Project Argentina

I am hesitant about posting anything about Yerba Mate just yet because there is a lot to be said about it. However, I felt that I needed to post something about it soon because so many people ask me about it. When people ask me what yerba mate is, I usually give them a short and sweet answer. Yerba mate is an herbal drink that originated in Argentina. You can find it in other South American countries, but it is most popular in Argentina. I can’t really explain the taste. When I first had some, it was bitter and very different. It really got a addicting and tastes great though. The leaves are from a yerba mate tree (names after the drink I am sure) grown in Argentina. They are dried and chopped up into small leaves. It is traditionally drank out of a gourd, but I have seen it drank out of wooden cups (kind of like cups) as well as cow feet. The bombilla (bombilla = bulb in Spanish – referring to the shape of the bottom) is a metal straw that you stick into the mate to drink from which filters out the leaves. You pour hot (not boiling – it ruins the taste and kills the nutrients) water into the mate and sip. You can put different stuff in there like orange peel. I have tried several different things but so far, I like it plain with bit of sweetener. There are many variations which I will post about later. If you want more information about it, just google “yerba mate”. There is plenty of information and pictures online about it. Hopefully, I’ll have time soon to write more about it.

Enjoy!

- Josué