Why is Mate so Popular in Argentina?

 

When I took my first excursion in Patagonia, southern Argentina, I watched the tour guide and the bus driver sharing a cup with a kind of metal straw.  They drank both from the same cup and used the same drinking tool...  I was a bit irritated and concluded they were a couple. But no!  In many other situations, people shared the same drink.  I learned it was Mate, a kind of herbal tea. 

It's a traditional drink in Latin and South America. It's made by steeping dried leaves from the yerba mate plant in hot water. Yerba mate can be served cold or hot.  Some studies suggest that the tea may have helpful effects on cholesterol, weight loss, the heart, and inflammation.  However, too many liters of Mate during a day might also be a health risk.

The discovery of yerba mate can be attributed to the Kaingang ethnic group, who ate the raw leaves about 3000 years B.C.  Mate is an integral part of Argentinian life, and its ceremony is tied to feelings of friendship and kinship, with both friends and strangers.  Poring and sharing mate is an act of love and dedication, governed by certain unwritten rules for those participating in the round. 

Argentinians drink mate every day, at any time, and in any situation. In social situations and at work. In the morning as an energizer and in the afternoon as a digestif - on its own or accompanied by a sweet pastry - bitter or sweet.

Mate gourds come in all different sizes and colors, and some include phrases or symbols.  There are also bags called materos designed to hold the gourd, the thermos, the yerba, and the sugar.  The national infusion is part of everyday life in Argentina and will be that way forever.  In many stores, you can discover dozens of different types of Mate cups and materos. In a grocery store, I counted more than 30 types of this herbal tea.

When you are invited to drink maté with Argentinians, you will share the same gourd, which is traditionally passed in a circle among the guests in a counterclockwise direction to go against time.  Maté is above all an excuse for meeting and sharing. It can be an intimate ritual.  When a mate and a bombilla are shared, secrets come to light, it provokes a connection with those who are enjoying it. 

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