Yerba mate (Spanish) or erva mate (Portuguese) 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 70–80 °C (158–176 °F), hot but not boiling. Sugar may or may not be added; and the mate may be prepared with cold water (tereré). 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 (Portuguese: chimarrão, tererê/tereré and other variations). It is traditionally consumed in central and southern regions of South America, particularly Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, southern and central-western Brazil, the Chaco region of Bolivia and southern Chile. It is also very popular among the Druze community in Syria and Lebanon, where it is imported from Argenti