Mate Heaven

In my last post I mentioned my failed search through Tokyo for yerba mate. Last weekend Satoko went to Tokyo for a business trip, and this morning she suprised me with a whole new mate set, including the mate itself (the cup, traditionally a hollowed out gourd, but in this case, as I prefer, made of wood), the bombilla (a metal straw with a strainer at the bottom), and the yerba, the chopped up yerba mate leaves.



It works like this. The server puts the bombilla in the mate, then fills the mate with the yerba and if he or she likes, sugar and additional flavors. Then the server fills the mate with hot water, and gives it to the first person to drink and that person drinks the entire contents, passes it back to the server who starts again. It's a communal activity and the mate goes in a circle from person to person. In Argentina we drank mate even during out university classes, passing it to professor so he could take a few sips while giving his lecture.



I look forward to bringing it to work and weirding out my colleagues. I highly recommend the drink. Unsweetened, it has a strong bitter taste, and many people don't like it on their first try. Give it a chance, and it will grow on you. In America, it's not too hard to find, as many big towns have latino stores that often carry mate, and if not, it is easy to order on the web. It's a bit more difficult in Japan, but we can help you out if you wish, or of course, just come visit me in Mutsu and I'll give you a taste.

and in conclusion, Satoko rocks! Thanks!