How to make Mate properly

Mate is more than just Argentine Tea.  It is an intrinsic part of the culture.  It is a ritual, a sharing, and an expression of friendship. First of all what kind of tea is it?

Mate, sometimes spelled maté, (also called chimarrao or cimarrón) is an infused tea found particularly in Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and in the south of Brazil.  The plant is called yerba mate.




Mate is made with hot, but not boiling water.  Therefore, there is a special setting on the water kettle we use at the office JUST for the water to make mate:

Mate is traditionally served in a hollow calabash gourd.  You will also see silver mates as well as those with special holders and some covered in leather that has been decorated.

Mate is sipped through a straw or bombilla made of a hollow-stemmed cane, nickel silver or stainless steel.  At the bottom of the straw is a bulb-shaped end with holes in it to act as a sieve to keep the chunky part of the mate mixture

I was trained twice how to make mate.  Once by Carlos Daveri, who comes from Corrientes (a province in Argentina far north of Buenos Aires.  Then I was retrained by Claudio Ciocia who comes from Buenos Aires  . They both agreed that there is an art to making mate.  

Making mate isn't as difficult as a Japanese tea ceremony, but you do have to follow certain guidelines.  First of all, as I said, the water is to be hot, but not boiling.  Second, you put your sweetner (if you want sweet) or flavoring (Carlos uses a berry flavored herb tea) in the hot water and it goes into a special thermos.  There is a pour spout on this thermos that allows the water to come in a narrow stream.

Here is Erika Rodriguez, one of our volunteers making her first mate.  She comes from Colombia, so Claudio taught the two of us how to make the mate.

In the Silver cup, which is also called a mate you pour the mate leaves.  You should fill the interior of the cup about 75% full.

You can also buy mate in tea bags and even in plastic premeasured cups that have the mate and the bombilla and you just add the water and throw away the whole thing when you are done.

Carlos taught me to first wet the mate and let it sit for a minute before you insert the bombilla and add the rest of the water.  This keeps the sieve part of the bombilla from getting clogged with the powdery part of the mixture.

It is the responsibility of the first person to drink the mate to evaluate it.  Like a host at a party tries the wine first to see if the quality is there and to take the bits of cork that might be in the first serving.  The first to drink the mate, the strongest cup of it must evaluate the quality and take any bits of the mate leaves that might have passed through the bombilla, if any. When you have comsumed the liquid in the mate, then you pour in more water and pass the mate and bombilla to the next person in the room. 

They in turn will drink the liquid from the cup , add more water and pass it on.

And if there are just two of you, you pass the mate back and forth.

Now Claudio is happy, he has had his mate!  Actually he is a very happy person all the time. 

I have tried Mate twice, once in Argentina and once from a Uruguayan colleague, Nancy. 

 I understand that those who love mate will tell you all about how healthy it is for you.  I know there have been scientific studies that show that it is high in Beta Carotene and has more antioxidants in it than green tea, that it is also a cancer fighter.  

Sorry, folks, I think that mate is an aquired taste.  I'll just stick with my Very Berry herb tea with honey. 

But thanks to both Carlos and Claudio for educating me on the culture of Mate!