Mate tea - what is it: the properties, composition and taste of mate

This drink can be attributed to one of the most useful, due to its unique qualities and properties, but you need to focus on your individual characteristics and health status.

So that's what & ndash; yerba mate (mate) green tea, the photo of which is located above, and why is it recommended to be consumed in order to prevent diseases and maintain health?

Scientists in Argentina, Paraguay, Brazil, Canada, the United States, Spain, Switzerland, Germany, and Russia all confirm this fact.

Their scientific research made it possible to say that it is advisable to drink it to significantly increase working capacity, brain activity, maintain body weight within normal limits, spur the immune system and prevent certain diseases, as well as to balance the psycho-emotional state.

The beneficial effects on the human body are due to the unique substances contained in the mat:

• Matein activates the nervous system without causing pathological dependence.
• Thiamine contributes to the production of a neurotransmitter that affects the CNS (central nervous system), including memory and heart function.
• Vitamin C has a beneficial effect on the body's defenses, increasing resistance to inflammatory processes.
• Rutin enhances the properties of ascorbic acid by strengthening the walls of blood vessels.

What is it: Straight from the tree to the table

It has absolutely nothing to do with brewing tea bush leaves with steep boiling water.

Other raw materials are used here for preparation.

Externally, in a dry form, mate is a little like chopped tea & ndash; green cups measuring 2-3 mm. The drink is called yerba mate, as it is created from the leaves and shoots of yerba & ndash; Paraguayan holly.

The plant was first discovered in Argentina in the Paraná River basin, as well as its right, largest tributary. And now, along with Paraguay, it remains the leader in mate cultivation, but the culture is actively grown in many other countries, for example, in Uruguay and Brazil, becoming a favorite ethnic drink, as roybush for Africans.

The popularity of mate is associated not only with the tonic effect on the human body, but also with its unique taste! The taste of this noble drink is extremely unusual.

Neither black nor green regular tea looks like it, neither in color, nor in aroma, nor in other qualities. It weaves together powerful streams of herbal, fresh smell, light sweetness and subtle mustard.

In appearance, a properly prepared solution is a clear, light green liquid.

You should also try the Lemon Mate option.

A refreshing drink, fragrant with a slight haze, acquires a unique aroma. The sourness becomes more pronounced, the astringency and sweet mustard of the calendula petals gives the drink extravagance, a kind of charm.

History

It is now very difficult to reconstruct the chronology of events and highlight the moment when it was first discovered by people.

There is information that the Indians living on the banks of the Parana drank it from time immemorial, long before the first & laquo; white gods & raquo; & ndash; Europeans.

In the 16th century, the Spanish conquistadors conquered and destroyed the great civilization of the Inca empire, and then went further inland.

As you know, Argentina and Paraguay, located in the central and southwestern parts of South America, are considered the birthplace of mate tea, it was there that it was first discovered by the colonialists.

The locals called him & laquo; divine elixir & raquo;, drank, passing in a circle the bowl, which was called calabas.

This surprised the newcomers of the Spaniards, who did not see anything special in him.

However, after a few years, they fully appreciated it, due to the amazing ability to cure many diseases, including serious fever and scurvy, which was almost fatal at that time.

There are historical records that already in the 17th century, Paraguayan holly began to be cultivated by monks of the Jesuit Order (Society of Jesus, St. Ignatius) in the area called Argentine Mesopotamia or Mesopotamia.

The exclusive right to grow remained with them until the 18th century, which is why tea received the nickname & laquo; monastic & raquo; or & laquo; Jesuit & raquo;.

Then the holy men lost influence and power, and the preparation of the & laquo; elixir & raquo; has been abandoned for years.

It was restored only at the dawn of the twentieth, which attracted a real tsunami of immigrants to the above areas, mainly Germans and Poles looking for income.

Subtleties of cultivation and preparation

For mate production use:

• Sheets that give it its main taste, aroma and color.
• Young shoots with many benefits.

