Yerba Mate

Mate is an amazing phenomenon here in Uruguay. It is a traditional South American drink that is common not only in Uruguay but also in Paraguay, Argentina, Brazil, and parts of Chile and Bolivia. Basically, it is a kind of tea. The mate leaves (called yerba) come in a dried, ground, powdery mixture that is purchased from a supermarket in a bag like ground coffee beans. Like coffee, there are tons of different types of mate leaves to choose from: light flavor, strong, sweet, medicinal, ect, and the supermarket has nearly an entire aisle dedicated to the display and sale of yerba. The yerba is prepared in a special gourd called a mate (cup) and is sipped through a bombilla (straw) which used to be made from bamboo, but is now usually made form silver. The bombilla has fine holes in the spoon-looking end that allows the brewed liquid to be sipped while preventing the yerba itself from entering it.

Here in Uruguay the drink is prepared as follows:

First, the yerba is poured in the mate till it is almost full. To remove the finest yerba particles (that would possibly pass through the bombilla holes), the preparer can cup a hand over the mate opening and invert it allowing the finest of the yerba mixture to settle and stick to the preparer’s palm for easy disposal. Upon slowly turning the mate right side up, the yerba will have gathered mostly on one side and left a natural void on the other. A small amount of cold water is then poured into the side with less yerba to preserve the shape of the slope. The bombilla is then inserted at the base of the yerba slope and hot water (not boiling) is then added near the bombilla. Done properly, this will yield a couple hours worth of adding and sipping little bits of water.

What makes mate such a phenomenon in Uruguay is that it is ubiquitous beyond anything these Americans have ever seen. People here bring their mate and thermoses of hot water EVERYWHERE – the beach, the market, the bus, work, the gym, etc. Its popularity here far surpasses Starbucks’ in America. The weirdest part about it is that there is not a café, restaurant or bar that will serve mate to its patrons. Every mate here is made how we described by the consumer. Its popularity could stem from the claim that it delivers a better, longer-lasting “buzz” than coffee or tea with proponents claiming less jitteriness and myriad health benefits linked to the extremely high levels of antioxidants.

Thanks to Diego, our agency owner, Todd has a stylish mate cup and bombilla and pretends to be Uruguayan a few times a week by brewing himself some yerba mate. But, he refuses to leave the house with it.