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Yerba Mate: The Drink That Shaped a Nation (California Studies in Food and Culture)
Like coffee or tea, yerba mate is one of the world's most beloved caffeinated beverages. Once dubbed a "devil's drink" by Spanish missionaries in South America only to be later hailed by capitalists and politicians as "green gold," it has a long and storied history. And no country consumes and celebrates yerba mate quite like Argentina.
Yerba Mate is the first book to explore the extraordinary history of this iconic beverage in Argentina from the precolonial period to the present. From yerba mate's Indigenous origins to its ubiquity during the colonial era, from its association with rural people and the poor in the late nineteenth century to its resurgence in the last years of the twentieth century, Julia Sarreal meticulously documents yerba mate's consumption, production, and cultural importance over time. Yerba Mate is the definitive history of this popular beverage and social practice, and it tells a fascinating story about race, culture, and how a drink helped forge the national identity of one of the world's most dynamic countries.
Yerba Mate is the first book to explore the extraordinary history of this iconic beverage in Argentina from the precolonial period to the present. From yerba mate's Indigenous origins to its ubiquity during the colonial era, from its association with rural people and the poor in the late nineteenth century to its resurgence in the last years of the twentieth century, Julia Sarreal meticulously documents yerba mate's consumption, production, and cultural importance over time. Yerba Mate is the definitive history of this popular beverage and social practice, and it tells a fascinating story about race, culture, and how a drink helped forge the national identity of one of the world's most dynamic countries.
393 pages, Hardcover
Published January 24, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 20, 2024
This book was recommended to me last semester in grad school, and as a fervent enjoyer of yerba maté, which, in many ways I thank for giving me the energy to make it through my college education, I couldn’t resist reading this. Far more than just a history of the famous infusion itself, Sarreal’s book, uses yerba maté to trace the history of Argentina as a nation from pre-colonial times to the present. You walk away with far more than just a knowledge of mate but of Argentina as a whole and gain a greater appreciation for the role mate played in this history.
April 15, 2024
Madre de Dios che lavorone. Complimenti vivissimi all'autrice, prima o poi compartiremos un matecito juntos no tengo dudas.
May 24, 2025
Me gustó mucho, entra en cuestiones que otros autores ignoran.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews