Am.  Jour.  Pharm.) 
Nov.,  1883.  J 
Mate  or  Paraguay  Tea. 
573 
are  removed,  and  in  the  spot  where  the  fire  was  an  ox-hide  is  spread  out, 
on  which  the  leaves  are  beaten  from  the  twigs  with  a  wooden  blade.  The 
dried  leaves  are  then  powdered  and  packed  in  wooden  cases  made  out  of 
hollowed  trunks  of  trees. 
In  the  province  of  Parana  the  leaves  have  lately  been  dried  in  large 
wrought-iron  pans,  in  the  same  manner  as  Chinese  tea,  or  in  specially  con- 
structed ovens  in  which  they  can  be  prepared  so  as  to  retain  more  aroma  ; 
they  are  then  powdered  by  machinery  and  sifted ;  this  kind  of  mate  obtains 
a  better  price. 
Another  form  in  which  the  leaves  are  prepared  is  by  carefully  separating 
them  from  the  stalks  and  twigs  and  roasting  them,  but  this  is  not  so  much 
esteemed  as  the  powder,  except  in  Chili,  where  the  leaves  are  preferred. 
In  the  South  American  Republic  and  the  Brazilian  province  of  Rio 
Grande  do  Sul,  mate  is  packed  in  serons  of  ox-hide  holding  30  kilograms, 
^md  in  half-serons,  containing  15  kilograms ;  this  packing  gives  to  the  mate 
a  disagreeable  flavor  which  detracts  from  its  value. 
In  Parana  it  is  packed  in  cane  baskets  ;  these  are  lined  with  dried  grass, 
called  Jacaes,  and  contain  50  to  60  kilograms.  The  mate  in  leaves  is  here 
sold  at  280  to  290  reis  (about  56  pence),  powdered  mate  is  sold  in  thick  and 
better-woven  cane  baskets,  containing  in  a  half-seron,  15,  and  as  a  seron,  60 
kilograms,  the  price  being  10  to  12  per  cent,  more  than  the  leaves. 
In  the  Spanish  Republic  three  different  sorts  are  sold  under  the  following 
names : 
1st.  Caa-cuy,  or  Caa-cuys  :  these  are  the  new  leaves  of  the  scarcely  devel- 
oped shoots.  They  are  of  more  delicate  texture,  and  of  a  yellowish  color. 
They  possess  an  agreeable  and  pleasant  flavor,  but  are  seldom  met  with  in 
commerce. 
2d.  Caa-mirim.  This  was  the  chief  product  in  the  time  of  the  Jesuits, 
and  consists  of  the  leaves  carefully  separated  from  the  twigs  and  stalks,  the 
mid-rib  of  the  leaf  being  also  removed.  This  kind  is  chiefly  esteemed  in 
Peru,  and  principally  exported  there  by  the  Brazilians.  It  is  called  Herva 
maiisa. 
3d.  Ca^-guacu,  or  Ca^-una,  or  Yerva  de  Palos,  is  the  most  inferior  kind 
consisting  of  the  large  and  old  leaves  witli  the  twigs  and  fragments  of  wood, 
and  possessing  a  strong  and  bitter  flavor. 
In  Rio  Janeiro  two  sorts  are  known  to  commerce,  mate  in  leaf  and  mate 
in  powder.  In  order  to  test  the  quality  of  mate,  the  merchant  takes  a  small 
quantity  in  his  hand  and  blows  upon  it.  If  the  greater  portion  is  blown 
away  he  considers  that  it  has  been  heated  too  much  and  thus  deprived  of 
its  strength.  If  it  is  not  easily  blown  away  it  is  then  considered  of  good 
quality. 
Mate  has  been  the  subject  of  several  analyses.  In  1836,  Trommsdorfl^ 
analyzed  mate  and  found  tannin,  two  resins,  extractive  matter,  and  a  sub- 
stance which  he  believed  to  be  an  alkaloid,  but  he  possessed  too  little  mate- 
rial for  complete  investigation. 
In  1843,  Stenhouse  found  in  mate  an  alkaloid  and  proved  that  it  was 
identical  with  caffeine. 
In  1850,  Dr.  Rochleder  investigated  Paraguay  tea  and  found  the  reactions» 
of  mate-tannic  acid  to  be  identical  with  those  of  cofFee-tannic  acid. 
