Blog | The Rule Book for Mate

June 24, 2008

The Rule Book for Mate

written by Nicole Allegar on June 24, 2008 at 04:54PM in Traveling

Mate is a traditional Argentine drink and is very popular among the people. It is not uncommon to see bus drivers, people at work, or people walking on the street with Mate in their hands.

It tastes similar to very strong tea in the United States, however the yerba (herbs) floats freely in the Mate (the cup) instead of in a tea bag. To drink the yerba, a bombilla (a metal straw with small holes at the end of it) is used to filter the yerba and get the liquid.

The process to drink the Mate is to fill the cup 3/4 with Yerba, shake the cup so that the Yerba settles, stick the bombilla) (the link is in spanish, but there is a good picture of a bombilla) under the Mate, pour sugar or honey on top of the yerba (for us sensitive gringos. Many of the Argentinians prefer Mate without sweetening), and then fill the cup to the top with hot water. A cup of Mate is drank in a couple minutes, so everyone carries a thermos with hot water so they can refill the drink.

The essential Mate parts are:

Yerba- herbs

Mate-cup (there may be some confusion here, because the term Mate can be used to describe both the drink and the cup that is used to house the drink.)

Bombilla- metal straw.

We were informed by an Argentinian that there is Mate etiquette here in Argentina. It seems much like the indian ritual of passing the peace pipe around a circle of tribesmen:

The traditional way to drink Mate is to pass one Mate around in a group of friends or family. Each person drinks their one cup of Mate and then passes it to the next person.

Whoever owns the Mate cup must drink the first cup. In America this action seems rude and stingy, however the first cup of Mate is very strong and bitter, so it is considered rude to give it to a friend or family member.

Each time a Mate cup is finished, the cup is passed back to the owner of the cup. That person fills the cup with water and honey or sugar, and then gives the cup to the next person in rotation.

When their are many people drinking the Mate, it is rude for a person to take their time drinking the Mate, so you should drink it being conscious that everyone is waiting for their turn.

Mate is drank alone, but if friends or family members are around it is polite to ask if they would like to join you.

People should not buy a Mate for themselves, they should only have a Mate if someone has given them one as a present.

When a person does not want any more Mate or non at all they should say “gracias” (thank you in spansih, but no thank you when it involves Mate).

When little green herbs start to float to the top with out all the other herbs it is time to throw the Yerba away. If you want to drink more you can throw half of the yerba away and put new Yerba inside or fill the whole thing with new yerba, obviously all new yerba will be a little stronger than only half of the yerba being new.

Tags: Cordoba, Yerba, Bombilla, Mate and Argentine Culture

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