Learn about the Argentinean Culture. El mate, the most social drink.

The mate is a social drink, usually shared among several people. Each one drinks his mate and passes it to the next person in the group, and the cycle continues.
Mate may refer to the leaves, the container or infusion.
While pumpkins are the traditional material for the cointainer, there are also made of ceramic, metal, plastic and even cow horns and bones. The team core is completed with the bulb, essentially a metal straw with a strainer at the bottom that filters out small pieces of leaves.

Instructions for preparing a tasty mate

To prepare the mate, it is necessary to have a pumpkin properly "cured", to remove the residual oils that could affect the flavor. Once ready, we observe the following procedure:

1) Containers and accessories. We must have a mate gourd (well cured), a metal straw (bombilla) and yerba mate of good quality.

2) Water. It must be as pure as possible. When heated, it does not have to boil and must reach a temperature of 70 degrees (ideal) and 80 ° (maximum). Boiling water kills flavors and aromas.

3) At the beginning, filled with yerba mate about three quarters of the capacity of mate. Neither too much nor too little.

4) Then, cover the mouth of the gourd and both hands are removed from one side to the other. This separates the various components of the herb.

5) Once removed, the grass is obliquely put in the wall of the mate.

6) At the bottom, gets a splash of cold water or warm, with great care, always in the same sector. Allow to rest for a minute until the yerba mate is hydrated.

7) In the same area where the water was incorporated, we insert the bombilla between the yerba mate and the gourd.

8) When priming, water is poured over the mate (not wet all the yerba mate) with small jets, damping slowly.

9) The mate is ready to drink and enjoy.