Mate in Syria: a favorite drink brought by Syrians from South America

Hawaalsham– Did you know that Mate drink is one of the most popular beverages in Syria along with tea and coffee, and that almost 60% of Argentina’s mate exports are destined for Syria.

Syrians, particularly in the provinces of Sweida, Tartous, Latakia, Damascus, Homs and Hama, tend to drink mate at all times, whether in a social gathering or at home or work.

According to data from the National Institute of Yerba Mate drink (INYM), Syria was the main destination for Argentine mate exports in 2019 with 31,000 tons of the total 39,000 tons of yerba mate exported to Chile, Lebanon, the United States, and Spain. .

At the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th, a wave of Syrian emigrants arrived in Argentina and fell in love with mate and when they decided to return to the land of their ancestors they took Argentine mate with them and adopted it as their special drink.

Some historical sources confirmed that the inhabitants of the Qalamoun range north of Damascus were the first to travel to the South American continent and bring mate back to their villages in 1880, particularly the city of Yabrud, 80 kilometers north of the capital Damascus, which is home to currently the main mate processing and packaging plants in Syria.

Each country adopted its own way of drinking mate, for example, Paraguayans usually drink it cold, with water or fruit juice, while Argentines preferred to drink it hot with sugar.

As for the Syrians, drinking this drink became a social habit where it is taken at all times, but especially in the morning.

This tradition gathers everyone around a pot of hot water so that they share the same bombilla and enjoy its slightly bitter taste.

In certain Syrian regions, it is taken individually while the kettle is shared and each one has their mate and bombilla.

sana – Watfeh Salloum