yerba mate

tbh

I've been on a few trips to Uruguay, and I was really surprised at how popular this drink is, as I'd never heard of it before.

Mate (I think it's pronounced matt-teh) is a bitter tea that is really popular in Argentina and Uruguay. It's made with chopped green leaves and what I found so interesting is that it's quite a hassle to make, for such a popular drink.

You fill a hollowed out coconut (I think it's a coconut) with the leaves, and fill it with hot water, usually from a thermos carried around for just this. After leaving it to brew for a couple of minutes, it's drunk through a silver (or probably tin) straw which has a mesh at the other end that acts like a sieve.
It's quite bitter, but very refreshing and definitely has a kick - I drink a lot of coffee, but I definitely felt "tweaked" after drinking it.

There's a real ritual around preparing it. There were a couple of guys in the office who would bring in a leather saddle bag with the bowl, straw, thermos of hot water, and box of leaves. One guy or other would brew up, and then pass the cup around the office, everyone used the same straw. It was quite common to see people drinking it as they walked around, and lots of people with thermos under their arm!

Has anyone every had any? I'd love to know if it's possible to get the equipment and leaves here in Ireland.

izzyflusky

There is a brazilian shop in town. It's in that underground shopping centre with the entrance in parnell st I think that have the tea and all the equipment for it. Don't know the prices though.