Camacho Watcho

Well, it finally happened. I got the invite to join a coworker in a Mate…and I accepted. I guess I loosely use the word “invite”, since I had been hanging around the office breakroom, asking people questions about Mate and sounding very interested until someone finally took the bait. Let’s just say, I’m not too subtle. However, it did finally happen. And not only did I get to try Mate, but he took the time to show me how he prepares it and to talk about the traditions.

So, first of all, the preparations. The first thing I learned is that there is a formal name for the gourd itself - porongo. Luis, my coworker, told me that every morning and every afternoon, he scoops the used Mate herb out of the porongo and then he performs certain steps in preparation for the next use. First, he poured the herb into the porongo from a large bag, resembling a 5 pound bag of flour, filling it about three quarters full. He then pushed the top half over to one side of the porongo and then poured a little cold water into the lower side of the herb and then a little hot water in as well. This, apparently, is important. I asked him, so you pour medium temperature water in? He said no, you pour cold and then hot…hmmm…Anyway, then you let this sit for 5-6 minutes. Once that has steeped, then the Mate is ready for the morning drinking. To drink the Mate, you simply pour hot water from the thermos and into the porongo, mashing it around a bit with the straw. Then you drink. You do this all morning and then you empty and prepare it again for drinking it all afternoon. I asked him how much Mate he drinks during the workday and he said he refills his thermos 2-3 times during the day…he refills the thermos that many times!

So, what was my experience? I liked it! And it is definitely caffeinated. Whenever you ask someone here what Mate tastes like, they simply say “bitter.” I don’t really think I would describe it that way, but perhaps that is because I drink a lot of coffee and I don’t take sugar or cream it in. I thought the taste was very earthy and rich, like a concentrated green tea that leaves a powdery, thick, mixed-herb flavor after taste in your mouth. Sounds yummy, huh? It actually was quite good, just different from anything I’ve tasted before. So, I took a sip and then another. At that point, I pushed the porongo back for him to drink, but he said that no, the tradition is that he poured it for me, so I have to finish it. I would have to continue drinking it until the straw makes a slurpy noise, indicating that the water is all gone. I did not want to offend, so what choice did I have? I slurped. At that point, given that it was just before lunch and I had had an espresso about half hour earlier, the caffeine kicked in. Wow.

You’ll notice in my pictures that he made me hold the porongo and the thermos, as a Uruguayan does - porongo in one hand and the thermos tucked in under that same arm. That was my Mate experience. I can now leave Uruguay a happy person, as I shared a Mate with a friend, in true Uruguayan fashion.

Posted on November 21st, 2007 by katiejocannon
Filed under: Customs, Food, Uruguay