Yerba Mate - A piece of Argentine culture

On street corners, at home, in the car, in shops, in the bus or bus station – no matter if old or young, everywhere you see people in Argentina holding a little pot in their hand and sipping some strange stuff from a metal straw, passing the same pot from one to another while holding a flask of hot water in the other hand. One might think: that looks very dodgy, what are grandpa and grandma over there up to? It is far from what you think! ;-)

Glossary:
Yerba (read: sherba): is a herbal plant that grows in subtropical South America, in Argentina, southern Paraguay, western Uruguay and southern Brazil.
It has a very bitter taste at first, but the more you drink of it the better it gets. It has definitely an acquired taste. There are of course different manufacturers and you have to find your favourite one. It is supposed to have a slightly uplifting effect, like caffeine but not as strong and is much gentler to the stomach and also has several other benefits like cancer-fighting abilities. (basically it¨s good for you!)
The Mate (read: maté): A Mate pot is a hollow gourd and can be made of calabassa, wood, metal or plastic. There are many varieties and types of mate, some are left natural, some painted, some have leather around, some are made from a cow¨s hoof etc etc.
Bombilla (read: bombisha): The bombilla (straw) is usually made from stainless steel or alpaca and acts as a sieve which filters the herbs so you don´t get any pieces in your mouth.

What got me into it was the whole ceremonial and social aspect of it. To prepare a good mate, you do the following: you put the yerba in the pot, but only fill it up half-way. Turn it around in your hand so that the powder gets to the top. Then you heat up water in a kettle (it is not supposed to boil, the perfect temperature is about 80 degrees) and put it in a flask to keep warm. Then you insert the bombilla into the dry yerba, pour some water little by little until the pot is more or less filled. Then you sip your mate, and you finish all the water that is in the mate. Then you fill it up again and pass it on to your friend or people who are sitting near you.
It is a very sociable ceremony and gets people talking. If an Argentinian ever offers you to share mate, I suggest not to refuse!

John thinks: this is better than beer!


yerba, mate with bombilla and flask

take your pick...