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

Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J. Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia © Etiquette Encyclopedia

Etiquette and South American Tea

A morning or afternoon tea break in many South American countries, calls for a gourd filled with maté.  It is considered a serious breach of etiquette to refuse the maté cup when it is passed around.  An acquired taste, maté is drunk through a communal bombilla straw/strainer, from a gourd or gourd-shaped drinking vessel. These vessels range from the very plain carved wood, to actual gourds which have been decorated or ornamented like the one pictured above, to the extremely ornate in silver, on its own stand. 
— Photo, Maura J. Graber

In Argentina’s camps, those workers engaged in herding in Argentina are paid from $1 to $1.20 per month, and supplied daily with meat and maté. Should they wish to vary this diet, it must be done at their own expense. 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 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 or bombilla, passes from mouth to mouth. —Rio de Janeiro Correspondent to the San Francisco Chronicle, 1887

Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia

Etiquette for Drinking Maté

 The universal custom of drinking it is by sucking it through bombillas, from maté cups. A bombilla is a tube, which may be of the simplicity of a mere pipe stem, or an elaborately decorated silver, or silver mounted, work of art. 

Paraguay Tea from an Evergreen Shrub...

Introduced in Europe, where its use is increasing

Yerba maté, or Paraguay tea, is the daily household beverage of the masses of Paraguay, and it is consumed to a great extent also in Brazil and Argentina. It has been introduced into, Europe, where its use is increasing, writes Consul Cornelius Ferris Jr. of Asuncion. The tea is the product of a plant belonging to the species ilex of the family of ilkacase, related to the ilex aquifolium, an evergreen shrub or small tree well known in western Europe. The leaves of this plant are carefully toasted near the place where they are gathered, all the skill required in producing the tea being applied in the process of toasting. This is necessary in order to dry the leaves thoroughly and evenly, without scorching or affecting their flavor by smoke.

After toasting, the leaves are sent to the mill, where they are ground to fine powder and packed solidly into bags for market. There is no sorting, grading, cleanin, nor are any means taken to rid the product of impurities or foreign matter. The tea is prepared for drinking in the same manner as ordinary tea, and may be taken with sugar, cream, lemon or brandy. The universal custom of drinking it is by sucking it through bombillas, from maté cups. A bombilla is a tube, which may be of the simplicity of a mere pipe stem, or an elaborately decorated silver, or silver mounted, work of art. 

Maté cups vary in style from a simple little gourd, to interesting specimens of local craftsmanship in silver. It is the custom to use a single maté cup, with its one bombilla, for an entire household, including all the visitors who may happen to be present, among whom it is passed, like a pipe of peace. To refuse to partake would be a breach of etiquette. The tea is said to be disagreeable at first, but it is readily adopted as a habit when the taste is once acquired. — San Francisco Call, 1910

Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia