WHAT IS MATE'? Mate is a very healthy herbal beverage from Argentina,Paraguay,and Brazil. What do you get when you combine half the caffeine of coffee with a powerful dose of antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, and phyto nutrients? You get an effect known as matiene. Someone who drinks mate is said to be ‘mateado’. The possible translations include happy, awake, and energized. All you need is a straw, a gourd, and a community of friends and family or just the lovely company of self.