Mate has same caffeine as coffee and tea.
Vinny I do not understand what you said, but just want to say that when it is drunk among friends, you share same "bombilla" and do not even clean the top of it (the part you put in your mouth). Some people will just clean it with a clothe..
It can be bitter or sweet, I like it sweet, and is especially good in winter when it is quite cold.
Some links about it:
http://www.elmuseodelmate.com/
http://www.mateargentino.com.ar/data.htm
Thanks, itsa. Either I was misinformed or (more likely) I misunderstood. Or maybe the Arabs do it differently.
Well, I do nto share the bombilla with anyone unknown, prefer to decline, but we drink mate in my family and among us we do share it previous rigorous cleaning of the part that goes to your mouth
itsagermphobicworld1
mate contains something that keeps people awake
but for me it does not work at all, but i also fall asleep after 5 coffees
Dammit, let's cut the crap and get to the point: OP, unless s/he helps us solve the mystery, most probably had mate de coca, which contains cocaine. Good for curing soroche and long walks in the mountains.
I was once invited to the home of an indigenous family in the outskirts of La Paz. Instead of turning on the telly, they spread a few newspapers over the dining table and poured a bag of coca leaves all over. We spent the night chatting away like housewives. Beats coffee. (Then again I'm a tea lover).
I've never heard anyone say "mate" when they meant "mate de coca." And if I'm right that mrpenney is in the US, that makes yerba mate much more likely.
Right--it's yerba mate.
I think that night I was possibly just not very tired, and the mate just put me over the edge into complete sleeplessness. Coffee has been known to do that too, from time to time.
--M.
from wiki:
Xanthines
Mate contains three xanthines: caffeine, theobromine and theophylline, the main xanthine being caffeine. Caffeine content varies between 0.7% and 1.7% of dry weight[14] (compared with 0.3–0.9% for tea leaves, 2.5-7.5% in guarana, and up to 3.2% for ground coffee)[15]; theobromine content varies from 0.3-0.9%; theophylline is present in small quantities, or can be completely absent.[16] A substance previously called "mateine" is a synonym for caffeine (like theine and guaranine)[17]
Studies of mate, though very limited, have shown preliminary evidence that the mate xanthine cocktail is different from other plants containing caffeine most significantly in its effects on muscle tissue, as opposed to those on the central nervous system, which are similar to those of other natural stimulants. The three xanthines present in mate have been shown to have a relaxing effect on smooth muscle tissue, and a stimulating effect on myocardial (heart) tissue.[18]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yerba_mat%C3%A9#Chemical_composition_and_properties