Argentina Part 5
October 10, 2011
I've been enjoying this tea like drink they have here called Mate. We got one of the serving cups and draws and have been following the brewing and serving etiquette. It reminds me of drinking chai.
Mate is traditionally drunk in a particular social setting, such as family gatherings or with friends. The same gourd (cuia) and straw (bomba/bombilla) are used by everyone drinking. One person (known in Portuguese as the preparador,[10] cevador or patrão, and in Spanish as the cebador) assumes the task of server. Typically, the cebador fills the gourd and drinks the mate completely to ensure that it is free of particulate matter and of good quality. In some places passing the first brew of mate to another drinker is considered bad manners, as it may be too cold or too strong; for this reason the first brew is often called mate del zonzo (mate of the fool). The cebador subsequently refills the gourd and passes it to the drinker to his or her right, who likewise drinks it all, without thanking the server. It is possible that the cebador drinks the second filling as well, if he or she deems it too cold or bitter. When there is no more tea, the straw makes a loud sucking noise, that is not considered rude. The ritual proceeds around the circle in this fashion until the mate becomes lavado ("washed out" or "flat"), typically after the gourd has been filled about ten times or more depending on the yerba used (well-aged yerba mate is typically more potent, and therefore provides a greater number of refills) and the ability of the cebador. When one has had his fill of mate, he or she politely thanks the cebador passing the mate back at the same time. When someone takes too long, others in the roda (Spanish: "ronda"; English: "round") will likely friendly warn him or her by saying "bring the talking gourd" (cuia de conversar); an Argentine equivalent, especially among young people, being "no es un micrófono" ("it's not a microphone"), an allusion to the drinker holding the mate for too long, as if they were using it as a microphone to deliver a lecture.