Dust is often noted in dry brewing & ndash; this indicates that the preparation process is correct.

Not the upper young leaves are removed from the tree, as it & laquo; works & raquo; with an ordinary tea bush, and shoots entirely. It is customary to harvest throughout the heat period from May to September.

Main post-processing steps:

• Quick drying on an open fire or in a special oven at temperatures up to 600 & deg; C.
• Optional slow drying and fermentation.
• Coarse to size.
• Exposure to specific conditions.
• Final roasting.
• Fine grinding.
• Packaging and storage.

Holly paraguayan, yerba mate tea: chemical composition and properties - green or black

The leaves of this tree have a really outstanding, unusual set of micro and macro elements, vitamins, minerals and other & laquo; benefits & raquo; that they give to the drink when brewing. The final version is many times superior to everything that we used to use earlier.

It is considered to be as tonic as coffee, although it contains less than 1% caffeine.

Taste

This is how Paraguayan is completely different from all others.

Basic notes & ndash; herbal, rich and even slightly oily, with a slight haze.

Due to the correct special fermentation, there are some tart tobacco echoes that give it a special piquancy and originality.

Chemical composition

It is so saturated that it is not possible to name all its components in a small article. Let's limit ourselves to a few:

• Vitamins B, A, C, E, K and others.
• Alkaloids including caffeine, theophylline, thiamine, theobromine.
• Potassium, manganese, copper, chlorine, zinc, iron, calcium, magnesium, sodium, phosphorus.
• Amino acids and saponins.
• Flavonoids (natural dyes, antioxidants and tannins).

It also has a fairly high percentage of essential oils and organic acids.

Extract of natural raw materials is used as a basis for the manufacture of tonic mixtures and energetics, along with the well-known guarana.

Benefits

The best taste of mate tea, the description of the herb and plants of which is given above, is quite consistent with its useful qualities. & nbsp;

It normalizes the psycho-emotional state, establishes metabolic processes in the body, calms the nervous system, stimulates the brain, and also has a number of other advantages:

• Tonic, but no transition to insomnia.
• Excretion of toxic substances, toxins and toxins.
• Combat stress.
• Antioxidance. Components from the composition bind free radicals, preventing premature aging.
• Adaptogenic and immunomodulatory activities.
• Vasocleaning effect.
• Improve digestion and GI function in general.

As an additional & laquo; bonus & raquo;, the composition also turns out to be a surprisingly effective tool in the fight against overweight.

It contributes not only to the early breakdown of fats, but also to the burning of excess calories. Saturating our body with the impact composition of macro- and microelements, vitamins and mineral, reduces appetite, which further increases its importance in the difficult task of losing weight.

& laquo; Russian Tea Company & raquo; offers to evaluate all this yourself by trying the Green option, which has special advantages.

It is refreshing, thirst-quenching, and warm in the cold season, its benefits are undeniable.

Contraindications and harms

Despite the incredibly extensive list of useful properties, there are a number of features in which you should not use this tea. Be sure to read them:

• Individual intolerance.
• Pregnancy and lactation.
• Increased stomach acidity.
• Renal disease, renal failure.
• Children under 14.

The tendency of the body to accumulate salts can also serve as an obstacle. It is not advised to use it excessively hot.

It is believed that it may then have carcinogenic qualities, although this fact is not scientifically confirmed.

Recommended daily consumption

When using ordinary dishes, rather than professional calabash pumpkins, it is recommended to drink tea no more than two or three times a week.

It is quite strong, so it should never be abused. The Indians were taken to drink only twice or three times a month, on special days or in emergency cases, and with the permission of the shaman.

No more than two large glasses (0.5 liters) can be consumed per day, if desired.

What Maté is made of

The cooking process is not very complicated, the main thing is that the plants for this are selected as needed. Surprisingly, in different places, shoots are dried using various technologies. Some are simply in the sun, others in special closed ovens, and still others on an open fire.

