Two of the national pastimes of Uruguay are strolling the Rambla (the long avenue/walking path along the beach) and sipping the mate. Mate is an extremely bitter drink made from the Yerba Mate plant. The bush produces a gourd which is dried and then used as a cup with a special filtering straw called a bombilla (boam bee sha).
Mate paraphernalia: Gourd with bombilla, glass lined water flask, and leather carry case
Uruguayans will go everywhere with a Mate gourd and hot water, literally, I have lost count how many times I've been in official meetings and around comes the mate gourd that everybody has been sucking on. The tradition dates back to pre-hispanic times but really took hold around the same time that tea took off in Europe in the 1600's.
We really don't like it, it's too bitter for our taste. But the culture is cool, and gives the Uruguayans something to do while they hang out on the Rambla.
10 comments:
Very interesting! I would love to have a Rambla near by! :)
you should ask Marcus sometime about what happens when you drink to much Yerba Mate at once...especially if you've never had it before...
Sooooo, Marcus?? What happens...? Ya gotta share!
I just had some mate with breakfast yesterday- sitting outside at my picnic table enjoying the cool morning!!! Gwen told the neighbor boys I was drinking pony food- she thinks it's disgusting- and made them smell it. :-)
That's an interesting cultural tidbit, thanks for sharing.
So Marcus... What does happen?
yeah i want to know what happens to???
Ohh, I used to drink Mate every day it is the best!!! It's really fun for social gatherings.
Um, apparently it can act as a diuretic if your system isn't used to it...
I've never had this. I'll have to try in February when we are there.
My brothers went through a phase where they passed a "gourd" around the campfire...It is cool to see where the tradition stems from.
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