Mate
The infusion of yerba mate leaves, shared from a gourd in the Southern Cone.
Also: yerba mate, chimarrao
Mate is a bitter, stimulating drink made by steeping dried leaves of yerba mate in hot water in a gourd and sipping through a metal straw, the bombilla. It is a social ritual in Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and southern Brazil, where it is called chimarrao. One person, the cebador, prepares and refills the gourd, passing it around a circle, each drinker finishing it before handing it back. Saying thank you ends one's turn. Offering it is a sign of friendship, and refusing it is awkward. People carry thermoses of hot water to the park, the office and the beach, and the custom is shared between rich and poor.
Region: Latin America and the Caribbean