Erowid Yerba Mate Vault : Bits & Pieces

YERBA MATE

Bits & Pieces

by Erowid

The "Bits & Pieces" section is intended for random snippets of information which don't fit
easily elsewhere and/or which have been newly added, but not yet carefully categorized.

National Beverage
Yerba maté is the national drink in several Latin American countries.
Yerba Mate in Parguay
In Paraguayan villages, yerba mate is also consumed cold. Steeping in hot water with milk and honey is usually how it is consumed in the morning. During the hot afternoon, people put in about a tablespoon of dry yerba in a cup, sit in a circle, and pour cold water into the cup repeatedly. Everyone drinks a whole cup and then fills it for their neighbor, using the same yerba leaves. This can be done upwards of 15 times before it starts to lose the flavor. It is still sipped through the spoon straw known as a "bombilla." These cups are made from the horns of animals and then wrapped in leather. The hot cups are carved from wood. Cups hold about 6 oz of fluid. [thanks to Scotia for this information]