Mate

In South America, mate drinking is part of many people's everyday lives. The classic infusion of mate leaves was already drunk by the indigenous peoples of Latin America. In Argentina, more than 80% of the population still drink mate tea at least once a week. In Europe and North America, mate in the form of lemonade is known as a refreshing drink in many flavors rather than as a trendy beverage.

Currently, the own preparation of mate infusions is fully in vogue. Mate is a varied and fresh alternative to coffee or black tea and a natural energy booster.

Try green mate pure or in new flavors from fruity-sweet to tangy-strong.

Today, we think of the calebasse as the traditional maté drinking vessel. However, the calebasse is originally a bottle gourd (calabash), which has been utilised for more than 12,000 years and is one of the oldest useful crop plants in the world. The ripe bottle gourd is shaped like a large pear. When it is crafted into the classic maté drinking cup, the gourd is dried. At the end, the opening is created and the seeds are eliminated. Often the opening is equipped with a metal rim and the gourd is decorated with paintings. Along with the traditional calebasses made from bottle gourds, ceramic calebasses are becoming increasingly popular.

A bombilla is a type of straw traditionally used for drinking maté tea. The South American drinking straw consists of several parts. At the bottom is the filter, which can be unscrewed from the actual drinking tube (neck) for cleaning purposes. At the top of the neck of the bombilla is the mouthpiece (beak), which is often slightly curved and is the actual part used to drink the maté. The bombilla is traditionally made of silver tinplate or brass; it is very sturdy and South Americans use the same one for many years.