Mate: A Traditional South American Drink

Today we are going to veer off the beaten track in our exploration of all things related to tea, coffee and caffeine related products and discuss a South American drink that is little known in the rest of the world. This drink is known as Mate. Mate is made from the Yerba Mate plant, the leaves of which are dried, chopped and ground into a powdery mixture known as yerba.

Mate is a traditional South American drink containing 50 mg of caffeine per six ounce cup. It is prepared by steeping the dried and chopped leaves of Yerba Mate in hot water. Mate (pronounced mahtay) is served with a metal straw traditionally made out of silver but more commonly nowadays out of nickel silver, stainless steel or a hollow-stemmed cane. The calabash gourd containing the drink is known as a mate or guampa.

Tea-bag type infusions of mate have been on the market in Uruguay and Argentina for a number of years under such trade names as "Cruz de Malta" and in Brazil under the name of "Mate Leao." These drinks are considered completely different from the traditional Mate, however.

The preparation of the mate infusion varies considerably from region to region; which method is best is a hotly debated issue. Nearly all methods have elements in common, however. The beverage is traditionally prepared in the same type of gourd in which it is drunk. The most common preparation involves the careful arrangement of the yerba within the gourd before the hot water is added. With this method, the gourd is first filled one half to three quarters of the way with yerba. Too much yerba results in what is called a "short mate" -- too little yerba leads to a "long mate." Neither is considered desirable.

Sometimes additional herbs are added for health or flavour benefits; this practice is most common in Paraguay. When the gourd is adequately filled, the preparer usually grasps it with the hand, covering the opening and sealing it with the palm of the hand. The mate is then turned upside-down and shaken vigorously but briefly and with lessening force. This allows the finest, most powdery particles of the yerba to settle towards the palm and the top of mate. Once the yerba has settled, the mate is carefully brought to a near sideways angle and shaken very gently with a side-to-side movement, which allows the yerba to further settle and the finer particles to move to the opening of the mate.

Now the mate is ready to receive the straw, called in some Latin American countries a bombilla or bomba. Many people add warm water into the mix before inserting the straw, while others prefer to add the straw into the yerba when it is dry. The straw is inserted with the thumb on the upper end of the straw at an angle perpendicular to the slope of the yerba.

Next comes the brewing. If the straw was inserted in dry yerba, the mate must be filled once with cool water. Once the cool water has been fully absorbed by the yerba (which usually takes no more than two or three minutes), hot water is added in the same manner as the cool water, until the water reaches the top of the gourd and the yerba is fully saturated. The mate brew is now ready to drink.