Quick Overview
Mate, chimarrão, and tereré all come from the same plant. What changes from country to country is the water, the cut of the leaf, and the cup you drink it from.
The Guaraní people were drinking yerba mate long before Europeans arrived, and every tradition here grows from that root. Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, and Paraguay each made it their own over the centuries. None of them is the correct version, just a different way of sharing the same leaf.
In English we say yerba mate for the plant and every drink made from it. In Argentina and Uruguay, the hot version is simply called mate, so that's the name we use for it here.
Mate in Argentina and Uruguay
Mate is hot yerba mate, prepared in a gourd, sipped through a metal straw called a bombilla, and refilled again and again. Argentina declared it the national infusion in 2013. Argentine yerba usually keeps some stems in the mix, called con palo, and is often aged, which makes for a rounder, milder cup. Our own Yerba Crew Corrientes is made this way: con palo, grown and aged on a family farm in Corrientes, Argentina.
Uruguay drinks more yerba mate per person than anywhere in the world, and it's common to see people walking around with a thermos tucked under one arm. Uruguayan yerba is typically sin palo, without stems, and finely ground for a bolder cup.
Chimarrão in Southern Brazil
Chimarrão is Brazil's hot yerba mate, and it belongs above all to Rio Grande do Sul, where a 2003 state law made it the official drink. The leaf, called erva-mate, is ground very fine and kept fresh and bright green rather than aged, so it tastes more herbal than most Argentine yerba.
It's served in a cuia, traditionally made from a gourd, and sipped through a bomba, the Portuguese word for bombilla. Most people take it without sugar, with water around 158°F.
Tereré in Paraguay
Tereré is yerba mate made with ice-cold water, and it's Paraguay's national drink. Traditionally, fresh herbs called pohã ñana are crushed in a mortar and mixed into a jug of cold water, then poured over yerba in a cup called a guampa. In 2020, UNESCO recognized tereré as part of the world's cultural heritage.
Some people make it with fruit juice instead of water. You'll also find tereré on hot days in northeastern Argentina and in Brazil's Mato Grosso do Sul.
The Three, At a Glance
Same plant, three ways to drink it:
- Argentine and Uruguayan mate: hot, in a gourd with a bombilla. Stems in Argentina, no stems in Uruguay.
- Chimarrão: hot, with fine, bright green erva-mate in a cuia.
- Tereré: ice cold, with fresh herbs in the water, usually in a guampa.
Tips for Trying Each One
- Start small: you don't need a full kit to give it a try. Our 3oz (85g) Go Bags of Corrientes (mild, with stems) or Misiones Small Batch (smooth and lightly floral) hold enough yerba for a few sessions. Add a bombilla and use any cup you already have.
- For Argentine or Uruguayan mate: fill a gourd about two-thirds, tilt it into a slope, and keep the water between 150 and 180°F, never boiling. About 165°F is an easy place to start.
- For chimarrão: look for a fresh, fine-ground Brazilian-style erva-mate and keep the water around 158°F. The color alone tells you it's a different drink. Fine erva-mate can clog a regular straw, so a wide-filter bomba like our Ipanema Saucer Bombilla, made in Brazil, keeps it flowing.
- For tereré: fill a pitcher with cold water and ice, add a few sprigs of mint or a slice of lemon if you like, and pour over the yerba. The first pours are lighter, since cold water pulls flavor more slowly.
- Mind the etiquette: in Argentina and Uruguay, saying "gracias" when you hand back the cup means you're done.
Ready to try it? Start with a Go Bag.
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