either/or

Since I’ve been in Buenos Aires, i’ve had mate a few times. First, by myself just to try the flavor, and the first legitimate time - because you can’t drink mate by yourself and call it ‘legit’ - with a friend who i’m sharing an office with here in Palermo. The mate i had at home was bitter and reminded me of tobacco, but the mate they have at the office is pretty good - much smoother, and I really enjoyed it.

But last weekend we went to the park and I just had to try it again, but i didn’t bring any of the accoutrements necessary to partake. So i bought a ‘mate listo’ (ready mate) - it includes a plastic bombilla, a plastic cup, a styrofoam thermos and the yerba mate itself. One thing that is clear is that the quality of mate really varies depending on the source as with any other tea or herb product. The taste was incredibly bitter, like smoking a cigarette that you found under the passenger seat of your pickup, then making a stew with the used filter and gargling the broth.