🇦🇷 Argentine Cuisine

Mate

Yerba Mate Herbal Infusion

Prep Time 5 min
Servings 1
Difficulty Easy

Argentina's national drink, an herbal infusion of dried yerba mate leaves sipped through a metal straw from a shared gourd. More than a beverage, it is a social ritual and cultural identity marker.

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. 1 Fill the mate gourd about two-thirds full with yerba mate. Cover the opening with your palm and turn the gourd upside down, shaking gently to bring the fine powder to the top.
  2. 2 Tilt the gourd at a forty-five degree angle so the yerba forms a slope with a small well on one side. Pour a small amount of lukewarm water into the well and let it absorb for one minute.
  3. 3 Insert the bombilla into the wet side of the yerba, pushing it gently to the bottom. Do not move the bombilla once placed.
  4. 4 Pour hot water at seventy to eighty degrees Celsius into the well, filling to just below the top of the yerba. Never pour boiling water as it burns the yerba and makes it bitter.
  5. 5 Sip from the bombilla until you hear air. Refill with hot water and pass the gourd to the next person. The cebador continues refilling and passing until the yerba loses flavor, which is called lavado.

Did You Know?

In Argentina, offering mate to someone is a sign of friendship and trust. The cebador (person who prepares and serves mate) always drinks the first bitter pour themselves before passing the gourd to guests.