Yerba, Mate & Bombillas

For those of you who never had the pleasure of sipping yerba from a mate, it may seem strange to see this post on The Beret Project... It is another one of my passions and in many ways, closely related to the Basque beret.  Who hasn't seen pictures of the archetypal gauchos, wearing their berets, sipping yerba around the campfire against a setting sun? 

But there is more than symbolism and stereotypical images between berets and yerba; the enjoyment and appreciation of an age old tradition, practical functional implements without the stimulus from marketing managers and fashion guru's, continuing a tradition...

Knowing how many of The Beret Project readers enjoy this drink, I imported a small quantity of very nice mates (the hollowed out gourd from which you drink) and bombillas (the straw with a sieve at the end to prevent the dust and twigs to go into your mouth).

The mates are original hollowed out gourds, covered with with fine Argentine leather and woven material, topped with an aluminium ring. Each mate comes with it's own stainless steel bombilla. 

As it is impossible to list every individual mate on the web site (and they are all different), I made two categories: brown shades (light to dark brown leather and everything in between) and light shades (beige, light grey, greenish grey).  

Much more information on yerba, mate and bombillas can be found here, or here, or here or have a look here to watch how to prepare your yerba.