This post is a collaborative post written in group by #TeamArgentina. One of us is the one that publishes it, but we all cooperate in the idea, the writing process and/or the photo selection.
Following our series of posts about Argentinian Dishes included in the #TeamChallenge series about Living Argentina, this time, I want to talk to you about THE MATE.
What is this post about?
Yes Yes…. about mate, I know I have already said that. However, the idea of this post is not to talk about the way it is prepared or about its origins, which are subjects that were already addressed in Connect on several occasions. I just want to talk about this drink that is taken in almost all Argentine, Uruguayan and Paraguayan homes and break the myths that are around them.
If you want to know how to prepare mate, what you need to prepare it, the benefits it has, and the rules of etiquette, you can read this post from @Jesi, which explains it in an excellent way.
My post starts with an anecdote about something that happened to me on a trip. Then, I will try to answer some questions that people usually ask around this drink, for example if it is legal, if it is tasty, when we use to drink it, etc… Then, I will talk about the language of mate (Yes! It even has a language). And to finish the post, each participant of of #TeamArgentina will talk about their personal experience with this infusion. Let’s go!!!
The anecdote
I will start by talking about an anecdote of a situation that happened to me on a work trip to the beautiful city of Lima, Peru, a few years ago. I remember that in the office where I worked, there was a lady who was in charge of the maintenance of the kitchen. I had traveled with other workmates and, as good Argentineans we are, we all drank “mate”.
A few times a day, we went to the kitchen to throw the “yerba” and renew the hot water from the thermo, and this lady always looked at us out of the corner of her eye and with a worried face.
We had not understood well why she was doing it and we talked to each other about that, but out of courtesy we did not dare to ask. It had been several days since we arrived, and finally one day, she found me alone and asked me a question that caused me a lot of grace.
She asked … “What do you drink? Is it legal?”. At first I was surprised by the question. For me, as for my colleagues, drinking mate was the most natural thing in the world, and I had never thought that someone could think that it could be something illegal or that it could generate so much worry. At that moment, I understood that although in Argentina mate is as common as tea or coffee, for the rest of the people of the world this drink is something unknown, and the unknown in the background generates fear.
Breaking myths
But then … Is mate illegal or not? - The Mate is an infusion, just like coffee and tea, and it’s not illegal at all. It is prepared with a plant that is grown mainly in the provinces of the littoral of Argentina (Misiones, Corrientes y Entre Ríos). Once the plant is adult, the leaves are harvested, dried and ground. These grounded leaves, are called “Yerba Mate”, and are sold in all supermarkets in the country. And of course … it’s bought in almost every house.
And the leaves… How do you eat them? - We do not eat them… they are put inside a container called “Mate” made of pumpkin, wood or metal, to which hot water is added at a temperature similar to the one used for coffee (80 degrees centigrade), and then it is taken with a metallic straw.
Do all Argentines like mate? - Not everyone drinks mate, however the vast majority does.
And is tasty?- Well … this is a difficult question to answer … the ones that usually drinks mate, loves it. However, for a person who has never tried it, it is usually a difficult flavor to assimilate. Mate is very bitter and if you are invited for the first time one without sugar, is not usually a very good experience. In Argentina, we start to drink mate from children, and our palate gradually gets used to savoring. With Mate happens the same as with the wine or beer. At first impression nobody likes wine or beer, but after trying several times, you start to enjoy it.
I remember that when I was a girl, my grandmother prepared to my brothers and me “Mate de leche” (mate with milk). It was the same mate, made with the same yerba, but instead of water she put milk and lots of sugar. As I got older I experimented more with the flavors, until a day came when I decided to take it bitter … And I liked it!
This does not mean that only people who were raised drinking mate since childhood can drink mate. Many people try it for the first time and like it very much, as well as others who prefer to avoid it forever. It’s a matter of trying and giving it a couple of opportunities. I recommend you if you’re going to try the mate, start with mates with sugar since you’re going to have more chances of success, and that you encourage the bitter once you’ve taken a few of the others.
And when and where do you drink mate? - In Argentina, mate is drunk at all times and everywhere. The most common is to drink it as part of breakfast or snack, but there are those who take it during the hole day alone, or in a group, at work, when studying, in the streets or squares.
Why do you share the mate? - The origin is not very clear, but it is believed that the “Yerba Mate” was once very expensive for the Gaucho (inhabitant of the countryside), and that is why they had to make it last as long as they could. That led them to share it and try to take as many mates trying to not to wash it (when it has no flavor and it is necessary to discard it). Today it is a tradition to share the mate and it is very common to listen to some Argentinian saying … “nos juntamos a tomar unos matecitos?” (Do we get together to drink some little mates?), since it is usually drink in groups sharing the same mate and bulb, as it was to be.
