Online Encyclopedia

Search over 40,000 articles from the original, classic Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th Edition.

MATE, or PARAGUAY TEA

Online Encyclopedia

Originally appearing in Volume V17, Page 878 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.

» Make a correction to this article.
» Add information or comments to this article.

Encyclopedia Home :: MAR-MEC

Spread the word:

del.icio.us it!

See also:

MATE, or See also:
PARAGUAY
PARAGUAY See also:
TEA (Chinese cha, Amoy dialect t€)
TEA , the dried leaves of Ilex paraguariensis,' an See also:

EVERGREEN

evergreen See also:

SHRUB

shrub or small See also:

tree belonging to the same genus as the See also:

COMMON

common See also:

HOLLY (Ilex Aquifolium)

holly, a plant to which it bears some resemblance in See also:

SIZE

size and See also:

HABIT (through the French from Lat. habitus, from habere, to have, hold, or, in a reflective sense, to be in a certain condition; in many of the English senses the French use habitude, not habit)

habit. The leaves are from 6 to 8 in. See also:

long, shortly stalked, with a somewhat acute tip and finely toothed at the margin. The small See also:

white See also:

FLOWERS, ARTIFICIAL

flowers grow in forked clusters in the axils of the leaves; the sepals, petals and stamens are four in number, or occasionally five; and the See also:

berry is 4-seeded. The plant grows abundantly in Paraguay, and the See also:

south of See also:

Brazil, forming See also:

woods called yerbales. One of the See also:

PRINCIPAL

principal centres of the mate See also:

INDUSTRY (Lat. industria, from indu-, a form of the pre, position in, and either stare, to stand, or struere, to pile up)

industry is the See also:

VILLA

Villa Real, a small See also:

TOWN

town above See also:

ASUNCION (NUESTRA SENORA DE LA ASUNCION)

Asuncion on the Paraguay See also:

RIVER

river; another is the Villa de See also:

San See also:

XAVIER, FRANCISCO DE (1506-1552)

Xavier, in the See also:

DISTRICT

district between the See also:

rivers See also:

URUGUAY (officially the Oriental Republic of the Uruguay, and long locally called the Banda Oriental, meaning the land on the eastern side of the river Uruguay, from which the country takes its name)

Uruguay and See also:

PARANA

Parana. Although mate appears to have been used from See also:

time immemorial by the See also:

INDIANS, NORTH AMERICAN

Indians, the See also:

JESUITS

Jesuits were the first to See also:

ATTEMPT (Lat. adtemptare, attentare, to try)

attempt its cultivation. This was begun at their See also:

BRANCH (from the Fr. branche, late Lat. branca, an animal's paw)

branch See also:

MISSIONS (Lat. missio, a sending)

missions in Paraguay and the See also:

province of Rio Grande de San Pedro, where some plantations still exist, and Veld the best tea that is made. From this circumstance the names JJesuits' tea, tea of the Missions, St See also:

Bartholomew's tea, &c., are sometimes applied to mate. Under cultivation the quality of the tea improves, but the plant remains a small shrub with numerous stems, instead of forming, as in the See also:

WILD, JONATHAN (c. 1682-1725)

wild See also:

state, a tree with a rounded See also:

head. From cultivated See also:

PLANTS

plants the leaves are gathered every two or three years, that See also:

INTERVAL

interval being necessary for restoration to vigorous growth. The collection of mate is, however, chiefly effected by Indians employed for that purpose by merchants, who pay a See also:

MONEY

money See also:

CONSIDERATION (from Lat. considerare, to look at closely, examine, generally taken to be from con-, and the base seen in sidus, sideris, a star, the word being supposed to be originally an astrological or astronomical term)

consideration to See also:

government for the See also:

PRIVILEGE

privilege. When a yerbal or mate See also:

wood is found, the Indians, who usually travel in companies of about twenty-five in number, build wigwams 1 I. gigantea, I. ovalifolia, I.

