Ché Guevara's maté obsession

I am reading Ché's diaries, and it is quite remarkable how often he mentions maté. Whether it's drinking it, ordering it, having a friend ship it to him, expecting/recieving a new shipment. I feel like he mentions it at least every other page.

I've only started drinking it because him. If it weren't for the drink being mentioned in biographies/diaries, I probably wouldn't even know what it is