Brazilian tea culture has its origins in theinfused beverages, orchás (Portuguese pronunciation:[ˈʃas]), made by the indigenous cultures of theAmazon and theRío de la Plata basins. It has evolved since the Portuguese colonial period to include imported varieties and tea-drinking customs.

There is a popular belief in Brazil that Brazilians, especially the urban ones, have a greater taste for usingsugar in teas than in other cultures accustomed to unsweetened drinks.

During the colonial era, imported tea varieties were first cultivated in Brazil in 1812. Throughout the 19th century, the tea industry, much like the coffee industry, was heavily dependent on slave labor to work on the plantations.

When slavery was abolished in 1888, the tea trade collapsed. In the 1920s, the tea industry was revived by Japanese immigrants, who introduced tea seeds fromSri Lanka and India. Prior to this time, only Chinese tea varieties had been grown in Brazil.^[1]

Brazil's largest tea-producing region is nearRegistro, a coastal city nearSão Paulo. Registro is in theBrazilian Highlands and forms a terrain of low rolling hills that are ideal for mechanized tea production. The growing season in Brazil is from September to April; the climate is hot and humid.

The relatively low altitude of most of Brazil's tea plantations, however, produces a tea which is less flavorful than high altitude teas. For this reason, Brazilian teas are most often produced for blending. The tea is used for both iced tea and hot tea blends with about 70% of the total tea production being sold to the United States.^[2]

A popularcaffeinated infusion ismate, made from the leaves of the nativeerva-mate plant. In Brazil, the plant is callederva-mate or simplymate, and the hot beverage drunk from acalabashgourd is calledchimarrão, typically associated with the southernmost state,Rio Grande do Sul.

Mate is a popular beverage in other South American countries as well, especially around the people that lives in the southern region, which comprises the namedGaúcho culture, or the culture from the Pampas.Argentina,Paraguay, andUruguay.

Specially in the Paraguayan and in a few parts of the northern Argentinian border, the mate is also drunk infused in cold water along the daytime and receives the name oftereré.

As in other South American countries, mate is traditionally drunk from a hollow gourd using a silver straw, a tradition that continues from indigenous cultures who introduced mate to colonists, though in other parts of the country, processed mate is drunk iced, as a non-carbonatedsoft drink.

Erva Mate (Ilex paraguariensis) is an evergreen plant of the holly (family Aquifoliaceae). The plant can reach heights of 10-12 meters but is generally pruned at about 4-6 meters.

Although the plant does produce smallflowers andfruit, only the distinct oval-shaped leaves and stems are plucked for processing. In Brazil, the drinking of Erva Mate is practiced as a social ritual.^[3]

True teas such asblack tea (chá-preto) are popular in Brazil, either hot or iced. Brazilians also have their own local modern variations of flavored and herbal teas.Lemongrass teas are popular.^[4] Lemongrass is a plant imported fromSoutheast Asia, which grows well in Brazil's climate. Lemongrass is calledcapim-santo,capim-limão orcapim cidreira. It is generally consumed inherbal teas and health drinks, which is its primary culinary use in Brazil. Like many infusions in Brazil, lemongrass beverages are considered more medicinal than culinary. One iced drink made of lemongrass and pineapple peelings is calledchá de abacaxi com capim-santo, which means "pineapple-and-lemongrass tea".^[5]

Alongside lemongrass and mate, infusions from plants cultivated domestically or in small properties, usually served as everyday drinks, include the following:Melissa officinalis, the lemon balm, locally known aserva-cidreira orcitronela;Mentha, the mint, there known ashortelã (IPA:[oʁteˈlɐ̃]) (though juices are much more popular — tea is usually made from processed dried mint in the market);Kyllinga odorata, in the genus of the plants known as spikesedges, in Portuguese:capim-cidreira;Foeniculum vulgare, the fennel, callederva-doce orfuncho;Pimpinella anisum, the anise, there known aserva-doce or rarelyanis;Illicium verum, the Chinese star anise, locally referred to asanis-estrelado;Aloysia citrodora, orlúcia-lima in Portuguese, the South American lemon verbena; among a few other plants of American, European or Asian origin.

Examples of plants commonly cultivated domestically in Brazil for medicinal uses include:Peumus boldus, the boldo, there known asboldo-do-chile (Chilean boldo);Plectranthus barbatus, theIndian coleus, locally known asboldo-de-jardim (garden boldo) orboldo-da-terra (earth boldo);Plantago major, the greater plantain, in Portuguese:tanchagem;Vernonia condensata, known asboldo-baiano;Vernonia polysphaera, calledassa-peixe (lit. 'fish-fryer');Chenopodium ambrosioides, there referred to aserva-de-santa-maria;Dysphania ambrosioides, the epazote, also known in Brazil aserva-de-santa-maria;Baccharis trimera, thecarqueja;Maytenus ilicifolia, theespinheira-santa;Rhamnus purshiana, the cascara buckthorn, locally known ascáscara sagrada (sacred cascara);Echinodorus grandiflorus, thechapéu-de-couro (leather hat);Uncaria tomentosa, the cat's claw, which isunha-de-gato in Portuguese;Mimosa tenuiflora, the tepezcohuite, local namejurema-preta; among others.

There are many indigenousherbs consumed as herbal teas in Brazil, which often have traditional medicinal uses. Some varieties are consumed as part of native religious rituals.

Mint tea, an infusion made from the brewed leaves of the plantHyptis crenata, has been used by traditional healers to cure headaches, fevers and flu. Graciela Rocha, in research conducted forNewcastle University, found the drink to be as effective as a synthetic aspirin-style drug, Indometacin:

Rocha, who is Brazilian and remembers being given the tea as a cure for every childhood illness, said: "The taste isn't what most people here in the UK would recognise as a mint. In fact it tastes more like sage which is another member of the mint family.^[6]

Ayahuasca, which means "vine of souls" in aQuechua language, has a history going back to ancient times. It is a traditional drink used in spiritual and healing rituals. The drink is used in the religions ofSanto Daime and "União do Vegetal". It has purgative, nauseating andhallucinogenic properties.

Due to its hallucinogenic effects, its legal status in Brazil has met with controversy from authorities outside Brazil. The active ingredient that produces hallucinations,DMT, is considered aClass A drug (the same label given toheroin andcocaine) by the U.S. and the U.K. However, in 2010 Brazil's national anti-drug body approved the consumption of the drink for religious rituals after decades of studies and talks with religious institutions.^{[citation needed]}

• Tea
• Mate (beverage)
• Traditional medicine
• Health effects of tea

• Tea culture by country
• Tea in South America
• Traditional medicine
• Brazilian drinks
• Indigenous culture in Brazil

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