Etiquette, Maté and the Bombilla

The once communally used, Bombilla, is a combination straw and strainer from which the maté is drunk. If stray motes of tea accidentally get stuck in the small holes of the bombilla, it is easily opened for cleaning. — “A gourd is hollowed and filled with maté, a tube to suck through, called a bombilla, is inserted and the contents absorbed. It is considered a serious breach of etiquette to refuse the maté cup when it is passed around. The same tube passes from mouth to mouth.”

— Photo source, Etiquipedia private library 

Living In Buenos Aires—There is no “middle class” in the Argentine Republic. Society is composed of those wealthy enough to refrain from manual labor and working people. Wages as a rule are low, and the cost of living as high as in the United States, and not half so good. In the “camps” peons engaged in herding are paid from $9 to $12 per month, and supplied with meat and maté. Should they wish to vary this diet, it must be done at their own expense. Few care to do so. 

Maté is a peculiar herb grown in Paraguay, and is the national beverage of the country. It is dried, powdered and steeped in hot water and used as tea. It possesses considerable stimulating powers, and enormous quantities are consumed. All classes use it. A gourd is hollowed and filled with maté, a tube to suck through inserted and the contents absorbed. It is considered a serious breach of etiquette to refuse the maté cup when it is passed around. The same tube passes from mouth to mouth. — Los Angeles Herald, 1887

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