Mate (infusion)

Mate was drunk since pre-columbian times among Guaraní indigenous people and it was quickly adopted by the Spanish colonizers.

Nowadays, the mate belongs to the cultural heritage of Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay where it is mainly drunk and also in Brazil and souther Chile.

Here we show you in a simple way how to prepare it:

As it happens with the tea, coffee and chocolate, the mate has a stimulating effect due to the caffeine it contains. Besides, it has also an effect because of the hight amount of water that is used, resulting a digestive infusion.

The mate is very peculiar because it has his own table dishes:

• the "porongo", which is the main container and it is usually made of gourd;
• the "bombilla", which is a kind of straw made of metal or wooden with filter;
• the "pava", which is the thermos;
• a portable metal assembly that has two containers: one for the mate and the other for the sugar.

Mate is traditionally drunk in a particular social setting, such as family gathering or with friends. Therefore, we propose you to invite your friends to drink Mate at your home.

Here we show you in a simple way how to prepare it: