Have you heard of the South American custom of drinking maté? Well as we know, all cultures have their own ways of drinking tea, coffee and herbal infusions and they all have their own rules of etiquette. So the ritual of drinking maté also has it’s own rules.

Drinking yerba maté is an important social ritual in some South American countries such as Argentina, Paraguay & Uruguay. Maté is not really tea, more of a herbal infusion made from the leaves of the yerba maté plant which is native to South America. It is prepared by being steeped in hot water and can also be prepared with sugar, orange peel or milk. It’s very high in caffeine content and it is believed to have anti-oxidants properties that aid

The prepared mate is sipped from a holder (type of cup) called a maté, through a steel or metal straw called a ‘bombilla’ which has a special filter to separate the leaves from the brew. This drink is not served in restaurants, it’s really a social custom and in fact many people carry their maté with them in a thermal flask to enjoy and share throughout the day

Typically the following rules of etiquette apply –

• There will be one person who will prepare the maté and they have the title of ‘Cebador’. The Cebador is responsible for preparing and serving the drink to everyone.

• It might seem unusual according to some rules of western etiquette, but the Cebador will drink the maté before everyone else but it is actually considered a courtesy to the guests as the first few tastes can be quite bitter. The first few sips are usually spat out because of this bitterness. Historically this was done to prove that the drink was not poisoned!

• The maté is then offered to the person on the right and after they have finished it will be returned to the Cebador to be refilled and passed to the next person to enjoy.

• The bombilla shouldn’t be moved or used to stir the mate as this can change the taste.

• Although it’s ok to take your time to enjoy the mate, don’t take too long. Other people will be waiting their turn!

• Finally it can be considered rude to ask for more sugar so just take your turn and enjoy it as it comes!

Nowadays during covid times, this custom of sharing maté has of course changed. Although maté is still enjoyed, the etiquette for drinking it now has a new name – ‘un maté egoista’ which translates to ‘selfish maté ‘! Meaning that each person drinks their own maté and there’s no more sharing of the bombilla … at least for now!

Julia Esteve Boyd

The Etiquette Consultant