Yes, I'm talking about the mate (pronounced mah-tay) or yerba mate, which is not only the national drink of Argentina but also Paraguay, Uruguay and Southern Brazil. Looks like it is the South American sensation!

This fascinating drink caught my attention not only because of its taste but the way it is prepared, presented and drunk. It's packed with centuries old traditions, socializing ceremony around it, rules & etiquettes surrounding the custom and the way it initiates & fosters friendships & relationships in a community.

Mate is a beverage which has strength of a coffee (without its bitterness), the health benefits of a green tea, the euphria of a chocolate and the aura of story-sharing episodes while taking alcoholic drinks in a group. Who won't fall in love with such a drink?

I'm indebted to my Argentinian friend Marina who got this drink all the way from Buenos Aires. When she offered it to me, I didn't know what I'm gonna experience and she didn't tell a word about it. Perhaps it's customary to talk and share details while you are drinking it.

The drink is served in a a container made of a unique gourd. She told it's something like a pumpkin which is hollowed out to be used it as the mate vessel. Actually "mate" is derived from the Quichua word "mati" which is the name of the gourd (Lagenaria vulgaris). Here is a picture of the natural mate vessel which she had brought along with her:

An inside look of it from the top:

This mate needs to be cured before it can be put to regular use.

A hollow and curved or angled straw called Bombilla is used to drink this mate.

The dried leaves of yerba mate plant are put in the mate (vessel) and then some hot water is infused from top of it. The brew gets ready for drinking in couple of minutes. It is drunk by directly sipping it from Bombilla. The Bombilla straw has a some kind of spring like structure attached at the bottom to filter out powdery yerba particles.

The beauty of this drink is - the same mate is shared between the whole group and everyone drinks from the same bombilla. This instills a sense of close connection among the whole group.

There is a lot of yerba leaves in the mate. So when one sips all the beverage, the host (called cebador) tops it up with more hot water and another brew gets ready.

Fresh hot water from the thermos can be poured about 15-20 times in the same mate. The strength of brew may decrease a little with every brew but cebador takes care of it by adjusting the yerba leaves inside the mate.

No one else in the group should move or shake the bombilla as it is considered rude and can spoil the brew or the settlement of stems, leaves and powdery particles which can clog the bombilla.

This mate gourd is never washed or cleaned with water. At the end of the day, it is just emptied out and scraped a little with the help of bombilla and that's it.
See, how care-free and easy to prepare and maintain it is!

Now a days, there are mate vessels which are made from several other material like metals, plastic etc. Bombilla straw is also generally made of silver or stainless steel. Here's the one modern type mate:

Ready to sip mate? Here you go!


Ohh! I sipped it all! But nothing to get disappointed for. Just pour in some more hot water and a new drink is ready:

This one was a little smaller than the natural one photographed above. But since gourds naturally occur in different shapes and sizes, there is no standard size for mate. This gives a unique pesona to mate too.

There are several folklores surrounding this drink. While drinking mate, Marina told me one mythological legend and it was quite intersting. So I'd like to share it with you, in brief, here.

Folklore:

Hearing from the Wind about the planet Earth, the goddesses of the Moon & the Clouds were awestruck by the beauty of the Earth and the humans. They wanted to visit the Earth in the form of human beings to enjoy the pleasures here. So they requested Wind goddess to get permission for them from the Sun god for visiting Earth. The Sun granted them the conditional permission that though they will take the human form on Earth, they will remain invisible to human beings and will also be susceptible to all the dangers faced by human beings.

The goddesses agreed and visited the Earth. They enjoyed a lot here. But once in a forest near a water fall, a jaguar sighted them and he jumped onto them. Now both the goddesses were very frightened and didn't know what to do. But thankfully, when the jaguar was in the air, a hunter shot an arrow just in time. That saved the lives of goddesses. Although the hunter couldn't see the goddesses and was just hunting for the jaguar, goddesses were very grateful to him. Due to this incident, they immediately left the Earth for their heavenly abode. But they wanted to thank the hunter too.

So that night, they appeared in the dreams of the hunter and told him about how he saved their lives. So as a gratitude they wanted to offer him some gift. So they pointed him to a place where he will find yeruba mate tree. They explained him how to use its leaves to prepare a mate and how sharing this mate will win him several friends. Henceforth, it will be known as the symbol of friendship in this region.

The hunter followed his dream and found the yeruba mate tree. He prepared a gourd full of mate out of it. And as soon as he took one sip out of it, one lady came up to him asking what's he drinking. He offered it to her and as soon as she took one sip another man came up and joined. Thus this circle kept on increasing and soon a whole community of friends developed.

Yerba mate soon became the "drink of friendship". It's an iconic drink of South America. When Mate is shared, something magical happens. People open up with one another, secrets are shared, stories are told, conversation unfolds into new paradigms, hearts are lightened up and a new level of bondings are created in those leisurely hours. A strong sense of community develops, insecurity evaporates and love is in the air. Mate is a symbol of hospitality, peace and love.

Did you ever taste such a wonderful drink? Do share your experiences with it.