Mate tea appeared on our market quite recently, but already managed to gain a lot of fans. It is valued not only for its wonderful, incomparable taste, but also for the benefit it brings to the body. In addition, a cup of mate invigorates no worse than the favorite of many coffee. Mate contains a lot of nutrients, and with proper preparation is able to provide us with plenty of vitamins, which can be quite difficult to obtain from other products.

What is Mate tea?

In general, mate is not tea, as such, as it is prepared not from tea leaves. This drink is made from the stems and leaves of the Paraguayan holly. This plant can be found in southern Brazil, Argentina and Selva Paraguay. Holly is a branchy shrub that has a smooth bark with a white tinge, it can reach a height of 15 m. On the plantations, the bush is pruned so that its height does not exceed 2 m, otherwise it will be inconvenient to harvest raw materials for a drink.

Gather young shoots - the stems with leaves, then they are dried at high temperatures. Drying takes a long time, as the plant contains a lot of moisture. Drying is carried out in special baskets, periodically mixing shoots. When the holly dries, it is ground into a fine powder. A good mate must contain dust: it is an indication that the plant is well dried. In addition, brittle leaves and crushed stems should be present. Ideally, the tea should be packed at the place of assembly and drying. When buying this is worth paying attention to.

Mate tea: properties and composition

Drink, with its constant use, brings great benefits to our body. Its main properties are:

• Well removes toxins and harmful substances from the body
• Improves sleep
• It helps to strengthen the protective mechanisms in the body
• Reduces allergic reactions
• It gives energy and improves body tone.
• Lowers the risk of hypoglycemia in people with diabetes
• Promotes muscle relaxation after exercise and sports
• Helps the body to spend more calories, which is very important for losing weight
• Boosts concentration
• Improves the flow of metabolic processes in the body
• Promotes good mood
• Strengthens oxygen supply to various tissues and organs.
• Lowers appetite, reduces hunger
• Prevents the development of cancer
• Reduces the risk of myocardial infarction and heart attacks
• Slows down the aging process in the body
• Contains multi-antioxidants
• Helps normalize digestion

Mate is in many ways superior to green tea, the benefits of which are known to all. This tea contains 196 chemical components, only 144 are found in green tea. They process the mate in the same way as green tea, and this allows to keep useful substances and antioxidants in it. The shoots of the plant contain many polyphenols, and the antioxidant properties of the drink are superior to those of red wines and green tea. In addition, the mate is composed of vitamins B1 and B2, A, C, E, tannin, biotin, nicotinic acid, calcium, sodium, magnesium, iron, silicon, phosphates, manganese, sulfur, carotene, riboflavin, Colin, pantothenic acid , 15 kinds of amino acids and many other chemical compounds.

Thus, mate is much more useful than all types of green tea, it has all its positive properties and does not have the minuses that coffee has (its effect on the heart and blood vessels). The drink belongs to natural stimulants, it acts very gently and energizes for a long time, so it can easily replace coffee. Mate improves the well-being of people with low blood pressure very well. Tea strengthens the human immune system, prevents cell damage by free radicals, prevents the occurrence of disease and premature aging of man. Sometimes it is recommended to drink tea for disorders of the stool and disorders of the digestive organs. Mate relieves the condition in diseases of the genitourinary system and kidneys, it cleans the blood removes excess cholesterol.

How to brew it correctly?

In order for the drink not only to please you with its amazing aroma, but also to bring benefits, you need to know some mate brewing rules.

So, the water temperature should be no higher than 70-80 degrees. During the preparation of the drink can not be mixed, otherwise its taste may become worse. Brewing mate can be many times, but not more than 10-12. With each refilling of water, the taste changes. The tea tastes best at 4-5 brewing: to taste it will resemble high-quality green tea. You can not long insist mate, it will become too bitter and tasteless. The ideal time to prepare a drink is 30 seconds, but you can wait 2 minutes. Water can be added until the taste is no longer felt, but if you notice foam on the surface of the tea, it is not recommended to make tea from it, because all the nutrients have already gone into the water. Drink mate is not hot, but warm enough.

There are many ways to make this wonderful drink, here are some of them:

1. Take 50 grams of brewing for a drink and add ½ liter of boiling water, and its temperature should be about 70 degrees. If tea is poured with more hot water, some of the antioxidants and beneficial substances will be destroyed. Brewing a little chilled water will allow you to keep about 500-600 mg of antioxidant compounds in one drink, which is much more than in green tea. The taste of tea is bitter with a sweet touch.
2. Strong mate amargo preparing in this way. Fill a small kettle with 2/3 pieces of shredded dry shoots of a plant, then close it with a lid or hand and shake, making circular movements. As a result, small and large fractions will separate. Then fill the kettle with water, the temperature of which should be no more than 80 degrees. The tea should be moistened and become soft, then add a little more water. Wait for the tea to brew. If the leaves absorb moisture, add some more water.
3. Drink cosido. At 50 grams of dried mat you need to take 500 ml of milk, heated to 60 degrees. All mixed in containers and put on the stove. Bring the mixture to a boil and immediately remove from heat. After straining the drink is poured into cups, and put sugar or honey. It is advisable to use Cosido before bedtime, as milk suppresses the tonic effect of the active substances and makes the mate soothing.
4. Terere - cold option mate. For its preparation, brewed pour cold water and insist. It would not be superfluous to add orange juice or a few slices of lemon, as well as pieces of ice. Terere perfectly quenches thirst in hot weather.
5. Argentine Mate can replace breakfast. It is prepared on the basis of milk with honey and is recommended to drink even to children. For the drink best suited homemade milk milk, which needs to be boiled and cooled to 80 degrees, and then pour dry leaves on them. After the drink is infused, honey is added to it at the rate of 1 tsp. per serving mate.
6. Drink light brown with herbs prepared in the classic way. Linden flowers, mint leaves and raspberries, berries and currant leaves, lingonberry leaf are put into it.
7. European way cooking mate is like brewing coffee. Proportion: for 1 liter of water - 5 tbsp. l dry tea leaves

Tea Mate for weight loss

Many nutritionists recommend introducing mate tea into your diet. It will help reduce appetite and gain additional energy and vigor. This is especially important for those who play sports and lead an active lifestyle. Tea contributes to lowering the level of triglyceride fats and cholesterol in the blood of a person. Scientists have determined that mate contributes to the delay of food in the small intestine and stomach, thereby prolonging the feeling of fullness. In addition, the active substances reduce the amount of glucose, lipids and insulin in the liver and blood. Mate improves digestion, and it also helps to lose weight. Drink relaxes smooth muscles and increases the secretion of bile, prevents the narrowing of blood vessels and accelerates metabolic processes. Mate contains very few calories, but is rich in vitamins and mineral salts.

See also:

• White tea: the benefits and harm
• Tea with milk: the benefits and harm
• The benefits of linden tea. Different brewing recipes

If you are not familiar with mate tea, be sure to try this drink. It will be a great alternative to delicious, but not too healthy coffee, and saturate the body with useful substances. Mate can be drunk throughout the day and during workouts. At bedtime, it is advisable to use this milk-based drink with the addition of honey.