In the hand of almost every bus driver, passed along through countless circles of friends, the milk of the Argentine baby, and one of the most famous trademarks of this country, yerba mate is all but worshiped. Prior to coming to Argentina, I did try mate. About 3 months before I left, we bought some at the supermarket. Cost me about 6 dollars for a half pound. Once we had brought it home, I figured I might as well put it in a french press, as it was in a loose form-without a tea bag. So I let it seep for a few minutes, poured it into a cup, and sipped my first sip of many sips to come. Tasted a lot like cigarette water. Not like I´ve tried cigarette water, but it definitely wasn´t good. Following the bitter grass taste came a energy buzz I´d never felt before. A lot like coffee, but maybe better. I noticed that I didn´t get the energy rollarcoster effect from mate as I did from coffee. Lots of energy for a while, and then I crash. Mate lets you down smooth. So every morning before school, I drank mate, and every morning it tasted a little better. Here in Argentina, they call this type of mate ¨mate cocido.¨But the type of mate they drink here most often is very different from mate cocido. First, they fill a gourd-most commonly made from a special type of plant-with loose mate leafes, about 90% full. Then a little hot water is poured into one side of the mate to form a hole. After this, a metal straw is pushed into the hole. This straw is called a ¨bombilla.¨ It is usually made out of metal, and has a filter on the bottom so you won´t be drinking the yerba leafs. Once the bombilla is touching the bottom of the mate, hot water (from a canteen) is poured in on the same side. The first few drinks are usually very bitter, but after a while it gets good. Usually, you can go through one or two canteens of water before you have to change the yerba. Mate is usually drunk with other people. One person pours the water and passes it to the other people in the group. Once one person is done, they give it to the server and he passes it to the next person. This is repeated until the mate needs to be changed or when you run out of water. Mate with sugar is called ¨mate dulce¨ and mate without sugar is called ¨mate amargo.¨ Unlike the US, buying yerba here is very easy and cheap. Almost every kiosko or store sells mate. Usually the yarba ocupies an entire isle in the store, with dozens of brands and flavors to choose from. There is mate amargo, mate dulce, mate con limon, mate with herbs for the stomach, mate with milk, mate with coffee..... For a kilo (about 2 pounds) you pay about 3 or 4 pesos, which is less than 2 US dollars. When the weather gets hot, people switch from drinking mate in the gourd, and start
drinking a different type of mate called ¨terere.¨ Overall, terere is mate with cold water instead of hot water. The canteen is usually filled with cold water, ice, and some sort of fruit juice mix, most commonly orange juice. Then it is poured into the mate cup. The cup for terere can be any cup, but most commonly it is either a hollowed out horn of a cow, or a tall metal cup. Maybe mate is the reason the Argentines have so much energy and can go to bed so late and wake up so early without problems.
In the hand of almost every bus driver, passed along through countless circles of friends, the milk of the Argentine baby, and one of the most famous trademarks of this country, yerba mate is all but worshiped. Prior to coming to Argentina, I did try mate. About 3 months before I left, we bought some at the supermarket. Cost me about 6 dollars for a half pound. Once we had brought it home, I figured I might as well put it in a french press, as it was in a loose form-without a tea bag. So I let it seep for a few minutes, poured it into a cup, and sipped my first sip of many sips to come. Tasted a lot like cigarette water. Not like I´ve tried cigarette water, but it definitely wasn´t good. Following the bitter grass taste came a energy buzz I´d never felt before. A lot like coffee, but maybe better. I noticed that I didn´t get the energy rollarcoster effect from mate as I did from coffee. Lots of energy for a while, and then I crash. Mate lets you down smooth. So every morning before school, I drank mate, and every morning it tasted a little better. Here in Argentina, they call this type of mate ¨mate cocido.¨But the type of mate they drink here most often is very different from mate cocido. First, they fill a gourd-most commonly made from a special type of plant-with loose mate leafes, about 90% full. Then a little hot water is poured into one side of the mate to form a hole. After this, a metal straw is pushed into the hole. This straw is called a ¨bombilla.¨ It is usually made out of metal, and has a filter on the bottom so you won´t be drinking the yerba leafs. Once the bombilla is touching the bottom of the mate, hot water (from a canteen) is poured in on the same side. The first few drinks are usually very bitter, but after a while it gets good. Usually, you can go through one or two canteens of water before you have to change the yerba. Mate is usually drunk with other people. One person pours the water and passes it to the other people in the group. Once one person is done, they give it to the server and he passes it to the next person. This is repeated until the mate needs to be changed or when you run out of water. Mate with sugar is called ¨mate dulce¨ and mate without sugar is called ¨mate amargo.¨ Unlike the US, buying yerba here is very easy and cheap. Almost every kiosko or store sells mate. Usually the yarba ocupies an entire isle in the store, with dozens of brands and flavors to choose from. There is mate amargo, mate dulce, mate con limon, mate with herbs for the stomach, mate with milk, mate with coffee..... For a kilo (about 2 pounds) you pay about 3 or 4 pesos, which is less than 2 US dollars. When the weather gets hot, people switch from drinking mate in the gourd, and start
drinking a different type of mate called ¨terere.¨ Overall, terere is mate with cold water instead of hot water. The canteen is usually filled with cold water, ice, and some sort of fruit juice mix, most commonly orange juice. Then it is poured into the mate cup. The cup for terere can be any cup, but most commonly it is either a hollowed out horn of a cow, or a tall metal cup. Maybe mate is the reason the Argentines have so much energy and can go to bed so late and wake up so early without problems.
1 comment:
Isaac, send me a mate cup already!
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