Yerba Mate: From an Indian Good to a South American Commodity

"Yerba Maté: From an Indian Good to a South American Commodity" is a transdisciplinary study of this caffeinated beverage native to Paraguay. It traces yerba maté’s transition from an Indian good to a daily beverage consumed widely throughout much of the southern cone of South America. It also seeks to answer why tea and coffee replaced yerba maté in the Andes and not in the Río de la Plata region and why yerba maté did not become a viable alternative for such caffeinated beverages outside of this region until the twentieth century. It contributes to our understanding of the processes of globalization, cultural change, and identity formation.