Mate
Ilex paraguarensis from BrazilA beverage of South America that comes from Ilex paraguarensis, a plant that is part of the holly family. Traditionally, mate is served in a gourd, and drunk through a bombilla (infuser straw). Forming mate “circles”, where friends gather together to socialize, dates back to a custom of the Guarani Indians, as early as the 1500′s, and continues to be popular today.