Africans were enslaved by Europeans to expand the production of coffee coming from the Ethiopian province of Kaffa. Guarani indians were forced to open long paths through the rainforest to facilitate the expanding trade of yerba mate. It started as a ritualistic cult created by ancient cultures that settled in South America before the Incas and the Conquistadors. Yerba mate was a gift from the Gods. Drinking the infusion was almost like drinking the jungle itself.