The tea of South America is the tea of friends. Yes, Yerba Mate has become a cultural norm throughout such South American countries as Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Southern Brazil.

Sitting and sipping on Yerba Mate is a social pastime. What better way to pass the day than to sip on some tasty Yerba Mate and reminisce old times with friends. However, nowadays, Yerba Mate isn’t just a South American drink. People all over the world enjoy its delicious taste and many health benefits!

Interestingly enough, people who drink a healthy amount of Yerba Mate are rarely obese. It has been studied by scientists who believe that the tea may aid with weight loss. Yerba Mate cleanses the colon and is a gentle diuretic.

Yerba Mate is also known to energize the human body and stimulate mental alertness. It has been known to accelerate healing of skin and bodily problems, relieve stress, eliminate allergies, lengthen life span, and strengthen the immune system. With all of these benefits, how can you or your customers pass up such a wonderful drink?

Yerba Mate is not only good for the body, but it is also extremely beneficial to the human soul. People often drink it and meditate and reflect upon life. They use it to stimulate their minds and bodies, which can be a very spiritual experience. Oftentimes, people share Yerba Mate cups among close friends and family members – symbolic of the wholeness that the tea promotes.

Yerba Mate was first introduced to the world by the Guarani Indians in of Paraguay and Argentina in South America. It is brewed from a sub-tropical plant that needs high temperatures, humidity, and a good deal of rain to thrive. This plant needs about twenty-five years to completely develop to maturity. It produces oval-shaped leaves and flowers between the months of October and December. The flowers are tiny, and the fruit on the plant is similar to a pepper berry.

Approximately 300,000 tons of Yerba Mate are produced yearly in South America’s tea many gardens. The tea has a flavor that is both sweet and bitter, and can be enjoyed with any type of food – whether it is breakfast, lunch, dinner, or nighttime snack food. It is typically sold in bags of loose-leaf tea. Yerba Mate received its name from the cup that was traditionally used to drink it.

This cup was usually a dried out and decoratively pained gourd. Some people still drink Yerba Mate from cups such as these. However, Yerba Mate can be enjoyed any way. It can be brewed like a typical tea and filtered before drinking. Or, it can be used in a coffee press, where it becomes saturated with hot water before the herb is pressed out of the tea. Yerba Mate can even be made into iced tea to enjoy on a hot summer day. You can make Yerba Mate any way your imagination desires! Your body and soul will thank you.