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Food-Info.net> Questions and Answers > Food Products > Tea Is maté the same as tea ?Maté, or Yerba maté, isn't tea. It's an infusion of leaves from a species of holly, Ilex paraguariensis. This plant is totally unrelated to the normal tea plant (Camellia sinensis). The tree belongs to the family Aquifoliaceae and grows between the 10° and 30° parallel in the Paraná and Paraguay rivers basins in South America. It is a tropical or subtropical plant, needing high temperatures, high humidity and up to 1500 mm of annual rain. Maté is usually associated with the gauchos of the South American pampas, but is popular all over the Southern part of Latin America . The Guarani and Quechua peoples of the region have been drinking infusions of yerba mate since pre-Columbian times. According to their traditions, it is the gift of a benevolent god. In Brazil mate is called Chimarrão or cimarron. The name "Mate" derives from the Quechua word "matí" that names the gourd (Lagenaria vulgaris) that is traditionally used to drink the infusion, see below.
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