It is important that the twigs are young and grind with the leaves. Otherwise, the correct effect will not be achieved. Therefore, it is necessary to ensure that the purchased raw materials are heterogeneous, containing both thick sticks and light dust. This indicates a high quality product.

Types and varieties of herbal tea mate

Depending on the collection and production method, there are several main varieties:

• Gold. Grown and dried in the vastness of Argentina, it is believed that it is of particular value. When dried, it is fumigated with the smoke of fires, on the fire of which wood of a certain grade is burned.
• Green. It is prepared using standard technology with drying exclusively in the open and on fire.
• At the final stage, when it is necessary to completely remove all moisture from the product, fry on large baking sheets.
• With & ndash; e.g. lemon mate .

There are several varieties that you also need to be able to distinguish:

• Syn fell, consisting solely of leaves.
• Soft & ndash; without mustard.
• Barbagua & ndash; Smoked.
• Con fell & ndash; from leaves and stems.
• Aguante that has a fruity or berry flavor.
• Ginkgo biloba, recommended in the complex therapy of heart and vascular diseases.
• Herbal, which contains mint and other plants.
• Hand-picked and aged for at least one year.

Country Usage

In addition to traditional and classic, there are some differences in consumption, depending on the area.

• In the northeastern part of Argentina and Paraguay, it is customary to cook & laquo; terere & raquo;. For it, dry powder is added to the container, followed by cold fruit juice and water, after which they insist for a while.
• In Brazil and Uruguay, the brewing kettle must have a wide neck, and the drink itself is drunk with sugar.
• In Argentina, mate is drunk from calabash , which should be small and the infusion itself very strong.

How to brew

We have already completely figured out what kind of drink it is & ndash; tea mate (mate) and from what they make a brew for it. It remains to find out exactly how this happens. There's really nothing complicated:

• The vessel is filled with about two-thirds of the raw material.
• Clamp the hole with your hand, shake several times, add a little pure water with a temperature of 70-85 & deg; C and leave for 2-5 minutes.
• A tube & ndash; bombing & ndash; with a strainer at the end.
• Fill completely with hot water.
• Wait a minute and drink.

One brew can be poured 6-9 times until it loses all its properties. In many ways, the number of such manipulations directly depends on the quality of the purchased product.

Experts say that in some cases it is permissible to brew 12-14 times. Without professional advice, you will have to focus on your own preferences, there are no other indicators in this process.

Culture of use

Real connoisseurs drink tea in a special way, exclusively from pumpkin containers ( calabash ) using a straw, but it is better to buy bombilla , which will not allow brewing get into your mouth.

It is advisable to put thoughts and feelings in order, calm down, throwing off all anxious experiences and nervousness, cool the drink a little and drink it in small sips.

Do not leave a brewed drink for later. If it lasts even 20-30 minutes, it will acquire a bitter, astringent and unpleasant echo, although connoisseurs are on this option.

The peculiarity of brewing mate is that the drink can be brewed up to ⅞ times, adding ⅓ water. Thus, as soon as the liquid is over, you can add water again and continue the process.

Usually sugar is not added, only with rare exceptions. However, it is customary to shade with lemon juice or South American forbs.

Many people prefer with milk or cream, with sugarcane or natural bee honey, but this is also for the amateur.

True connoisseurs and adherents of correct use prefer only a pure product without additives.

To summarize

The Paraguayan and Argentine tea drink mate has been known since ancient times, but it came to our country relatively recently.

The production technology is not complicated, and the methods of growing holly too, so the market is not in short supply.

It is important to choose the right raw materials of a certain quality, as well as prepare it correctly, then the effectiveness will be at its best, and the taste will definitely surprise.

The drinking culture implies the presence of special equipment, however, even without it, you can get into the unique spirit of Native American rituals and feel the whiff of fires spread out in the vast steppe expanses.