Yerba Mate is from the green tea family and is famous in Central and South America and Brazil
It is commonly used as a beverage typically in a hollow gourd up to three-quarters full with dry leaves and twigs and filling it up with water at a temperature of 70 to 80 °C or 158 to 176 °F hot but not boiling
Sugar may or may not be added and the Mate may be prepared with cold water
It is a species of the holly family Aquifoliaceae with the botanical name Ilex paraguariensis
Yerba mate is widely known as the source of the beverage called mate