Mate around the world

Mate Around the World

When people in the Netherlands ask me about mate, the first thing they usually picture is a gaucho in Argentina sipping from a gourd, and fair enough, that image is a classic, but the story of mate travels a lot further than most people think. So grab a Mati and let’s go on a little trip around the world, one sip at a time.

Brazil, where it all started for me

Let’s start at home. In the south of Brazil, people drink chimarrão, hot mate in a gourd with a metal straw called a bomba, and it gets passed around a circle of friends and family until the thermos runs out. Further north, in Rio de Janeiro, it’s a whole different story, because there you’ll find mate served ice cold with lemon on the beach, sold by guys walking up and down the sand shouting to anyone who looks thirsty. Same plant, different vibe, and I love both.

Someone’s already dressed for the trip.

Argentina and Uruguay, the true mate obsessives

Argentina drinks more mate than any other country in total, and you’ll see people carrying their gourd and thermos everywhere. Uruguay takes it even further, they drink the most mate per person in the world, and it’s normal to see someone walking around with a thermos tucked under their arm like it’s part of the outfit.

Paraguay, mate on ice

Paraguay is hot, so that’s where tereré comes from, mate brewed with ice cold water and often fresh herbs, which is so important to them that UNESCO recognized it as part of the world’s cultural heritage. Basically the original cold mate, so you could say Mati has some Paraguayan spirit in it too.

Syria and Lebanon, the plot twist

This one is my favourite, because Syria is one of the biggest importers of yerba mate in the world. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, many Syrians and Lebanese moved to Argentina for work, fell in love with mate, and when some of them went back home, the habit came with them. Today mate is a big part of daily life in parts of Syria and Lebanon, often drunk from small glass cups and shared with family after dinner.

And now, the Netherlands

And here we are, in a country famous for coffee and tea, where mate is having its own moment, and more and more of you are discovering what millions of people around the world already know, that mate gives you a smooth, steady kind of energy that feels so good.

That’s the beautiful thing about mate, it has never been only a drink, it’s a way of connecting with people, whether you’re in the south of Brazil, on a beach in Rio, or on a grey Dutch afternoon with a can of Mati in your hand.

And speaking of trips, I can’t say too much yet, but the Mati girls might be trading grey skies for somewhere a little warmer, somewhere the gourds never stop going around, so keep 16 November in mind and an eye on our Instagram.