Mate green
Stimulating treasure from South America
Mate is a drink from the large tea family that is mainly drunk in Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and southern Brazil. It is made with the dry leaves and twigs of Ilex paraguarensis. The term mate was derived from quichua matÃa, which means the cup from which mate is traditionally drunk. It is a typical plant from the Paraguay, Argentina and Uruguay region. The plant needs high temperatures and humidity to grow up to 15m high. Every year around 300,000 tons of mate are produced in the regions mentioned.
The history of wholesome tea from South America began in 1534. At that time, the Spanish nobleman Pedro de Mendoza reported on a drink to combat hunger, thirst and exhaustion that he had learned from the Guarani Indians: mate tea!
Mate tea is known for the following effects:
- Mate has a stimulating effect because it contains little caffeine and theobromine, has a high vitamin C content and contains more than 20 important amino acids.
- Mate has not been clinically proven to act as a slimming agent, but it certainly suppresses the appetite. The feeling of satiety is achieved by the bitter substances that the tea contains. These have a very calming effect on the digestive organs.
- The caffeine it contains is also said to activate fat metabolism and have a slight diuretic effect.
- Mate increases mental and physical performance, compensates for nutritional deficiencies and is beneficial for health.
- Mate is also used in medicine; it is added to commercial herbal mixtures to stimulate the central nervous system, support diets and help with rheumatism problems.
The mate used in  Neuner's Green Mate  is from controlled organic cultivation and is sourced from farmers in Brazil and Argentina. In mate that has been traditionally dried by smoking, significantly increased levels of antraquinone, which are considered to be carcinogenic, can occur. Neuner's Mate green is not smoked, but rather air-dried using a special process without leaving any residue.
Since the question of the iron content of green mate has been brought to our attention again and again, we would like to answer it here. The mineral content, including iron content, of mate leaves in tea infusion is higher than other herbal teas, but is not nutritionally relevant to compensate for deficiencies without further supplementation.
The herbal, stimulating mate is drunk both hot (then it is said to develop hunger-satisfying properties) and cold. If the brewing time is longer (5 minutes or more), the stimulating effect is reduced because the caffeine is bound to tannins. Mate is an excellent coffee substitute, especially during treatments. With a little honey, lemon and ice it becomes a particularly refreshing thirst quencher!
We wish you wonderful tea enjoyment!
