Maté or mate (spelled mate without the accent in both), also known as chimarrão or cimarrón , is a traditional South American caffeine-rich infused drink, that was consumed by the Guaraní and Tupí peoples. It is the National Beverage in Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. It is also consumed in the Bolivian Chaco, Southern Chile, Southern Brazil, Syria—the largest importer in the world—and Lebanon, where it was brought from Argentina by immigrants. It is prepared by steeping dried leaves of yerba-maté (Ilex paraguariensis, known in Portuguese as erva-mate) in hot water and is served with a metal straw from a shared hollow calabash gourd. The straw is called a bombilla in Spanish, a bomba in Portuguese, and a bombija or, more generally, a masassa (straw) in Arabic. The straw is traditionally made of silver. Modern, commercially available straws are typically made of nickel silver (called alpaca), stainless steel, or hollow-stemmed cane. The gourd is known as a mate or a guampa; while in Brazil, it has the specific name of cuia, or also cabaça (the name for Indigenous-influenced calabash gourds in other regions of Brazil, still used for general food and drink in remote regions). Even if the water is supplied from a modern thermos, the infusion is traditionally drunk from mates or cuias. The maté leaves are dried, chopped, and ground into a powdery mixture called yerba, "erva" in Portuguese, which means "herb". The bombilla functions as both a straw and a sieve. The submerged end is flared, with small holes or slots that allow the brewed liquid in, but block the chunky matter that makes up much of the mixture. A modern bombilla design uses a straight tube with holes, or a spring sleeve to act as a sieve. "Tea-bag" type infusions of maté (Spanish: mate cocido, Portuguese: chá mate) have been on the market in many South American countries for many years under such trade names as "Taragüi" in Argentina, "Pajarito" and "Kurupí" in Paraguay, and Matte Leão and "Mate Real" in Brazil.
