Very interesting. I drank mate with friends from Buenos Aires when I was a teen. We would drink it the traditional way, namely out of a small dried gourd with a metal straw. Are you saying that mate (pronounced mah-teh like a southerner saying "my tea" fwiw -- not an Australian addressing a friend) is not commercialized in Argentina? As in, people offer their personal mate and there are not "mate shops" that would equate to "coffee shops"(think third wave USA)? Or that they prefer Mate to coffee, hence there are no "coffee shops" while there may or may not be "mate shops"?

I guess I like the idea that mate is so personal than you wouldn't go to a commercial shop for their blendbut ratherwould share your homebrew with a friend on a park bench.

Mendocino here (live in the US but visit Mendoza every few years). There are plenty of places one can go for coffee, but American-style coffee shops are not nearly as popular. Mate shops aren't a thing, but it isn't homebrew in the sense that people don't grow their favorite varieties of yerba mate plants in the back yard. You get a bag of yerba at the supermarket, have a thermos with hot water, and a gourd & bombilla. People drink it with friends, but, like coffee, it's also something they drink throughout the day by themselves while working, studying, etc.

Is there anything akinto different flavours? Or brand differences?

Is it like people and cigarettes? Like Brand X is your brand ornate and you'd rather die than have to drink brand Y?

Is there such a thing like a sommelier for mate? Maybe like wine: "I detect notes of lavender...."

This is incredibly interesting!

> something they drink throughout the day

Do people there consider the downsides of using stimulants all day long?

Not that most people elsewhere give it any thought, I'm just curious.

Having lived in Argentina, I can confirm that this is indeed the case! There is also a version called terere in which cold fruit juice is substituted for hot water.

One thing I've always wondered is, if everyone is sharing a straw, does that lead to issues with disease transmission? Seems like it would be very easy to spread a cold around or something worse.

saliva + hot liquid are pretty good disinfectants, especially if only dry lips are used..

related side note: most (all?) eastern christian groups use a single spoon for communion..

my unscientific biological theory on these things is they to some extent cause immune-boosting results since you are getting a micro exposure to mostly killed off or weakened pathogens in combination with 'clean' nutrients (mate+vitamins or host) and potentially also antibodies from the others in the group..

But what about Yaupon tea, the subject of the article?

I tried Club Mate once, a popular drink in Germany, but it gave me headache. I suspect this is due to the Theobromine content.