Is mate bad for your health? - It does not hurt … there are some people who feel it little “heavy”, but the mate in general has good properties. It has several vitamins and minerals and has lots of health benefits, in addition to helping you lose weight and calm anxiety. In all weight reduction diets, mate is allowed … And it works!
The language of mate
Finally, and as a touch of color, I want to talk about something called “the language of mate”. Do not worry! You’re not going to have to talk to mate like a madman if you’re invited to it. It is a set of translations, meanings and superstitions that revolve around the ritual of mate, that although, today they were mostly in disuse, it is good to know about them… And laugh for a while!
- Very hot mate: I am also burning with love
- Cold mate: contempt
- Boiling mate: hate
- Mate covered: look for another one
- Washed Mate: walk to drink to another place
- Long Mate: unpleasant visit
- Short Mate: I want to see you more often
- Bitter Mate: Indifference, do not expect anything
- Sweet Mate: I am at ease, friendship.
- Very sweet Mate: I look at you with different eyes
- Mate with cinnamon: love, I like you
- Mate with coffee: money, I want to win in the game
- Mate with milk: respectful friendship, esteem
- Mate with rosemary: health
- Mate with honey: I die of love, marriage
- Mate with cedrón: I accept
- Mate with lemon: I prefer not to see you
- Mate with tea: indifference
- Mate with burnt sugar: money, sympathy, I’m thinking of you
- Mate with orange peel: I came to look for me, I want you to come back
- Mate with ombú leaves: your visit is undesirable
Experience of #TeamArgentina with mate
Caro (@CaroGuiniazu)
**
**I love mate. He is my inseparable companion throughout the day. I drink it alone or in company, and I prefer it bitter. For me, the day begins after the first mate is drunk. And when I travel abroad, I miss mate more than my own family.
I will give you a couple of tips:
-Don’t move the straw! (You could ruin the mate)
-If you go somewhere where everyone is drinking mate, be sure to accept at least two, otherwise they will say to you “Tomate otro así no te vas rengo” (Take another one fot not leaving lame!).
Attention, if you get the last mate before the hot water runs out, it means you will get married soon!
Farid (@FaridTDF?
**
**Mate for me is one of the most pleasant infusions that exists. In general I drink it at work as mate in bags (we call it “Mate cocido”), without sugar. But I like to drink it also in the traditional way and bitter.
My relationship with mate started when I became and adult, living in Salta. I used to go to a mechanic’s workshop, where to kill the hours without activity repairing cars, we drunk mate. At that time it was sweet mate. Later, I stoped adding sugar, because of the great acidity that it produced in my stomach and started to drink it bitter. Today, I enjoy more drinking bitter mate. I’m not in the habit of drinking mate alone, but I really like to join the rounds of mate served when I’m with friends. It’s a way to share the moment, the experiences and best of all, the anecdotes.
Jesi (@Jesi?
Mate and me have a bittersweet relationship… literally. My mom drinks mate every single day, but she drinks it bitter with no sugar added, although she sometimes adds orange peels. The times I tried it during my childhood I found it too bitter and it was too strong too as it had just been made, so I disliked it most of my life.
It was a year ago when people kept offering it to me at work, that I decided to give it another chance.
I began drinking more soft flavoured mates until I got accustomed to it, and then I finally began to not dislike it, but haven’t gotten to the point of liking it yet.
Although it has many benefits, I just can’t get used to the amount of caffeine it has. Nevertheless, I still drink it from time to time when in a group of people.
Karol (@kroza?
**
**When I was a child everybody in my family were mate lovers.Each of them had their own taste, though, some liked it sweet, others bitter, some added herbs to it (like mint or chamomile), others liked it ‘plain’, they would have it at different times of the day, some really early before breakfast and others at dusk. So it was really a rare thing to see all my family gathered over a mate. I started drinking it at college, when spending 7-8 hours studying (before going to work) was only tolerable if accompanied by friends and mate. Today I don’t own a mate set (like Farid says drinking it alone is just dull), but I accept a couple in every mate circle I come close to. My favourite ‘styles’ are coconut and milk mate (when it’s really cold) and bitter mate (nothing like it to give you that caffeine like kick off early at the beginning of a busy day)
Well … that’s all I want to tell you today about mate today.
Tell me if you had the opportunity to try it and what did you think about it. Did you know about their history or their language? Did you ever think it was illegal?
Well done 
