Why Yerba Mate Is So Much More Than Just a Drink

Step foot in South America, and you’ll find yerba mate everywhere — lining the shelves of gas stations and grocery stores, sold at quaint roadside vendors, and nestled in people’s hands. More commonly referred to as just mate, the caffeinated tea is sold everywhere here, and everyone’s drinking it. People proudly carry their gourds (the special brewing vessel), mate leaves, and thermoses filled with hot water, always ready for a re-up no matter where they are.

I recently got to travel to Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina, the top producers of yerba mate, with Guayakí. (The company specializes in creating those canned mate beverages popularly sold in the US, as well as other mate products.) As I connected with the local people and their traditions, the culture associated with the drink blew me away.

More than just a way to get a caffeine kick, drinking mate is a ritual rooted in community. One person prepares the gourd, takes a sip, and passes it on. The same way Americans can’t go anywhere without their cell phones, South Americans can’t go anywhere without their gourd and bombilla. Throughout my trip, I saw countless people sharing gourds, from friends and coworkers to complete strangers in the street. (One afternoon, my bus driver shared his gourd with another person pumping gas as we waited to fill up.)

“Mate is so much more than a drink — it’s a living tradition that binds us to each other and the land. It’s about building relationships that honor and preserve culture while working together to restore and protect our shared home,” says Fabiana Pose, Guayakí’s vice president of South America operations. “Every shared gourd is a symbol of resilience, connection, and the collective effort to nurture both community and the earth for generations to come.” The more time I spent in South America, the clearer this became.

So What Is Yerba Mate Exactly?

Yerba mate is a caffeinated tea that’s traditionally consumed by steeping the leaves and stems of the yerba mate plant in a hollowed-out gourd with hot water at exactly 175-180°F; otherwise the leaves can burn. (Kettles sold in South America even have a specific mate setting on them so you get your brew just right.) The tea is then sipped through a metal straw with a filter at the end called a bombilla.

Unlike coffee, mate is a gift that keeps on giving; the same brew can be enjoyed over and over again. You continuously pour water into the gourd until the leaves lose their taste, dump those leaves, and start the process all over again. (People really do drink it all day long — I don’t know how they sleep!)

Mate is enjoyed in many different forms. In Paraguay, the country’s national drink is terere: mate brewed with cold water, herbs, and fruit. Paraguayans carry their massive thermoses with them, almost like a statement piece — many have intricate designs, and some people even have their names engraved on them.

At restaurants, you’ll find mate batido (cold, roasted mate with a squeeze of lime and sugar). At convenience stores, you can purchase mate cocido (mate sold in tea bags) for a quick fix, often served with a splash of milk and sugar like a latte. Mate is even added as a flavoring to baked goods like cake.

It’s such an illustrious part of South American culture that gourds, bombillas, and terere holders are sold at even the most remote rest stops (which are fully decked out and 1,000x better than the ones we have in the U.S. — you might as well call them mini malls). Plus, there’s a mate variety for everything: Some are mixed with herbs to relieve indigestion, others improve athletic performance and boost relaxation.

Steeped in Culture and Tradition

While mate can “pick you up” if you need an afternoon boost, unlike coffee, it’s not a quick fix — it’s meant to be enjoyed slowly over time —  and it’s not something you personalize. Sure, you can add milk and sugar, but customizing your mate with the latest flavored syrup or alternative milk (practices I’m guilty of doing when grabbing a latte at my local coffee shop) is not part of the tradition. It’s also meant to be shared. (I mean, have you ever seen someone get an Americano and pass it on to the next person standing in line?)

This ability to connect on a deeper level with virtually anyone, regardless of status or whether you know them or not, is so profound. Witnessing this ritual play out in front of me reminded me how disconnected we are at home (despite the multitude of ways we can connect virtually in today’s society.) This inherently selfless nature is something we could do with more of in the U.S.

In South America, however, it’s nothing new. This intimate relationship has persisted for centuries, originating with the Guaraní, (an indigenous community native to the forests of Paraguay, Argentina, Brazil, and Bolivia), who discovered yerba mate. They call it ka’a, meaning the true plant and tree that sustains the forest, and view it as a “gift from the gods” to promote strength, vitality, and healing. They strongly believe the shared aspect aids in uniting their spirits, thus drinking mate in this traditional way actively preserves Guaraní culture.

During my trip, I visited the Guaraní, which Guayakí has partnered with for over 20 years, right on their soil. As I looked out over their lush land, rich with red clay earth, their calming energy and connection with nature was palpable.

Paulina and Ramon, a father-daughter duo, welcomed us with open arms and shared what a vital role mate plays in their village. At 2-3 months old, children are baptized and given a name in Guaraní (their native language of the same name). “The shamans teach us how to preserve a culture,” Ramon says. “It’s through yerba mate that we know the proper names of our kids.”

Sustaining Livelihoods and Land

Beyond spiritual practices, yerba mate is a way of life for many. Much of the mate used in Guayakí’s products is grown and harvested by the indigenous communities and family farmers we visited. It’s also certified regenerative organic, fair trade, and shade grown. Conventional mate, on the other hand, is grown via monocropping, which strips the soil of its nutrients over time and is heavily reliant on pesticides and fertilizers.

When we first landed in Sao Paolo, Brazil, one of the first things I noticed was that I could hardly see anything due to the smoke and haze. Unfortunately, this is a common occurrence for Brazilians. “Shifts in land use and increased fires have driven deforestation rates up by as much as 30% in Paraná, Brazil over the past few years,” says Thiago Gomes, executive director of Guayakí Brazil.

But because Guayakí’s mate is grown under the canopies of native trees, (such as the Araucaria), growers don’t have to engage in deforestation to clear the land, a major issue in the region primarily driven by land conversion for agriculture and cattle ranching. Guayakí’s decision to grow mate in this way helps maintain soil health and keeps these natural forests alive. Plus, it benefits the people consuming it. “If I’m drinking 3 liters of water through mate, I don’t want to be drinking pesticides,” Thiago adds.

Not to mention, preserving this native crop is a labor of love and less about funding than time. Growers have nurseries where they tend to baby mate plants from seedlings. From baby to full grown mate tree, it takes about 5 years for the leaves to be ready for harvest. Then once the plant is fully grown, it can only be harvested every 2 or 3 years.

Community members also replant native trees in forests impacted by deforestation to revitalize endangered species, bolster biodiversity, and create corridors for wildlife to roam. This results in higher rates of carbon sequestration, thus cleaner air and less pollution. Looking out over a sea of mate seedlings, Fabiana says, “I love to put my feet in the ground because it reminds me of the purpose of what we’re doing and why.”

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