Duration of the Yerba Mate Tour: 4 hours approximately.
Check rates and available days.
Ready for the real Argentina’s Yerba Mate Tour? Enjoy a unique experience and get to know one of the most special traditions of Argentine culture. Visit one of the main producers of Yerba Mate in our country, Las Marías Establishment with tour guides and specialist of this popular beverage.
Learn everything you need to know about Yerba Mate plantations in Argentina, the largest Yerba Mate manufacturer in world. Taste this unique beverage here with us, and contact our tour booking agents.
What is Yerba Mate?
Argentine Yerba Mate is a national tradition we are proud of. It is widely popular in our region, and an excuse for a casual get-together with friends and family. As a usual practice, drinking Yerba Mate is transmitted by family heritage, and is considered by natives as the perfect beverage any time of the day.
When was Yerba Mate invented? The origin of what in Argentina know as Yerba Mate dates back to the Guaraní people, who used the leaves of the tree as a drink, object of worship and currency.
The Origins of the Yerba Mate
When was the Yerba Mate invented in South America? During their long journeys in the jungle, the Spanish conquistadors noticed that the Guaraní had a great physical resistance after drinking this sacred drink. Some time later, the Jesuits introduced the crop in the reductions and contributed to its spread and commercialization, to such an extent that the infusion became known as the Jesuit tea.
Did you know that Argentina is the world’s largest Mate consumer and producer? The largest yerba mate crops in the country are found in the provinces of Misiones and northeastern Corrientes, Argentina.
In 2019, the production of ground and packaged yerba mate for the domestic market reached almost 277,332,014 kg. It is estimated that each inhabitant in Argentina consumes on average 6.4 kg of yerba mate per year, and this beverage is present in 90% of households.
Health Benefits of Yerba Mate
Drinking Yerba Mate has proven to be safe and actually, has important benefits for health. This traditional argentine beverage is good for body defenses, reducing inflammation, and lowering blood sugar and as well as cholesterol levels. In addition to this, Yerba Mate serves as a healthy energy drink for improving exercise performance, and higher bone density.
EXCURSION TO YERBA MATE LAS MARÍAS
Experience yerba mate production at Argentina’s leading manufacturer, Las Marías, one of the most important plantations in the world. The company was established in 1924, by a pioneer in the cultivation of Ilex Paraguariensis (Yerba Mate) in the southernmost region of the world. With this milestone, he marked the beginning of a series of innovations that have turned this family-run company the world’s largest producer of yerba mate and the first tea producer in Argentina, with a total turnover of 270 million dollars in 2016.
With more than 90 years of experience, Las Marias products are present in more than 40 countries, bringing the flavor of Argentine mate to every continent.
Care at every stage in the production process is really important. Everything takes place in the vicinity of the colonial-style house in which the founder of the company lived at the beginning of his venture. There is the nursery in which the plants with the best genetics are selected and germinated. In the drying facilities, heat is used to extract all the moisture from the plants, then the yerba is taken to huge sheds where it is stored for about 10 months, then it goes through a mechanized process of grinding and it is finally sent to the packaging plants.
In a nearby building, there is a laboratory, where about 12 technical specialists are responsible for mixing flavors in a unique way for each brand, ensuring that they are made in the right way always preserving the same quality in the product.
The tour takes approximately 4 hours. During the tour, visitors will experience the complete production process of this infusion. It includes an explanatory video, tastings, a visit to the nursery and a walk through part of the 30,000 hectares of yerba mate plantations located on the property, always accompanied by suitable guides provided by the establishment.
If you enjoy this type of experience and gastronomic tourism, tasting new regional flavors and aromas, do not miss the Tea Route Tour to learn about the history and methods of tea harvesting and pairing.