In the Andes and Mesoamerica we’ll find the Cucurbita (Latin for gourd) which shall be important to hold the drink we want to make.
The Cucurbitales are a small order of flowering plants containing seven families, 129 genera, and 2,295 species. For us is important now the species in the of Cucurbitaceae, the squash, many of which are widely cultivated as vegetables and for livestock feed, the hard-shelled ornamental fruits which we’ll us as gourd, or goblet, and cucumber family which we’ll use more for salads and relishes, with 90 percent of the genera in the order.
Most gourds are native to tropical or warm temperate climates. They require a long growing season to mature and are killed by frost. Well-drained fertile soil and a trellis, fence, or wall to provide support for the vines aid in the development of well-shaped unblemished fruits.
Already in ancient times, by the local Indians, the gourd was used to eat, to be used as a flask (for water or wine) or as goblet for drinking mate and as a music instrument.
In arid regions gourds were often used to keep water and to have it at hand when travelling. In many creation myths gourds appear. Since the beginning of their history, they have had a multitude of uses, including food, kitchen tools, toys, musical instruments and decoration.
One should cut the flesh from the Cucurbita and let the bark of the fruit dry. The gourd recipient, also called mate or guampa in Spanish and cuia in Portuguese, can then be decorated and be further prepared to hold the mate.
The gourd must first be filled one-half to three-quarters of the way with the dried leaves (yerba). Too much yerba will result in a «short» mate; conversely, too little yerba results in a «long» mate, both being considered undesirable. After that, any additional herbs (yuyo, in Portuguese jujo) may be added for either health or flavour benefits, a practice most common in Paraguay, where people acquire herbs from a local yuyera (herbalist) and use the mate as a base for their herbal infusions.
The dried leaves (yerba) (and twigs) of I. paraguariensis placed in a small, hollowed-out gourd or other vessel are then covered with hot (not boiling) water (70–80 °C = 158–176 °F), and briefly steeped.
Sugar, milk, coffee grounds, or lemon juice may or may not be added.
The infusion may also be prepared with cold water, in which case it is known as tereré. A common pastime is drinking tereré from a shared gourd or from a hollowed cow’s horn, or guampa, which often is beautifully carved. Also the traditional or Argentian mate is often shared communally, with the server continually refilling the gourd and passing it to each person in succession. The mate gourds are also called mates or culhas and are often decorated, some of them also having silver mounted or covered with leather. Today there are also mate vessels made out of wood or metal.
The drink is sucked from the gourd with a metal straw, known as a bombilla or bomba in Spanish, that is fitted with a strainer at one end to keep leaf particles from the mouth. Each gourd holds only a small amount of liquid and is repeatedly refilled with hot water, usually about 10 times.
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Preceding
Yerba mate or Mate (Maté), Caaminí and Tereré
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