Humboldtiana, and I. nigropunctata, besides several varieties of these See also:

SPECIES

species, are also used for preparing mate.and See also:

settle down to the See also:

WORK

work for about six months. Their first operation is to prepare an open space, called a tatacua, about 6 ft. square, in which the See also:

SURFACE

surface of the See also:

SOIL

soil is beaten hard and smooth with mallets. The leafy branches of the mate are then cut down and placed on the tatacua, where they undergo a preliminary roasting from a See also:

FIRE (in O. Eng. f j'r; the word is common to West German languages, cf. Dutch vuur, Ger. Feuer; the pre-Teutonic form is seen in Sanskrit pu, pavaka, and Gr. irup; the ultimate origin is usually taken to be a root meaning to purify, cf. Lat. purus)

fire kindled around it. An See also:

arch of poles, or of hurdles, is then erected above it, on which the mate is placed, a fire being lighted underneath. This See also:

PART

part of the See also:

PROCESS

process demands some care, since by it the leaves have to be rendered brittle enough to be easily pulverized, and the aroma has to be See also:

DEVELOPED

developed, the necessary amount of See also:

HEAT (0. E. haktu, which like " hot," Old Eng. hat, is from the Teutonic type haita, hit, to be hot; cf. Ger. hitze, heiss; Dutch, hitte, heet, &c.)

heat being only learned by experience. After drying, the leaves are reduced to coarse See also:

POWDER (through O. Fr. puldre, modern poudre, from Lat. pulvis, pulveris, dust)

powder in mortars formed of pits in the See also:

earth well rammed. Mate so prepared is called caa gazu or yerva do polos, and is chiefly used in Brazil. In Paraguay and the vicinity of Parana in the See also:

ARGENTINE

Argentine See also:

REPUBLIC (Lat. respublica, a commonweal or common-wealth)

Republic, the leaves are deprived of the midrib before roasting; this is called caa-miri. A very See also:

SUPERIOR

superior quality, or caa-cuys, is also prepared in Paraguay from the scarcely See also:

EXPANDED

expanded buds. Another method of drying mate has been adopted, the leaves being heated in large See also:

CAST (from the verb meaning " to throw "; the word is Scand. in origin, cf. Dan. kaste, and Swed. kasta; " cast " in Middle Eng. took the place of the A.S. weor pan, cf. Ger. werf en)

cast-See also:

IRON [symbol Fe, atomic weight 55.85 (0=16)]

iron pans set in See also:

BRICKWORK

brickwork, in the same way that tea is dried in See also:

CHINA

China; it is afterwards powdered by machinery. The different methods of preparation See also:

INFLUENCE (Late Lat. influentia, from influere, to flow in)

influence to a certain extent the value of the product, the mate prepared in Paraguay being considered the best, that of See also:

ORAN (Arabic Wahran, i.e. ravine)

Oran and See also:

PARANAGUA

Paranagua very inferior. The leaves when dried are packed tightly in serons or oblong packages made of raw hides, which are then carefully sewed up.

These shrink by exposure to the See also:

sun, and in a couple of days See also:

FORM (Lat. forma)

form compact parcels each containing about aoo m of tea; in this form it keeps well. The tea is generally prepared for use in a small See also:

SILVER

silver-mounted See also:

CALABASH (from the Span. calabaza, a gourd or pumpkin, possibly derived from the Pers. kharlunza, a melon)

calabash, made of the See also:

FRUIT (through the French from the Lat. fructus; frui, to enjoy)

fruit of Crescentia cujete (Cuca) or of Lagenaria (Cabaco), usually about the size of a large See also:

orange, the tapering end of the latter serving for a handle. In the See also:

TOP (cf. Dan. top, Ger. Topf, also meaning pot)

top of the calabash, or mate,2 a circular hole about the size of a florin is made, and through this opening the tea is sucked by means of a bombilla. This See also:

INSTRUMENT (Lat. instrumentum, from insincere, to build up, furnish, arrange, prepare)

instrument consists of a small See also:

TUBE (Lat. tuba)

tube 6 or 7 in. long, formed either of See also:

metal or a See also:

reed, which has at one end a bulb made either of extremely See also:

FINE

fine See also:

BASKET

basket-work or of metal perforated with See also:

minute holes, so as to prevent the particles of the tea-leaves from being See also:

DRAWN

drawn up into the mouth. Some See also:

SUGAR

sugar and a little hot See also:

WATER

water are first placed in the See also:

GOURD

gourd, the yerva is then added, and finally the See also:

VESSEL (O. Fr. vaissel, from a rare Lat. vascellum, dim. of vas, vase, urn)

vessel is filled to the brim with boiling water, or See also:

MILK (0. Eng. meoluc; from a common Indo-European root, cf. Lat. mulgere, Gr. ?t dXyetv)

milk previously heated by a spirit See also:

LAMP (from Gr. Xag ras, a torch, Xaµaav, to shine)

lamp. 2 The word caa signified the plant in the native See also:

INDIAN

Indian See also:

LANGUAGE (adapted from the Fr. langage, from langue, tongue, Lat. lingua)

language. The Spaniards gave it a similar name, yerba. Mate comes from the language of the Incas, and originally means a calabash. The Paraguay tea was called at first yerva do mate, and then, the yerva being dropped, the name mate came to signify the same thing. Mate (Ilex paraguariensis). Portion of plant. See also:

Flower, drupe and nuts.

