The Porteño Guide to Drink Mate

On a hot, sunny spring day it is understandable if all you want to do is sit in the park after the hard job of sightseeing around Buenos Aires .So if you decided to stop a day of city tours and spend an afternoon in one of the amazing parks and plazas of Buenos Aires, one of the things you must do if you want to feel like a local is to bring your Yerba Mate, possibly one of the most cultural and traditional things apart from Tango.

The yerba mate or just mate is a popular drink with its origins from the South American Pampas, including Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and the Brazilian area of Rio Grande do Sul and is more than a cultural habit...it is a social ritual. It is not rare to see business men and women rushing to work in the morning in the Microcentro clutching their briefcase in one hand and a flask in the other. If you are wondering how the average Porteño manages to get up early, work late and then party all night...Yerba Mate is the answer.

The Yerba is the plant that holds the similar caffeine content as coffee, the health benefits of tea and the addictiveness of chocolate. As summer officially starts just before Christmas in December, you need to make sure you know the ins and outs of Yerba Mate and that you are getting familiar with the bitter flavours if you want to integrate into the Porteño way of life. 

INGREDIENTS TO PREPARE MATE

• The mate cup (gourd): The most common in Buenos Aires is made of pumpkin, but there are also mates made of wood, metal or silver (alpaca). Locals usually prefer the natural pumpkin mate for bitter mate (mate amargo) and a metal one for the sweet mate (mate dulce) when they add sugar, honey or other aromatic species. If you have never had mate before, we would suggest you get a metal gourd because the natural made mate needs to pass a duration process that is not complicated but it is a necessary procedure that you should learn to do before drinking it for the first time.

• A Bombilla (metal straw): As the Yerba leaves are dried, chopped and ground into a powdery mixture, the metal bombilla acts as both a straw and a sieve. The submerged end is designed to allow the brewed liquid in but block the yerba mixture from entering. You can find a bombilla in different colours and sizes.

• The Yerba Mate or Yerba mixture: The selection of products are very diverse and you will find different types of mate with palo (little herb splinters), without palo, or mixed with other aromatic herbs such as boldo or camomile.

•  Finally, but most importantly, you need a flask to fill it with warm water.

HOW TO PREPARE A GOOD MATE

The preparation of Yerba Maté is also taken extremely seriously in Argentina. Here are a few pointers to make sure you look like a mate professional:

• Fill the gourd one-half to three-quarters of the way with yerba. Too much and the mate will last a short time; too little and it will last a longer time which is also considered undesirable.

• The preparer of the Yerba Maté should then hold the gourd in one hand and place his/her palm over the top of the gourd. Turn the gourd on to its side and shake vigorously. This causes the finest powder to come to the top of the gourd and onto the preparer’s palm.

• The yerba should have settled to form a mound on one side of the gourd. Insert the bombilla perpendicular to the slope of the yerba, so that the flared, sieve end is under the deepest part of the yerba and leave it to rest on the opposite wall of the gourd.

• Insert a small amount of cool water first so that you wet the yerba. This is essential as when you add the warm (not boiling) water; the yerba herb will not burn and will retain its nutrients. Fill the gourd with the water until it reaches the top and the yerba is fully saturated. It can be filled many times before it becomes washed out and loses its flavour (lavado).

SHARING THE MATE WITH YOUR FRIENDS 

You have finally prepared the Yerba Maté and are ready to drink it but before you start, it is vital that you understand the correct etiquette that comes with it. Drinking mate in Argentina is almost a ceremony and it has many implicit rules. These following important notes will ensure you do not upset a passing Argentinean and you continue the Yerba Maté tradition.

• Even though the same gourd and straw are used by everyone, you should avoid cleaning the straw or moving it around in circles inside the cup.
• The same person who prepares the mate acts as the leader of the ceremony. This person is called the cebador. He or she is the one who fills the gourd and drinks the first batch in order to ensure it is free of small powdery yerba particles and is of good quality.
• The cebador must then refill the gourd and passes it clockwise to the group. Each person in turn has to drink it all until they hear the loud sucking noise (not considered rude).
• This routine continues with people passing the Yerba Maté around the circle until the water runs out. Once it has run out, pass the gourd to the cebador who will then fill it up and then pass it to the next person.
• It is important that you do not thank the cebador for passing the Yerba Maté to you; otherwise he will think you have finished for this round. Only say gracias if you do not want to drink anymore.

You are now ready to go to a park in Palermo, with your friends and pass the day basking in the beautiful sunshine with your Yerba Maté. Just as the Europeans spend their time in cafes, meeting friends and family, in Buenos Aires, it is extremely common to see people meet in the parks around the city having their Yerba Maté.

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