Mate: a photo how-to


To start with, lets identify the materials we will need to make mate:

El mate / the mate gourd



Yerba mate / mate leaves



La bombilla / the drinking straw

  

Package of yerba mate

These things are all readily available everywhere in Argentina, or at the Farmers' Market in downtown Lancaster, and hopefully somewhere in Raleigh.  Here you can buy mate in packages similar to how we buy coffee in the US.  The gourds can be made from actual gourds, natural wood (different types can give different flavors to the drink), or fake made-to-look-like wood material.  Really nice ones have a glass interior.  The exterior can be natural, painted, metal, or leather (or fake leather).  The bombilla is made of metal - a metal straw connected to a hollow bulb with little holes to serve as a filter.  The straw part can be decorated with gems, flower decorations, crosses, or anything else, or it can be plain like the one in the picture.





Pour the water almost to the top,
stick the bombilla in the empty side
and turn upright.

To prepare mate:


Pour the yerba into the gourd

Fill about halfway, then tilt
the gourd so one side is empty 

Carrying case for mate

Pouring spout on thermos

 When you first fill with water, let it sit for a few minutes to fully moisten the yerba.  If you are pouring the mate, etiquette dictates that you would drink the first serving since it is often bitter and a little cold.  Then you would pour another serving for someone else to drink.  You would continue serving people in a circular fashion (including yourself) until the finish the thermos.  Some people have nice leather case specifically for the purpose of transporting your thermos and mate supplies all together.




Portable terere set

 Terere, the cold version of mate, uses the same bombilla, but instead of using a gourd you use just a regular cup, and you exchange your hot beverage thermos for a cold beverage one.  Mate and terere are both best enjoyed outside in the company of friends!

(I realized near the end of this post that the tile could easily be misinterpreted if by "mate" you inferred the meaning in English...definitely not a photo how-to on that subject!!)