THERE is a new craze sweeping through the England dressing room: South American herbal tea.
Eric Dier and Danny Rose have revealed they are hooked on Mate (pronounced mah-teh), a caffeine-rich infused drink sipped through a specially-made decorative gourd with a straw.
Caffeine-rich tea Mate is sweeping football
Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar were all big drinkers during their time at Barcelona, while the drink has spread to the Premier League with the influx of South American talent.
Dier revealed former Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino got him onto the drink - and he's now "a bit addicted".
He said: "At Tottenham, quite a lot of us have started drinking this thing called Mate. I am a bit addicted to it!
"At Tottenham, we have a lot of Argentinians at the club, so I started drinking it with them. And now we are trying to pretend to be South Americans!"
What is Mate?
The traditional tea comes from the Yerba Mate plant, with consumption stretching back centuries to pre-Colonial South America.
The drink is consumed in a gourd - which can come highly decorated with silver detail
It was first drunk by the indigenous Guarani and also by the Tupi for medicinal purposes. Spanish South American colonies then saw its rapid expansion and it was widely consumed from at least as early as the late 16th Century.
Today, Brazil is its biggest producer, while Uruguayans are the biggest consumers - it is also drunk extensively across the Middle East, with Syria and Lebanon huge importers.
Here are just some of Yerba Maté’s benefits:
Full of vitamins and minerals
Unlike other teas, the leaves and stem of Yerba Maté are exposed to flames immediately after harvesting; a process known as sapeco.
This helps to quickly lessen the moisture and seal in the 196 active compounds, including vitamins (A, B, C, and E) and minerals (magnesium, iron, calcium, riboflavin, niacin), which are essential to helping the body strengthen bones, heal wounds and convert food into energy - all very important to athletes! The leaves then undergo a second drying step but remain green due to the flame-drying action.
Contains antioxidants
Antioxidants are molecules which are required by the body for good health, as they help prevent oxidative stress to cells. Yerba Maté has higher polyphenol and antioxidant counts than both green and black teas, making it a perfect alternative to your standard morning cuppa!
Stimulating properties
This is perhaps the biggest factor in the footballers’ love affair with maté. Although it contains less caffeine than coffee or black tea, it is still a very potent source of caffeine and results in a much more steady energy boost, without the peaks and troughs that often come with other sources of caffeine.
This is ideal for footballers, who have to maintain high energy levels for at least 90 minutes when playing a match. It’s no use having a pick-me up before the game only to be flagging before half time!
Helps maintain a healthy body weight
Research has looked into the effects of Yerba Maté on weight, and the results have been promising. A 2014 study by Nutrition & Digestion study concluded that Yerba Maté can increase the exercise effective for weight loss and sports performance, whilst another suggested that it can be an effective way to help fight obesity. No wonder footballers love it so much!
Distinctive flavour
After the sapeco and drying, the green maté is finely cut. Its taste is often described as green, grassy and herbaceous, with a slightly smoky flavour, and not unlike green tea. Why not give it a go?
How do you prepare Mate?
The preparation is almost as important as the drinking itself. Leaves are sold after being dried, chopped and ground into a powdery mixture.
They are then placed into a hollow goblet called a gourd - traditionally these are made from hollowed out calabashes, a large melon-like fruit - and drunk through a straw, sometimes known as bombillas.
Gourds also come in highly-decorative designs, with silver straws and decorations not uncommon.
Gonzalo Higuain was seen preparing the drink in an episode of the Juventus documentary on Netflix
Tea-bag types of Mate are also used, but leaving the leaves in the cup is the more traditional way, with care taken over how much is placed - the person making it doesn't want too much or too little in the gourd.
Half to three-quarters full is typical.
The person preparing it then covers the opening and shakes it from upside-down and then side-to-side, to get the powdery particles to the top and the leaves to the bottom and to ensure a more consistent flavour.
Ideally, a slope will be built with the finest particles should be closest to the straw, with the larger stems layered along one side and a gap to allow consumption.
Paul Pogba with his gourd and a flask - the drink is topped up with hot, but not boiling, water
The straw is then inserted along the slope, a splash of cold water is added, then once it is settled, hot but not boiling, water is poured over the leaves.
Kettles in Argentina and Uruguay even have a special thermostat to switch off before boiling point for Mate drinking.
How do you drink Mate?
It is a highly social drink with the preparation and sharing of the drink as important as the consumption itself.
Typically made for sharing, a single gourd of Mate can be drunk around 20 times before it needs to be refilled or the water gets cold.
Customs change from region to region, while sugar and honey can be added to sweeten the taste, although that is considered untraditional.
It is drunk through the straw with people sharing turns in taking a sip - holding onto the gourd for too long is considered a no-no.
Uruguay is the world's biggest consumer of Mate, with an average person drinking 19l annually
More hot water can be added to make the drink last longer before it loses all flavour.
If travelling, drinkers will often fill a thermal flask with hot water to top up their gourd.
What does Mate taste like?
It has been described as a mix between tea and coffee, although the taste is very unique.
Mate is very bitter when unsweetened and is an acquired taste - like tea or coffee it is something that doesn't taste great on first try but that you get used to overtime.
Some have described it as tasting like earth, dirt or soil.
It comes in different brands and flavours, with the thickness of the liquid also varying.
Mate is a highly social drink and is intended to be shared