Mate tea: a special drink

Mate tea: a special drink
Traditions and customs are a collection of common knowledge and shared experiences. They provide and create a cultural frame in which we can feel comfortably connected withothers and with the feeling “I am at home.” The new generations with fresh new ideas and eager to make positive changes always try to tear down old traditions not noticing that the new traditionsthey propose are nothing but old ideas in different disguises adapted to the new environment. A great example of this is the ancient native ceremony of drinking “mate” for the inhabitants of SouthAmerica. All the ethnic groups, mostly Europeans that arrived to South America adopted this custom. Drinking “mate” is special, unique, and it has a special meaning when is shared in companion. Mate couldbe prepared in several way: as a refreshing drink for a hot summer day –when prepared cold with ice and lemon– or a warming drink for a cold winter night –when prepared with milk and sugar.– Myfavorite way of preparing it is in the old way which is in a gourd (mate) with a straw (bombilla). The picture to the right shows a typical mate; I love its bitter flavor. Besides any way you may choose todrink it, no one drink mate because is thirsty. Ones drinks mate because the need to share something important, ones drinks mate because the need to share the moment. Drinking “mate tea” is an ancienttradition that takes new forms with every generation, and besides the benefits for health is an expression of friendship and an invitation to talk.
The ritual of drinking mate could be compared tothe ritual of drinking tea for the Japanese. Preparing the mate takes time, and that time is used for talking. When one drinks the other one talk; as a consequence the one that is drinking have nochoice but listen. The more important role is played for the one that prepare and serve the mate (usually the owner of the house) and everyone shows respect for he or she accepting at least one mate for...