Contents
1 Yerba Mate Tea, a Traditional South American Beverage.
An Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1 Vegetable Phenolics for Food Purposes. A General Introduction . . . . 2
1.2 Tea Infusions and Regional Products. A South American
Perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.3 Ilex Paraguariensis, a Peculiar Plant, and Yerba Mate . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.3.1 Biodiversity in South America. I. Paraguariensis
and Localisations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.3.2 Native Versus Cultivated Yerba Mate. An Introduction
to National Differences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.3.3 Native Versus Cultivated Yerba Mate. Harvesting
and Cultivation Procedures, and National Differences . . . . . . 9
1.4 Consumption Behaviours and Yerba Mate Products. One
or More Mate Infusions? Differences Between Countries
in Latin America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
1.4.1 Commercial Classification, Types, and Reasons
for National Diversification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
1.4.2 Hot Yerba Mate Infusions. Preparation Procedures
(Brazil, Argentina) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
1.4.3 Cold Yerba Mate Infusions (Tererê). Preparation
Procedures (Paraguay) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
1.5 An Introduction to Chemical Profiles of Yerba Mate Products . . . . . . 18
1.6 The Safety Importance of Yerba Mate and Similar Infusions . . . . . . . 20
1.7 Yerba Mate Between Regulatory Norms and Commercial
Matters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
1.8 Could Yerba Mate Be Associated with Food Frauds? . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
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1 Yerba Mate Tea, a Traditional South American Beverage.
An Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1 Vegetable Phenolics for Food Purposes. A General Introduction . . . . 2
1.2 Tea Infusions and Regional Products. A South American
Perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.3 Ilex Paraguariensis, a Peculiar Plant, and Yerba Mate . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.3.1 Biodiversity in South America. I. Paraguariensis
and Localisations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.3.2 Native Versus Cultivated Yerba Mate. An Introduction
to National Differences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.3.3 Native Versus Cultivated Yerba Mate. Harvesting
and Cultivation Procedures, and National Differences . . . . . . 9
1.4 Consumption Behaviours and Yerba Mate Products. One
or More Mate Infusions? Differences Between Countries
in Latin America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
1.4.1 Commercial Classification, Types, and Reasons
for National Diversification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
1.4.2 Hot Yerba Mate Infusions. Preparation Procedures
(Brazil, Argentina) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
1.4.3 Cold Yerba Mate Infusions (Tererê). Preparation
Procedures (Paraguay) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
1.5 An Introduction to Chemical Profiles of Yerba Mate Products . . . . . . 18
1.6 The Safety Importance of Yerba Mate and Similar Infusions . . . . . . . 20
1.7 Yerba Mate Between Regulatory Norms and Commercial
Matters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
1.8 Could Yerba Mate Be Associated with Food Frauds? . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
v