According to both my eyes and Wikipedia, Mate is the favourite hot drink of many a Southern South American* country, and to be quite frank, it kicks teas’ ass in the intrigue-ness stakes and randomness of both partaking and creating of said beverage. However, having tried it a couple of times I can say I am not really a fan. Mostly because of the sheer amount of admin involved – there are a lot of parts but also because as it doesn’t have a lid I would 100% regularly spill it down my front. I know my limits.Somewhat resembling chaff or dried and chopped grass, Mate is brewed utilising the leaf of the green Yerba Mate plant – so far so like tea.
However…
The first in the long line of intriguing facts about Mate is that its aficionados don’t deign to use something as bog standard as a normal tea cup or mug – no they use a special hollowed out gourd, think squash like vegetable but not, which is often inlaid with silver or other metal to make it look pretty, with intricate designs carved on the sides…even the mass produced ones in the supermarket are quite attractive vessels really.
While only a few tea leaves suffice in the making of a good strong cuppa, an entire gourd full, filled right to the top is required in the making of Mate. I have asked why and never been give a decent reply, so can only assume it’s just the way it is done, as is sometimes the way. Once the gourd is filled, a special silver straw (bombilla) is jammed in at one side to make a place to pour the hot but never boiling water which is then trickled in a little bit at a time, smooshing the leaves down to make the flavour.
The drinking itself of Mate is also a full on process, unsurprisingly I guess considering the palaver one has to go to make the drink. Often made to be shared, it is a common sight to see a whole family drinking from the same Mate cup, and there is normally a Mate gourd on the go in any given social situation. Cant see the sharing aspect going down well in other countries – all those dirty sharing germs.
Mate, we were also rather surprised to discover, is the choice of hot homemade beverage for the man or woman on the go, literally going anywhere and doing anything.
South America is a massive continent, and we spend a lot of time on buses – as travel agent on our excursion I can honestly say I may have somewhat underestimated that vastness but anywho…..without fail, everyone traipses onto the bus and settles down. All is quiet for a moment, then there is the unmistakable pppphhhiiisshhh of many a thermos being opened, and the shake shake rustle rustle as the mate is poured into the cup. This is because; to drink Mate one must also carry the accoutrements of Mate – a GIANT bag of mate, a straw, and a thermos of hot water. Handily, some Mate drinking genius back in the day, probably a Gaucho, who is now I imagine a millionaire, designed a nifty little rounded leather bag which fits all the bits and bobs in nicely, as well as a spot for a fully loaded Mate cup, ready to go at any given opportunity...Boy is there opportunity
We saw people in Argentina and Uruguay and Brazil drinking Mate while…on the bus (as above), on the back of a motorbike, on the front of a motorbike, driving a car, taking a stroll along the beach, walking the dog, going for a run, doing the shopping, having a chat on the side of the road after getting out of the car, in offices, in cafes; everywhere you can possibly imagine a person being, there is the opportunity for Mate consumption. And there are a lot of people in Southern South America*!
* Yes I am aware that a few non – Southern South American countries also drink mate, but it does nothing for my alliteration.
