(, ''boiled mate'', or just cocido in Corrientes Province), (, ''mate tea''), (), or (

Cuyo, Argentina Cuyo is the wine-producing, mountainous region of central-west Argentina. Historically it comprised the provinces of San Juan, San Luis and Mendoza. The modern New Cuyo includes both Cuyo proper and the province of La Rioja. New Cuyo is a ...

) is an infusion typical of

Southern Cone The Southern Cone ( es, Cono Sur, pt, Cone Sul) is a geographical and cultural subregion composed of the southernmost areas of South America, mostly south of the Tropic of Capricorn. Traditionally, it covers Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay, bou ...

cuisine (mostly consumed in Southern Brazil, the Bolivian Chaco, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay). It is traditionally prepared by boiling

yerba mate Yerba mate or yerba-maté (''Ilex paraguariensis''; from Spanish ; pt, erva-mate, or ; gn, ka'a, ) is a plant species of the holly genus ''Ilex'' native to South America. It was named by the French botanist Augustin Saint-Hilaire. The leave ...

in water, then strained and served in cups. It is a bitter tasting beverage, similar to

mate Mate may refer to: Science * Mate, one of a pair of animals involved in: ** Mate choice, intersexual selection ** Mating * Multi-antimicrobial extrusion protein, or MATE, an efflux transporter family of proteins Person or title * Friendship ...

but milder, with the same stimulating and nutritional properties. It is also sold in teabags, so it can be prepared like tea.

History

The Jesuits in the current territories of the south of Brazil and Paraguay, and the Argentine provinces of

Misiones Misiones (, ''Missions'') is one of the 23 provinces of Argentina, located in the northeastern corner of the country in the Mesopotamia region. It is surrounded by Paraguay to the northwest, Brazil to the north, east and south, and Corrientes P ...

and Corrientes, in the first decades of the 17th century improved the cultivation technique of the yerba mate and exported it. Spain, to compete with the tea that England sold, put a chopped yerba mate on sale to make tea that became popular in Europe, known as the "Tea of the Jesuits". That "Tea of the Jesuits" from the 17th century, today has become the ''mate cocido'', a very popular infusion that, because of the low price of yerba mate compared to the price of

tea Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of '' Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of southwestern China and northe ...

coffee Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulant, stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world. S ...

, has become since the early 20th century the common beverage in schools, hospitals and prisons.

Preparation

The preparation of ''mate cocido'' in tea bags is almost the same as regular yerba mate, with the difference that in grinding the dust and sticks are removed, sorting and processing only the leaves. ''Mate cocido'' is also produced in soluble form.

Varieties

* Traditional: made from yerba mate, sometimes consumed with milk and sweetened. * Flavored: mate cocido to which an additional flavor has been applied. Some flavors are lemon, peach, vanilla, orange and tangerine. * Iced mate cocido: also called "cold mate cocido". It is a highly refreshing drink, the traditional or flavored mate cocido served cold, usually adding ice and lemon juice.

References

{{Reflist Herbal and fungal stimulants Yerba mate drinks Herbal tea Hot drinks Cold drinks Latin American cuisine Syrian cuisine Tea culture Argentine drinks Brazilian drinks Chilean drinks Paraguayan drinks Uruguayan drinks

History

Preparation

Varieties

See also

References