Yerba Mate

Mate (pronounced mah-TAY, I can’t find the accent over the e thingy on my computer) is a traditional herbal beverage in Argentina. It tastes similar to green tea, although it has more of the stimulant effects akin to coffee. While in Tigre, a river town about an hour to the north of Buenos Aires, we visited the Museo del Mate (Mate Museum), where we learned about this cultural tradition and got to sample some. Typically, mate leaves are placed into the bottom of a gourd, to which hot water is added. After it steeps for awhile, you drink the mate through a bombilla (straw). In Argentinian tradition, you are to pass the gourd around and share the mate with everyone. But when you pass someone the gourd, you must have the bombilla facing that person; otherwise it is considered to be rude. We brought back some loose leaf mate, although no gourds nor bombillas, so I don’t have to worry about offending anyone when I drink it, I hope.

Here is some more info on yerba mate, including photos of a traditional gourd and bombilla.