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Mate Variants

Bitter Mate

In some parts of the Southern Cone they prefer to drink bitter mate, especially in Paraguay, Uruguay, the south of Brazil, and parts of Argentina and Bolivia. This is referred to in Brazil and a large part of Argentina as cimarrón, which is understood as unsweetened mate. Many people are of the opinion that mate should be drunk in this form. Cimarrón was the name that they gave anciently in the country to wild cattle, especially, to a horse that was very attached to a cowboy.

Sweet Mate

Unlike bitter mate, in every preparation of sweet mate, sugar is incorporated according to the taste of the drinker. This form of preparation is very widespread in various regions of Argentina, like in the Santiago del Estero province, Córdoba (Argentina), Cuyo, and the metropolitan region of Buenos Aires, among others. In Chile, this form of mate preparation is widespread in mostly rural zones. The spoonful of sugar or honey should fall on the edge of the cavity that the straw forms in the yerba, not all over the mate. One variation is to sweeten only the first mate preparation in order to cut the bitterness of the first sip, thus softening the rest.

In the sweet version artificial sweeteners are also often added, as much as for health problems like diabetes, as for taste. As an alternative sweetener, natural ka’á he’é (Stevia rebaudiana) is preferred, which is an herb whose leaves are added in order to give a touch of sweetness. This is used principally in Paraguay. In Peru it is widespread in rural zones, and it is prepared with coca (plant) or in a sweetened tea form with small slices of lemon or orange.

The gourd in which bitter mate is drunk is not used to consume sweet mate, due to the idea that the taste of the sugar would be detrimental to its later use to prepare and drink bitter mate, as it is said that it ruins the flavor of the mate.