Yerba Mate
When I was walking around a market in Buenos Aires, I noticed that the hippies were selling a decorative bowl made out of wood with an object that looked like a pipe made out of metal along with their jewelry and other artsie stuff. I started noticing these contraptions everywhere and I was believing they were drug paraphenalia, but I could not determine what drug or what purpose the bowl/cup and metal pipe would serve. And then I was walking by an antique store and they were selling them, too, so I decided that they could not be for drugs.
Finally, I saw someone using one. It turns out that these devices support the national drink or more like liquid obsession. Argentinians, Brazilians, Uruguans and Paraguans consume vast quantities of an herbal tea called yerba mate or just mate (mah-tA). They dry the leaves and branches of a bush that is like holly and then steep them in hot water. The bowl is used for the steeping and is often made from a gourd which has been decorated with metal. The pipe functions as a straw and contains a filter at one end which keeps the leafy mixture from being consumed. The traditon is to put the herbal mixture into the bowl, add hot water and use the pipe to drink the liquid. You then add more hot water and pass it to the next person. I finally tried it yesterday and while it is bitter, it is not disagreeable. It contains a caffeine-like substance and other compounds which is the reason it is so popular. I guess in that sense, I was right in thinking it is paraphenalia for consuming drugs!
Tags: argentina, south america, Travel
vagabondrick
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