For a taste of Argentinian culture, try maté

Smithsonian Journeys tour guide Gabi Mlcek sips maté during a hike to Mount Fitz Roy. Pam LeBlanc photo

Here in Texas, we drink a lot of sweet tea and Dr Pepper. In Patagonia, the locals drink maté.

While traipsing through South America this month, I saw people sipping the infused herbal drink while chatting at cafes, sitting on street benches, and even while driving their cars.

“For us, maté is not just a drink,” says Gabi Mlcek, the leader of the Smithsonian Journeys trip through Argentina and Chile that I took. “For us, it’s an excuse – a moment to share with people we love, to see your friends and family, and talk with them.”

The drink is considered the national beverage of Argentina, and serving it is a lot more complicated than popping open a can of Coke. But that’s what makes it special.

How to prepare maté

Mlcek demonstrated the process one day, filling a special cup, also called a maté, three fourths full of dried yerba maté leaves, then pouring hot water over them. Traditional matés are made of dried gourds; today you can also buy wooden or metal matés.

The national drink of Argentina is maté, a type of infused herbal tea. It’s served in a special cup like this one, and sipped through a metal straw. Pam LeBlanc photo

To prepare the beverage correctly, you have to follow two rules, Mlcek told us. One, the water must be hot but not boiling. Electric kettles in South America have a “maté mode,” which heats the water to exactly 85 degrees Celsius. Second, don’t touch or move the straw once it’s placed in the vessel.

The person who prepares the maté is first to try it, sipping the liquid through a special metal straw called a bomba with a sieve at the bottom. Once the person preparing the drink has taken the first sip, he or she adds more hot water and passes the maté to the next person. In this way the drink makes its way around the circle, returning after each person drinks it to the preparer, who adds more hot water.

“It’s an acquired taste,” Mlcek says. “It’s really strong and bitter.”

Maté is considered the national beverage of Argentina, and just about everybody drinks it. Cell phones are even equipped with a mate emoji – a pumpkin with a straw in it.

“The rich people drink maté and the poor people drink maté,” Mlcek says. “And we drink a lot of maté.”

With that, she passed the maté to me.

I took a sip. It tasted bitter and earthy, with a hint of dried grass clippings. Not exactly bad, but I’m not ready to exchange it for my morning tea quite yet.