Time to Read: 8 minutes
Quick Overview
Syria is one of the largest importers of yerba mate in the world, and Lebanon is close behind. The reason traces to waves of migration between the 1860s and 1960s: Syrians and Lebanese who settled in South America picked up the mate habit, then carried it home when many returned in the 1970s. The Druze community especially made it their own, with their own gear and a stirred, tea-like way of preparing it.
In this article, you'll learn:
- Why Syria and Lebanon drink so much mate
- The migration waves that carried the tradition
- How the Arab way of preparing mate differs
- The distinct gourds and bombillas they use
It may surprise you that yerba mate is not only drunk in its origin countries of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay, but also across parts of the Middle East. We have written before about Poland's link to yerba mate. Here we turn to Syria and Lebanon, among the largest importers of yerba mate in the world. Mate really is a global drink.
Why do Syria and Lebanon drink so much yerba mate?
The short answer is migration. Syria has imported yerba mate in large volumes for a long time. The first records of Argentine exports, in 1936, already show Syria as a major consumer at 39,639 kg, second only to Bolivia. Today the numbers are far higher: in 2017, Argentina exported 22,563 tons to Syria and 800 tons to Lebanon, even with the Syrian civil war ongoing. The connection seems puzzling at first, but the explanation is simple, and it has everything to do with waves of migration in the 19th and 20th centuries.
The pre-WWI wave
Today, 17 to 30 million Arab people live in Latin America, many with roots in the mid-19th century. Historians place the first large migration of Syrian and Lebanese people to South America between 1860 and 1912, driven by four major upheavals:
- 1860, the Mount Lebanon civil war between Christians and the Druze, which led to massacres in Damascus and sent many fleeing.
- 1870s, encouragement from Brazil. Emperor Dom Pedro II, charmed by a visit to modern-day Lebanon, urged Lebanese groups to resettle in southern Brazil.
- 1909, the Hauran Druze rebellion against the Ottoman Empire, pushing more Druze to leave.
- 1912, the Italo-Turkish War, as Syrian and Lebanese migrants escaped violence and persecution.
Researchers estimate around 46,000 Syrians and Lebanese emigrated to Argentina before 1913. That was the starting point for a long exchange of customs, mate among them.
The post-WWI and post-WWII waves
After World War I, Syria and Lebanon passed from Ottoman to French control, and conflict continued: World War I itself (1914 to 1918), the Franco-Syrian War (1920), and the Great Syrian Revolt (1925 to 1927). More people left, some fleeing violence, others the uncertainty of French rule, and still more during the struggle for independence.
World War II brought further waves, as people living in French colonies faced conscription and chose migration instead. Events afterward, including the Arab-Israeli War of 1948 and the Lebanese crisis of 1958, pushed still more young people to flee.
Returning home in the 1970s, with mate in hand
All these waves, mostly to Argentina and Brazil, meant a century of shared customs, and drinking yerba mate became one of them. Large numbers did not return to the Middle East until the 1970s, when South American economies declined and some grew politically unstable, just as the Middle East was riding an oil boom. Many returned home and brought yerba mate with them, which is why exports to Syria and Lebanon spiked from the 1970s on.
The Druze, hit especially hard by the earlier conflicts, took to mate most of all. Their community is now strongly tied to the drink, and most yerba mate drinkers in Syria and Lebanon are Druze, with the custom most visible in Druze mountain villages.
How is the Arab way of mate different?
The essentials are familiar: mate is drunk in the morning, prepared with hot water from a kettle, and sometimes flavored with sugar, spices, or fruit peel. But two habits set the Middle Eastern style apart.
Tip
In South America, drinkers build a mound (montañita) of yerba to one side and only wet the “valley,” so the flavor releases slowly. Stirring the yerba would be unthinkable. In Syria and Lebanon, the yerba is stirred with the bombilla, making the drink more of a quick tea infusion.
First, Syrians and Lebanese fill the gourd or cup about halfway, add water, and stir it with the bombilla, so the mate behaves like an infused tea and lasts fewer refills. Second, they clean the bombilla between drinkers with a slice of lemon, served on a small plate on the tray. South American drinkers typically do not clean the straw between people, where fussing over it is seen as anti-social. Neither approach is more “correct,” which is part of the point.
What equipment do they use?
Presentation is distinct: mate is served on a tray with the yerba, gourd, lemon, and any added flavors like sugar, rather than simply set on the table with a kettle or thermos as in South America. The gear differs too.
For the vessel, Arab drinkers use a gourd (a qar'a), a small glass, or a ceramic milk jug. The gourd tends to be small, with a narrow mouth and a wider base, unlike the rounder, larger South American mate. The small glass or jug makes sense given the stirred, tea-like preparation. The bombilla, called a masassa, is made of silver or alpaca with a filter at the end like a traditional one, but roughly half the length, fitting the smaller cup so the straw pokes just above the rim.
See it in action
After the conflicts of the 19th and 20th centuries, Middle Eastern immigrants, especially the Druze, carried yerba mate home and made it their own. The gear and the preparation differ, but it is essentially the same drink, one more sign that there is no single “right” way to prepare mate. At the end of the day, yerba mate keeps bringing people together, all the way to the Middle East.
Up Next
Follow the tradition to another surprising corner of the world in the history of yerba mate in Poland.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does Syria import so much yerba mate?
Because Syrian and Lebanese migrants picked up the mate habit in South America and brought it home, especially the Druze community.
How is Middle Eastern mate prepared differently?
The yerba is stirred with the bombilla like a tea, and the straw is cleaned with lemon between drinkers.
What is a masassa?
The Middle Eastern bombilla, made of silver or alpaca with a filter, but about half the length of a South American one to fit a smaller cup.
Drink to connect
However you prepare it, mate is meant to be shared. Explore our yerba mate and starter kits to start your own ritual. #DrinkToConnect
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