Notice: Gourd & Bombilla Not a Hookah

"What's that?"
"Dude, can I rip it?"
"Where's the smoke?"
"Um, sir, I am going to have to ask you to leave."

An unbearable amount of questions from curious passer-bys has driven me to the creation of this post. But why na3s, WHY?!? Over these past 3 months I have been drinking Yerba Maté out of a Gourd with a fancy contraption called a Bombilla. When you put these together, they strongly resemble a Hookah-Pipe or fancy Tobacco Pipe to the untrained eye. After carrying this object around town, It became apparent to me that most people are incredibly perceptive to their immediate environment. When a foreign object is in perspective, people immediately recognize it as 'unknown' and are even quicker to label it; many times wrongly label it. Well the time has come for some Edumacation.

So what is a Gourd and Bombilla?

A Gourd is basically a container varying in size, and generally composed of hollowed out organic matter, such as Wood or a Coconut. However, it has more recently been made out of modern materials such as a Steel Thermos, a Plastic Sports Bottle or even a Glass Gourd. A Bombilla is a fancy name for a straw with a filter at the end. It prevents loose tea from entering the straw so you only drink the yummy brew. This is used because many prefer loose tea opposed to tea bags for economic purposes and also because it is nice to mix teas.

How does it work?

1. Well, first you gotta get some Loose Yerba Maté tea available at your local health food store. Then you have to obtain a a Gourd and Bombilla found on ebay or various stores online (Google it). An alternative to a Gourde and Bombilla is empty teabags or a tea-ball Warning: These alternatives aren't as enjoyable!
2. If using a Gourd, you may want to read information on how to cure a Gourd first, as to ensure the highest quality flavor.
3. Place in between a tablespoon and a lot, depending on how many times you think you are going to refill your container.
4. place a small amount of cold water into the container, just enough to soak all the tea leaf. Let it sit for 1-2 minutes.
5. Boil some water. Then let it cool down for about 5 minutes and then pour into your Gourd (or coffee mug if you are going to be using a tea-ball). Note: Boiling water makes Maté taste bitter.
6. You are now ready to enjoy! Suck on the straw if using a Gourd and Bombilla or simply take a sip if you are using one of the alternative methods.

Why Maté

There are plenty of reasons why I personally chose to start drinking Maté, the most obvious was to eliminate Coffee from my diet. Drinking Maté out of a Gourd with a Bombilla also helped me with my hand-to-mouth habit, which led to me quitting cigarettes. There are more healthy benefits and advantages of drinking Yerba Mate, but honestly, I am too lazy to list them all. If you are interested, just click that link (the one on the last sentence dummy.)

Tags: argentinian tea, bombilla, gourde, mendo mate, organic, quit smoking, yerba mate