Paraguan Tea.

Huntly Press and District Gazette, Volume 4, 21 May 1915, Page 3

Paraguan Tea.

Mate, the South American tea though it is little known, is one of the great drinks of the world. It has been tor many years the regular and invariable beverage of more than fifteen million people, while its properties have been known to the South American Indian from the earliest times. It is made from the loaves of the Brazilian holly, which grows wild in Southern Brazil, in Northern Argentine and in Paraguay, where it brings in a handsome revenue to the Jesuits. Its taste resembles u slightly bitter, aromatic, herbal tea, and it is said to be a cure for insomnia. In South America the consumption of mate is almost universal. In the big towns ordinary tea is drunk to some extern, tliough its price is almost prohibitive; bul mate is the staple drink of the vast majority, and to the peons or labourers of the camp it is both food and drink. Its sustaining power is Wonderful. They will ride all day in perfect comfort provided they have their “ mates,” or little gourds, with them. The peons will drink anything up to twenty cups a day and require little else.