An Introduction to the Yerba Mate Gourd

Mate is the drinkable, tea-like beaverage made by steeping yerba mate leaves and twigs in water. A Yerba Mate Gourd is simply a cup traditionally used to drink the Mate tea. That's a very simplistic and not quite accurate way of explaining yerba mate gourds though, so this article is designed to help explain these unique drinking items in more detail.

The true, or original yerba mate gourd is actually part of a different plant. In regions where yerba mate is readily available, there's a climbing plant known as the Lagenaria Vulgaris, and this produces gourds as part of its growth. These gourds are then dried, hollowed out and cured in a special way, then used for drinking yerba mate tea.

Yerba Mate gourds can come in a variety of shapes. Some are shaped like pears and called poro, others have a more flat and round shape and are called galleta. The galleta style yerba mate gourd is said to be much harder to find, and these were traditionally used for the more bitter type of yerba mate tea while the poro was traditionally used for sweet Mate drinks.

Long ago yerba mate gourds were carved or painted by their owners to distinguish them from others. As time moved on however, and yerba mate gourds started being seen as luxury items, a whole new artform was born. Some yerba mate gourds were decorated with silver embellishments, and elaborate silver bases were made for the yerba mate gourds to sit on.

Some artists carved yerba mate gourds out of wood, while others created them from ceramic or various types of metal such as silver and steel.

Yerba mate gourds are normally used with a special straw, usually made out of silver, that's called a bombilla or bomba. This straw is uniquely designed to act as a strainer while drinking Mate. It has small holes or slits in it that allow liquid to pass through, while leaving the dried yerba mate material behind.

The yerba mate gourd bombilla isn't always needed with modern day tea bag style Mate available, however it's considered to be traditional and thus they're still widely used.