunk ice- cold with a few drops of lime juice, mixed with ice cream as mate espumante or enjoyed with a grated apple as vitamina de mate and even drunk with rum or cachaça as grogue de mate . In addition to the loose form, it is also available as a chewable tablet and in an infusion bag. Soft drinks such as various types of ice tea are made with flavor extract.

Advertising for Mate in Oberá , Misiones , Argentina. Decorated with bromeliads .

The calabashes must be treated ( curar el mate ) before they are used for the first time , so that the bitter substances are released from the pumpkin. To do this, carefully scrape the inside of the mate calabash with the mouthpiece of the bombilla. Then you fill the calabash with yerba and fill it with hot water. The whole thing should stand for at least 24 hours. Since the wood absorbs the water, a little water should be added from time to time. After a day or two, the jar is emptied and placed in the sun until it is completely dry. Then it can be used. Mat vessels made of metal or ceramic usually last longer than those made of wood or calabashes, but on the one hand they are less traditional and on the other hand they conduct heat better, which can lead to burns in hot water. To avoid this, metal mat vessels are usually double-walled.

When preparing hot mate ( mate caliente ), other herbs and root parts are often added to the mate container, for example various types of mint ( Bystropogon mollis sp. Peperina , Mentha pulegium , German Polei-Mint , Melissa officinalis , German lemon balm ) which are sometimes wild to grow. When preparing tereré, plant parts are often added to the water used for the preparation because of the flavor note or the attributed medicinal properties.

Economical meaning

For the Brazilian state of Paraná , mate was the cause of a long-lasting economic upswing and ultimately independence as a separate federal state. Paraná was a district of the state of São Paulo until December 19, 1853 . Over a period of more than 50 years, mate cultivation and its processing accounted for up to 85% of Paraná's economic production. For the production of maté, new towns with roasting plants and processing mills were founded. The transport system developed, regular ship traffic began on the Rio Iguaçu , the long connecting road "Graciosa" and a railway line were built that connects Curitiba with Paranaguá . Accompanying branches of industry such as barrel production emerged. This mate boom lasted until around World War II .

Different kinds of mate in an Argentine supermarket

In the last two decades of the 20th century, many hectares of land as well as little or unused mate farms were occupied by the Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra (MST 'Movement of Landless Farm Workers' ). In 1989 the first MST settlement Novo Paraíso 'New Paradise' was built in South Paraná ; to date there are over 50 cooperatives, which are now officially recognized and supported by the government with loans and infrastructure.

Today mate is sold in some supermarkets in Germany as an infusion bag and in many one-world shops as "Brazilian Yerba". For lemonade processed, it is as a scene-drink (z. B. Red Bull Organics Viva Mate, Club-Mate or Mio Mio Mate available). There is also mate beer , which is sold under the name Mier.

In some countries in the Middle East , such as Syria and Lebanon, mate is drunk in some provinces (see above).

literature

  • Daniela Brieger: Characterization of the leaves of Ilex paraguariensis SAINT HILAIRE and possible adulterations with the help of botanical and phytochemical methods. Cramer, Berlin et al. 1995 (Zugl .: University of Marburg, dissertation , 1994).
  • Norbert Ohem: The mate and its ingredients. Phytochemical and pharmacokinetic studies on Ilex paraguariensis St. Hil. University of Marburg, 1992 (dissertation).
  • Otto Hintze: The Herva-Mate, its extraction and use. With 10 pictures based on original photos from the mate industry, Bad Köstritz. In: Library of Entertainment and Knowledge. Volume 9, 1927, pp. 129-142.

Web links

Commons : Mate Drinks  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. El mate nuestro de cada día. at: clarin.com (span.)
  2. El consumo de yerba mate es de 6.8 kilos por habitante por año y se encuentra presente en más del 90 por ciento de los hogares de Argentina. on: misionesonline.net (PDF, span.)
  3. Tomar un té. at: herbogeminis.com (span.)
  4. FAOSTAT statistics from 2018. Accessed on August 28, 2020 .
  5. ^ A b Evaristo Eduardo de Miranda: Agricultura no Brasil do Século XXI . 1st edition. Metalivros, São Paulo 2013, ISBN 978-85-85371-99-9 , pp. 268 (Brazilian Portuguese).
  6. ^ E. De Stefani, P. Boffetta, H. Deneo-Pellegrini, P. Correa, AL Ronco, P. Brennan, G. Ferro, G. Acosta, M. Mendilaharsu: Non-alcoholic beverages and risk of bladder cancer in Uruguay . In: BMC Cancer . 7, 29 Mar 2007, p. 57.
  7. V. Sewram, E. De Stefani, P. Brennan, P. Boffetta: Maté consumption and the risk of squamous cell esophageal cancer in uruguay. In: Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 12 (6), Jun 2003, pp. 508-513.
  8. ^ E. De Stefani, H. Deneo-Pellegrini, AL Ronco, P. Boffetta, P. Correa, M. Mendilaharsu, G. Acosta, A. Quarneti, C. Silva: Diet patterns and risk of squamous cell oesophageal carcinoma: a case-control study in Uruguay. In: Asian Pac J Cancer Prev. 15 (6), 2014, pp. 2765-2769. PMID 24761898 .
  9. ^ E. De Stefani, L. Fierro, P. Correa, E. Fontham, A. Ronco, M. Larrinaga, J. Balbi, M. Mendilaharsu: Mate drinking and risk of lung cancer in males: a case-control study from Uruguay. In: Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev . 5 (7), Jul 1996, pp. 515-551.
  10. Farin Kamangar, Michele M. Schantz, Christian C. Abnet, Renato B. Fagundes, Sanford M. Dawsey: High Levels of Carcinogenic Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Mate Drinks. In: Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 17, May 2008, pp. 1262-1268.
  11. G. Roshandel, S. Semnani, R. Malekzadeh, SM Dawsey: Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. In: Arch Iran Med. 15 (11), Nov 2012, pp. 713-722, Review. PMID 23102250
  12. Compounds in mate tea induce death in colon cancer cells, in vitro study shows. at: sciencedaily.com
  13. JF Silva, LT Bidinotto, KS Furtado, DM Salvadori, DP Rivelli, SB Barros, MA Rodrigues, LF Barbisan: Maté attenuates DNA damage and carcinogenesis induced by diethylnitrosamine and thermal injury in rat esophagus. In: Food Chem Toxicol. 47 (7), 2009, pp. 1521-1529. PMID 19358871 .
  14. Patrick Junker: 14 Matetees in the test. In: ÖKO-TEST. Retrieved March 20, 2018 .
  15. ^ Mate beer from Berlin: Playing with the cult. In: Berliner Zeitung. March 13, 2012.
  16. metamate.cc: MIER; Not just MATE, not just BEER! ( Memento of the original from February 18, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / mier.metamate.cc