One of the things we noticed almost immediately upon arrival in Argentina were the number of people drinking out of wooden-looking rounded-like gourd cups, sipping a liquid out of a metal straw. We found out that it's yerba mate, a bitter tea. So, I did a little research.
It's a tea made from the leaves and stems of the yerba mate bush, which is related to holly and grows like a weed in the Parana and Paraguay river basins and in yerba mate plantations. It's mildly addictive green tea which helps suppress the appetite and on which many people are hooked.
Mate is a well-kept secret... it is commonly drunk only by Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguary and southern Brazil. It is a stimulant to the central nervous system, a diuretic, an anti-rheumatic and a tonic. The active ingredient in mate is a powerful little alkolid known as mateine, which is identical to caffeine and packs the same punch. However, it is not a morning tea, people drink it all day!
Mate plays a key part in the Uruguayan culture. The vast majority of Uruguayans don't go anywhere without their mate and thermos flask (for the ready supply of hot water). I've seen people riding their bicycles drinking mate while their thermos is tucked under their arm. They take their mate to the beach, to work, while walking the beach, shopping, waiting for the bus; just about anywhere. It is even taken to restaurants. They drink it several times a day (a thermos full). It is a shared drink with family and friends drinking out of the same bombilla (a metal, often silver straw). I've never seen a child or teenageer drink it.
Yerba mate is sold by the kilo in the grocery store, whole shelves are filled with mostly giant bags of mate tea. Essential mate drinking paraphernalia--- a thermos flask, a bombilla and mates (the special cup is called mate too; it's a gourd)--- can be purchased in most stores. We saw some very ornate silver-plated cups selling for high prices in Argentina. But most of them are simple gourds without the silver. Some sit in little metal stands. I read that most are made out of wood, but some can be made from bull's testicles (I'm picturing gauchos using these!). Some mates are designed with a round bottom so that they cannot be put down. It's meant to be passed, a mate ritual.
I saw 4 men waiting at the bus station in Piriapolis sharing mate. One man was in charge of the thermos and he poured the water into the gourd after filling it with tea leaves, passed it around and was the last to get a drink. Each time someone new was
handed the gourd they got a hot blast of water from the metal straw. I imagine that lips must get burned on the metal straw because they don't wait for the water to cool. Ouch! The metal straw has a little sieve-like device on the end so that you aren't sucking up tealeaf particles while drinking.
When you buy a mate gourd, there's a whole culture around curing your new gourd, just as there is a culture of mate drinking etiquette. I read that an intricate set of rules and regulations revolves around the art of mate drinking.
Yerba mate drinking... something you don't see in America. I hope to try it one day and I'm thinking about buying one of the neat gourds and bombilla to take home.
If you are interested in learning more about yerba mate go to a recent newsletter I found on the internet written by an expat Amerian (Texan) who lives in Montevideo with his wife and child. If you'd like to read more about Uruguay, he has other information in his newsletters as well. Go to www.olauruguay.com. (It's "ola" uruguay as in ola=wave).
Adios,
Mary
How interesting! You need to get one of the mate cups and straws so you can drink your green tea (made with leaves) when you come home. I like the fact that the straw acts as a sieve. I wonder if the tea is an antiseptic - since everyone seems to be sharing the same straw!
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