Mate (, ; sometimes spelled maté in English, but never in Spanish or Portuguese), also known as yerba mate, chimarrão () or cimarrón (), is a traditional South American caffeine-rich infused drink, particularly in Argentina (where it is defined by law as the "national infusion"), Uruguay, Paraguay and Southern Brazil, and to a lesser degree in southern Chile, the Bolivian Chaco, Syria and Lebanon. It is prepared by steeping dried leaves of yerba mate (llex paraguariensis, known in Portuguese as erva-mate) in hot water. Mate is served with a metal straw from a shared hollow calabash gourd...