This is a Paraguayan tea. Also known in English as mate (botanical term) Interesting aside - I first wondered if it weren't "la mota" instead of "el mate" because that''s Mexican slang for marijuana (which would also have the same effect). Anyway, it is el mate and it is taken as a tea. Good luck to you!

A nice bit of folklore (undoubtedly propagated by the maté growers and sellers!), with a grain of truth at its core.

Altitude sickness is a result of oxygen deprivation. For every 1000 feet above sea level, human being lose about 3% of their effective oxygen intake, because of the reduction in atmospheric pressure as the altitude increases. For instance, I live in a little mountain town, at an elevation of 6300 feet above sea level; therefore, my O2 intake here is about 18% less than it is down in the coastal flatlands. No wonder, then, that tourists visiting the Peruvian Andes (elev. approx. 12,000 feet ASL, with their O2 intake diminished by almost 40%) need to rest a bit!

Some of the chemical compounds in maté tea have a vasodilative effect; that is, they dilate the blood vessels, allowing the human organism to absorb a little more oxygen than before. So, yes, the tea could have a mildly palliative effect on O2 deprivation.....

Suerte, HC