South America Ten Foot Square

One of the great things about traveling in foreign countries is getting to know the real people. One of the greatest ways to meet the people is to partake of the local customs. When traveling in the great country of Argentina, sharing the joys of the tea Mate is a wonderful way to get to know the people.

Mate is a member of the Holly family and is sometimes referred to as Paraguayan Tea. The tea is dried, crumbled up and packaged in many different sizes of bags, sometimes flavored. The dried plant is then enjoyed from a cup-like container that is made of various materials such as hollowed squash, wood, metal and ceramic. A metal straw, sometimes intricately carved, is used for drinking the clear tea broth.

Here are some of the rules that are important to know when asked to join the Mate circle:

1. It is never to be drunk alone. Mate is a social tea, enjoyed any time of the day. The bigger the circle of friends, the better the story telling.
2. Never touch the bombilla. The bombilla is the silver metal straw that the hot tea is sipped from.
3. Always finish your serving of Mate. The Cebador (Spanish for server) is in charge of offering the Mate to the people of the circle. The people in the circle have the only the tasks of enjoying being served and finishing the entire amount of tea.
4. Hand the gourd (the tea cup that Mate is served in) back to the Cebador with the bombilla facing away from you. This is to help reduce the risk of accidentally bumping the bombilla, which would then mess up the filtering of the tea.
5. Only say thank you when you want to be removed from the circle of Mate drinkers. If you say thank you prior to your fill, the Cebador will think that you are finished and will remove you from his rotations.
6. The youngest in the group is the traditional Cebador. This is in response to the Latin cultures belief in the respect of their elders.
7. The water for the tea should never be served near boiling point. This is important to avoid the unpleasant feeling of a burnt tongue.

Mate is a great tradition in many different cultures, especially Latin cultures such as Argentina and Uruguay. Now that you know some of the rules associated with the social pastime don’t be afraid to join in. The more the merrier.