Bebiendo el Mate

Mate is the traditional beverage of Argentina...it is a fundamental part of life. It is a strongly caffeinated tea like drink which is drunk from a hollow gourd about the size of an apple. You fill the gourd with the herb, it is then filled with hot water (not boiling) and then drunk through a metal straw (bombilla) that has a perforated end so you can drink the liquid without getting the leaves into your mouth. I need to make clear that the mate is both the drink and the gourd that you drink from.
Mates can be fashioned from anything - wood, with intricate traditional silver carvings, a bulls horn, metal-but most are made from a gourd. The actual herb is called yerba and it is grown in the warm provinces of Misiones and Corrientes in the north.
Mate customs are vary from person to person, but there are some fundamental practices that are important. There is one server - called a cebador - who takes charge of serving the mates. The server serves themselves first (presumably to make sure it is just right), the mate is then passed from person to person. Each person drinks the entire contents of the mate and then passes it back to the server who refills the mate and passes it to the next person. You do not say gracias until you do not want any more mate. After several rounds the mate becomes diluted or llavado (washed) so the server will either change a portion (ensillar) or all of the yerba in the mate. This continues until the last person has decided they have had enough mate...which could be the better part of a day sometimes. When it is your turn to have mate you are not to take too long over it or you could be reminded the mate "no es un microfono!".
Last week we shared mate in class. Pilar, a chica en la clase es el mejor maker of mate. It really is a nice littel ritual, but does go against everything we teach children in health about not sharing spit. But I will continue to drink mate while I am here because I like the social interaction and the drink - if Pilar makes it.