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Surprisingly, mate is particularly popular in certain regions of Chile . This isn't so unlikely, considering the country shares more than 5,000 km of borders with Argentina.
The story goes that mate was brought to Chile by British immigrants at the end of the 19th century. Accustomed to drinking tea, the settlers quickly replaced it with a much more widespread plant in South America: yerba mate .
This custom, acquired during the colonial era, has remained anchored in certain areas of the country: the south as well as rural regions. Mate is consumed there in a context of sharing. But it is also drunk to combat the long, cold winter days .
As highlighted by the Chilean newspaper El Mercurio , mate is increasingly being adopted by students, workers, lovers of natural cuisine and athletes. This public is appropriating this drink for its energizing effects .
Artist and chef Connie Achurra hosts a Chilean TV show and is an ambassador for the #Todoestaenelmate campaign to encourage mate consumption in Chile.
"I'm a cook, I'm dedicated to healthy cooking. I have the program Cómo me sano on channel 13, and I came to the countryside for mate because I've been a true matera for a long time. Speaking of which, I've incorporated mate recipes into baking, and they've been very entertaining. It's a way to add flavor naturally without having to add a lot of extra ingredients."
Another ambassador of the campaign is mixologist Miguel Gonzalez , better known as " el maldito barman " ("the cursed bartender"). From the bar of Café San Juan, located on Avenida Bilbao, González prepares cocktails with non-traditional products, such as huesillo, different varieties of tea, including kombucha, and now mate.
“I know the product, I am a consumer and so is my family, it’s easy for me.”
Don't miss our list of mate cocktails : 4 mate cocktail recipes
This trend is particularly noticeable as we see more and more places dedicated to the consumption of this drink springing up in Chile.
If you want to drink a real mate like they do in Uruguay, you will have to go to Café Palermo. A restaurant in Barrio Italia .
It was opened in 2014 by Uruguayan Emiliano Palermo and is managed by Pablo Viñolo.
Also in Barrio Italia , this place was opened to make you feel like you are in Buenos Aires .
In fact, at La Argentina Pizzería, you can not only eat the excellent pizzas of chef Juan Manuel Pena Passaro, but also drink excellent mate.
A little over a year ago, Café Ayün, which in Mapudungun means love, opened its doors in the El Aguilucho neighborhood of Providencia .
As its name suggests, everything is done with love : you are always welcomed with a smile, the products are top quality, and what's more, animals are welcome.
There's a wide menu of tea, herbal teas, coffee, natural juices, iced coffee and hot chocolate, and... mate.
In the middle of the Andes, Lonquimay is located in the Araucanía region. This is where agricultural engineer Natalia Carlsson opened Mate Bar five years ago, with the aim of rescuing the tradition of this region .
It is a wooden house surrounded by an oak forest located on the edge of the road.
One of the cities that best preserves the tradition of drinking mate is Coyhaique.
There, near the town's central square, is a cafeteria decorated with earthenware teapots and cups hanging from the ceiling.
It belongs to the Spanish Maria Dolores Altamirano, who came to the capital of the Aysén region for love.
