LivingInPatagonia.com

A Little Mate Lesson

Written by Shanie

There is one thing that the Argentines do more than anything else and that is drink mate (pronounced mah-tay). The mate culture has found its way into all crevices of the Argentine culture. Whether rich or poor, young or old the mate gourd is a shared tradition executed everyday.

Mate is the dried, chopped leaf cousin of the Holly plant. It also has the name Paraguayan Tea. Argentina produces and consumes the highest amount of the dried tea. It is averaged that the Argentine consumes more than 12 pounds of mate annually. Therefore it is important when traveling to Argentina to understand the mate customs. And there are some rules to know.

First off, it is never to be drunken alone. It is as much a group activity as it was to pass the joint around back in the 70’s. There is a person that is in charge of putting the mate into the gourd, making the water the right temperature and testing the first cup to make sure it isn’t too bitter or hot. The title of the server is “cebador.” He or she is usually the youngest person in the group. The gourd, a carved out container made from such things as squash, wood and carved metal, contains enough hot liquid for one serving each. It is important to make sure that you finish your entire serving before giving the gourd back to the cebador. After your turn, the mate will be refilled by the server and then passed onto the next person in the circle. Once the circle has been completed the cebador will then repack the gourd or pack the mate set up. If you are taking to long to drink the mate you will probably hear

“¡El mate no es un microfono!”

The translation being pretty apparent.

There are two additional rules to the game. First, be sure to never move the metal straw, la bombilla, that you sip the tea from. This is the filter system and it can become clogged if moved around. Secondly, if the rotations are still going around but you have had your fill saying a simple “gracias”will take you out of the loop. Make sure that you don’t say thank you until you are done though. Gracias tells the cebador that you are full.

The rotations of the mate can sometimes last a good part of the day. When traveling to Argentina take the time to sit with the locals and share some mate. The stories that come from mate sessions are the true treasures to take back home with you.