The different methods of preparation influence to a certain extent the value of the product, the mate prepared in Paraguay being considered the best, that of Oran and 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 sun, and in a couple of days form compact parcels each containing about 200 lb of tea; in this form it keeps well.
The tea is generally prepared for use in a small silver-mounted calabash, made of the fruit of Crescendo, cujete (Cuca) or of Lagenaria (Cabaco), usually about the size of a large orange, the tapering end of the latter serving for a handle. In the top of the calabash, or mate, 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 instrument consists of a small tube 6 or 7 in. long, formed either of metal or a reed, which has at one end a bulb made either of extremely fine basket-work or of metal perforated with minute holes, so as to prevent the particles of the tea-leaves from being drawn up into the mouth. Some sugar and a little hot water are first placed in the gourd, the yerva [sic] is then added, and finally the vessel is filled to the brim with boiling water, or milk previously heated by a spirit lamp.
A little burnt sugar or lemon juice is sometimes added instead of milk. The beverage is then handed round to the company, each person being furnished with a bombilla. The leaves will bear steeping about three times. The infusion, if not drunk soon after it is made, rapidly turns black. Persons who are fond of mate drink it before every meal, and consume about 1 oz. of the leaves per day.
Either not just customs but chemistry itself have changed radically in the last century or the Britannica is just bullshit.
Yes, I hear you: again?
(It's somewhere in Vol. 17 of the 11th Edition. It's in the Archive. Searchable even. You know where to find it. My notes say "pages 877-878" but that could be anything. Anyway, it's right after Master, Master and Servant, Mastodon, Matador and Matamoros, among many such delightful entries. Too tired right now to give you the exact chapter and verse. Hit me up in a few days if you really need it.)
#Paraguay #Brasil #Brazil #Argentina #Uruguay #Mate #YerbaMate