Taking Care of your Mate

Mate is an infusion of South American origin, very popular in Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Brazil, but also drunk in other countries such as Lebanon and Syria. Immigrants to Argentina from these countries brought the tradition with them when they returned. Syria is now the main importer of yerba mate.

But it was the Guarani, a native people of South America, who first consumed the leaves of this plant as an infusion.

The plant's scientific name is Ilex Paraguarensis and today it is grown mainly in southern Brazil, Paraguay and northern Argentina. 

To drink it, you need yerba mate, hot water, a mate (or cup) and a bombilla (which serves as a straw). See our article "How to prepare mate" for a step-by-step process. 

As mate has a vegetable origin (it is a gourd), you will need some care to maintain it: 

When you have finished, don't forget to empty the mate.

Rinse it with plenty of water and let it dry. You can put a paper napkin on top to absorb the moisture, but don't leave the Mate upside down, as this can cause mould.

Rinse the Bombilla after each dose. We recommend thoroughly cleaning the inside of the Bombilla once a month with special brushes. 

The traditional taste is intensely bitter, but you can also experiment with flavours.