Part of under-See also:

side of See also:

LEAF (O. Eng. leaf, cf. Dutch loof, Ger. Laub, Swed. lof, &c.; possibly to be referred to the root seen in Gr. Ma-eta, to peel, strip)

leaf showing minute glands, natural size. 878 A little burnt sugar or See also:

lemon juice is sometimes added instead of milk. The beverage is then handed See also:

ROUND (O. Fr. rond, Lat. rotundus, the Fr. is the source also of Du. rond; Ger., Swed., Dan. and Nor. rond)

round to the See also:

COMPANY

company, each See also:

PERSON, OFFENCES AGAINST THE

person being furnished with a bombilla. The leaves will See also:

bear steeping about three times. The infusion, if not drunk soon after it is made, rapidly turns See also:

black. Persons who are fond of mate drink it before every See also:

MEAL

meal, and consume about i oz. of the leaves per See also:

day. In the neighbourhood of Parana it is prepared and drunk like See also:

CHINESE, JAPANESE AND

Chinese tea. Mate is generally considered disagreeable by those unaccustomed to it, having a somewhat See also:

BITTER, KARL THEODORE FRANCIS (1867– )

bitter See also:

TASTE (from Lat. taxare, to touch sharply; tangere, to touch)

taste; moreover, it is the See also:

CUSTOM (from O. Fr. costume, costume or coustume; Low Lat. costuma, a shortened form of consuetudo)

custom to drink it so hot as to be unpleasant. But in the south-eastern republics it is a much-prized See also:

ARTICLE (from Lat. articulus, a joint)

article of luxury, and is the first thing offered to visitors. The gaucho of the plains will travel on horseback for See also:

WEEKS, EDWIN LORD (1849-1903)

weeks asking no better fare than dried See also:

BEEF (through O. Fr. boef, mod. boeuf, from Lat. bos, bovis, ox, Gr. f3oiir, which show the ultimate connexion with the Sanskrit go, gaits, ox, and thus with " cow")

beef washed down with copious See also:

DRAUGHTS (from AS. dragan, to draw)

draughts of mate, and for it he will forego any other luxury, such as sugar, See also:

rice or See also:

BISCUIT (pronounced according to the old spelling " bisket," a Fr. form from Lat. bis, twice, and coctum, cooked, in reference to the original method of preparation; cf. Ital. biscotto, Sp. bizcocho, &c.)

biscuit. Mate acts as a restorative after See also:

GREAT

great fatigue' in the same manner as tea. Since it does not lose its flavour so quickly as tea by exposure to the See also:

air and See also:

DAMP

damp it is more valuable to travellers.

Since the beginning of the 17th See also:

CENTURY (from Lat. centuria, a division of a hundred men)

century mate has been drunk by all classes in Paraguay, and it is now used throughout Brazil and the neighbouring countries. The virtues of this substance are due to the occurrence in it of See also:

CAFFEINE, or THEINE (1.3.7 trimethyl 2 . 6 dioxypurin)

caffeine, of which a given quantity of mate, as prepared for drinking, contains definitely less than a similar quantity of tea or See also:

COFFEE (Fr: cafe, Ger. Kaffee)

coffee. It is less astringent than either of these, and thus is, on all scores, less open to objection. See Scully, Brazil (See also:

LONDON

London, 1866) ; See also:

Mansfield, Brazil (London, 1856) ; See also:

CHRISTY, HENRY (1810-1865)

Christy, New Commercial Plants, No. 3 (London, r88o) ; See also:

Kew Bulletin (1892), p. 132.

End of Article: MATE, or PARAGUAY TEA

Additional information and Comments

There are no comments yet for this article.

» Add information or comments to this article.

Please link directly to this article:
Highlight the code below, right click, and select "copy." Then paste it into your website, email, or other HTML.

Site content, images, and layout Copyright © 2006 - Net Industries, worldwide.
Do not copy, download, transfer, or otherwise replicate the site content in whole or in part.

Links to articles and home page are always encouraged.

[back]
MATE (a corruption of make, from O. Eng. gemaca, a ...

[next]
MATER MATUTA (connected with Lat. mane, matutinus, ...