| Type | Hot or cold beverage |
|---|---|
| Country of origin | Argentina Bolivia Brasil Paraguay Uruguay |
| Introduced | 17th century AC.[1] |
Mate cocido (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈmate koˈsiðo], boiled maté; Portuguese: chá mate, IPA: [ˈʃa ˈmati], maté tea) is an infusion typical of Southern Cone cuisine (mostly consumed in Argentina and Uruguay). It is traditionally prepared by boiling yerba maté in water, then strained and served in cups. It is a bitter tasting beverage, similar to mate but softer, with the same stimulating and nutritional properties. It is also sold in tea-bags, so it can be prepared like tea.
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The Jesuits in the actual territories of the south of Brazil and Paraguay, and the Argentine provinces of Misiones and Corrientes, in the first decades of the 17th century improved the cultivation technique of the yerba maté and exported it. Spain, to compete with the tea that England sold, put a chopped yerba maté on sale to make tea that became popular in Europe, known as the "Tea of the Jesuits".[2]
That "Tea of the Jesuits" from the 17th century, today has become the mate cocido, a very popular infusion that, because of the low price of yerba maté compared to the price of tea or coffee, has become since the early 20th century the common beverage in schools, hospitals and prisons.[3]
The elaboration of mate cocido in tea-bags is almost the same than regular yerba maté, with the difference that in the grindling the dust and sticks are removed, sorting and processing only the leaves.[4] The mate cocido is also produced in soluble form.[5]