One of the main aims this blog has is to bring you all some examples and stuff about the Argentine culture. To be 100% honest, I haven´t achieved this goal so far... but stay chill... I´ll try to make it happen in the next posts!Talking about Argentine culture, I consider essential to start talking about an Argentine typical drink... the Mate or the Yerba Mate!!!
Mate or yerba mate is a typical Argentine infusion… but is also the dried and hollowed-out shell of a gourd (also called “mate”) used to sip the yerba mate from. This shell must be treated to seal it and to avoid cracks. It's a simple method, usually using edible oil or leaving it filled with the infusion for 24 hours until the pores are sealed.
Yerba mate or simply mate, is something like tea but bitterer but really tasty!
You guys can’t imagine how many theories are around the art of drinking mate. I’ll try to introduce you to some of them.
Argentines may drink less of the stuff than the Uruguayans next door, but drinking yerba mate certainly qualifies as a national ritual.
The main characteristic of sipping or drinking mate is that everybody (and I mean everybody!!!) uses the same straw and mate. It´s common that only one person prepares (the brewer) and offers it to the people forming a circle.
The idea is that when the brewer gives you the mate (the cup!), you take the mate, sip it and return it to that person, and after preparing the mate again to be drunk, will offer it to the person next to you and so on! So, everybody has the chance to take a mate… it’s sacred to respect your turn in the circle!!! So, if you get invited to a yerba mate session, follow these directions to look like a real pro mate drinker:
When it's your turn, drink until you completely drain the mate Pass the mate to the designated brewer (cebador), who will probably be reaching for it. The brewer refills the mate with not-quite-boiling water and passes it on in a clockwise circle.
The habit of drinking mate is done in friendly atmospheres where people tell jokes and anecdotes. It could be said that it’s an excuse for gathering and having fun!
It could happen that if there is someone with a guitar, old and local songs are played and sang by the ones in the circle. Drinking mate unites people and is a good way of getting to know people from different places or origins!
Thus, if you are planning to come to Argentina… it’s worth trying mate! But most of all, try to find a place where to experience the true mate drinking art!
PAEZ Up your life!
