Pronounced erva-MAHTCH, erva mate is simply the Brazilian Portuguese way of saying yerba mate. It’s virtually synonymous with the term Chimarrão, pronounced she-mah-HOW. The caveat is that these terms denote what we call “native Brazilian” yerba, meaning that, unlike “Gaucho Mate,” which is also grown in Brazil, but for the Uruguayan market, erva mate is specifically grown for the local market. It’s easy to recognize this mate: bright green with large stems. Learn about erva mate and chimarrão here. And here’s an article on the general types of mate. Brazilians use “cuias”, larger mate gourds than the Argentine ones — learn the difference between the gourd types here.