Yerba Mate
Mate cups made from animal hooves in the window of a Buenos Aries shop. Who but a tourist would buy these?
Yerba mate, or mate (mah tay) is a popular drink Argentina, but in Uruguay it's an obsession.
It is a kind of herbal tea which has quite a kick. I'm fairly insensitive to caffeine,
but mate gives me a buzz. If you have ever had Morning Thunder tea, you've had mate.
You can't turn around in Montevideo without seeing mate cups for sale. Or people drinking it.
It is a kind of herbal tea which has quite a kick. I'm fairly insensitive to caffeine,
but mate gives me a buzz. If you have ever had Morning Thunder tea, you've had mate.
You can't turn around in Montevideo without seeing mate cups for sale. Or people drinking it.
When you have drunk a cup of mate, you add more hot (never boiling) water.
The tea can be used several times that way. You see people walking
around with Thermoses of hot water for that purpose.
And if you run out of hot water, you can always buy some more for 12 pesos.
The tea can be used several times that way. You see people walking
around with Thermoses of hot water for that purpose.
And if you run out of hot water, you can always buy some more for 12 pesos.
There are social rituals involving the sharing of mate that go back for years.
This diorama of Gauchos sharing mate is in the Gaucho Museum in Montevideo.
Mate sells for about $6US for a kilo in Uruguay. When we were flying home from Uruguay, one of my suitcases stayed behind in Miami. When it caught up with me it contained a notice saying it had been opened by the people who open your luggage. It may have alerted a drug sniffing dog since I had three kilos of mate in it. And because this is what it looks like.
This diorama of Gauchos sharing mate is in the Gaucho Museum in Montevideo.
Mate sells for about $6US for a kilo in Uruguay. When we were flying home from Uruguay, one of my suitcases stayed behind in Miami. When it caught up with me it contained a notice saying it had been opened by the people who open your luggage. It may have alerted a drug sniffing dog since I had three kilos of mate in it. And because this is what it looks like.
Now, if you will excuse me, I have to get some more hot water.