Robyn Roste, Systems & Funnels

Mate or Latte? Where Do You Stand?

Mate or latte, where do you stand? Is this still a debate? I bring this up because my husband is really into maté.

mate or latte

Really into maté. He got into it while travelling in Brazil and Argentina and I see how it bonds him to other people who know what the heck those cup thingies are.

It’s basically steeped tea, but it’s from South America so I suppose that makes it exotic or something. OK, here’s an actual definition from Wikipedia.

Maté, also known as chimarrão or cimarrón, is a traditional South American caffeine-rich infused drink, that was first consumed by the Guaraní and also spread by the Tupí people. In the last centuries, it became particularly popular in Argentina and Uruguay, as also in Paraguay, the Bolivian Chaco, Southern Chile and Southern Brazil. It is also consumed in Syria, the largest importer in the world, and in Lebanon.

Oh, also the cup thingy is kind of neat. Traditionally it’s made from squash or wood and has a bombillia, which is both a straw and a sieve. Convenient.

So what is it, mate or latte?

I’ve learned the maté etiquette is to drink it in a social setting, and pass the cup thingy around to the right with everyone drinking from it. However, the “Canadianization” I see around has people drinking their tea all by themselves, with their own cup thingies.

Except my husband. Oh yes. He’s one of those etiquette people.

Anyway, so I like the idea of creating a little intimacy in a community through hot drinks, but I don’t anticipate people embracing that particular custom up here much. Not only would people be concerned about germs but everyone takes it differently. How do you take your coffee?

See?

But if you want the real deal, there’s all this maté paraphernalia all over our house you’re welcome to try out.

I haven’t tried it yet…I like my black coffee. Or Americano. Maybe you can have the maté and I’ll have a latte. I’ll even let you try mine if you’re nice.

Other hot drink posts

Mate or latte, where do you stand? Is this still a debate? I bring this up because my husband is really into maté.

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