Argentina Adventures: Developing a Taste for Maté

Wherever I went in Argentina, I saw people carrying around thermoses and sipping through a straw from strange looking cups.  I soon learned that they were drinking something called yerba maté.  (In  Argentina, this is pronounced more like “sherba” maté.)  In any case, maté, as it’s generally called, is the national beverage.  Actually, it’s a national obsession.  It is consumed in vast quantities by men, women and children of all ages throughout the day.  In Argentina, people don’t take coffee breaks; they take maté breaks. 

Elisa sipping maté

Even Sylvie insists on trying maté.

Yerba maté is a plant that’s grown in the rain forests of South America.  The word maté refers to the plant, to the beverage that’s made from its leaves, and to the container from which it is sipped.  Traditionally, a hollowed out gourd was used as a container.  Today you can find stores selling matés made of a variety of materials, including wood, glass, plastic, etc. 

To prepare maté to drink, you first fill the maté (gourd) with the maté leaves and twigs, which you can buy in bags in the store.  In fact, if you go into any supermarket in Buenos Aires, you’ll find an enormous amount of shelf space devoted to maté.  

Maté for sale in my local supermarket

Now that your gourd is filled to the brim with a mixture resembling leaf mold, you add hot (but never boiling) water.  When bubbles form on the surface, you are ready to sip the maté with a special type of straw (usually made of metal) called a bombilla.  The bombilla is designed to filter out to solids as you drink the beverage.  It’s important to remember never to stir the mixture with the bombilla. 

Maté drinking isn’t a solitary activity.  There is a definite social component involved.  As an Porteño (resident of Buenos Aires) explained to me, certain rituals are involved. The maté gourd and bombilla are meant to be shared with family and friends.  Once you’ve drunk your cup of maté, you pass the gourd and bombilla to the next person.  More hot water is then poured into the gourd.  Forget what you’ve learned about germs, please.  It’s considered bad form to wipe the bombilla before you sip.

A maté man near the Plaza de Mayo

In the morning, maté men make the rounds throughout the city, trundling their carts of thermoses to those in need of hot water. 

Maté supposedly confers numerous health benefits on the imbibers. The beverage contains a stimulant similar to caffeine.  Interesting, some maintain that maté lowers blood pressure and anxiety.  I plan to do a little research related to these claims. 

As for the taste of maté, think back to that leaf mold I mentioned earlier.  The flavor is generally (and quite diplomatically) described as earthy.  Of course, I was curious enough to take a sip on a couple of occasions while I was in Argentina.  I was not an instant convert to maté drinking.  However, now that I’m back home, I’m belatedly developing an appreciation for the beverage.  While I was packing up, I tucked a box of maté cocido (literally, cooked maté) into my suitcase.  This is maté in tea bag form.  The preparation is simple:  Just drop the bag into a mug, add hot (never boiling!) water and savor the unique flavor without all the fuss.  Actually, I’m sipping some maté as I write this.  I never realized how delicious leaf mold could be.