YERBA MATE 101

GAUCHO'S SECRETS AND CUSTOMS

LONG AND SHORT MATES

This difference is related to the amount of water used to fill the mate up. The recommended duration of the mate (a natural balance between its taste and the pleasure of drinking it) is of two or three normal sips. We can conclude then that it is not the size of the gourd what will make an influence in this classification, but the correct proportion of the brewing inside it.
The size of the gourd will give us an idea of the destiny that it will have; since the amount of yerba that it can hold is directly related to the performance of the brewing (number of mates that can be brewed without the necessity of mending or renewing it). So, the biggest gourd will be generally adopted by a group whereas the smallest one will be adopted by the individual mate user.
It does make an influence in this classification how "crecedora" (growing) the yerba that is being used can be. If the yerba is "crecedora" (brewing), it will inflate slowly reducing room for the water inside the gourd, and consequently, shortening the mates. To solve this problem, the brewer will have to make it "bostear", i.e. using the flat face of the filter of the bombilla, he will have to remove a portion of yerba so that he can recover the original capacity destined to the water.
It is the brewer who will have to test his knowledge of the gourd (the capacity of the calabash) and the yerba he is using to be able to prepare the brewing with the correct proportion and get mates of a proper duration.
Finally, it is worth pointing out that another factor that indirectly influences on the duration of the mates is the temperature of the water. Even when the amount of water does not vary, it makes an influence on the drinker's sensation making him shorten or lengthen his sips. Therefore, with the same brewing, the hotter water will give us the sensation of a longer mate, and the colder water, of a shorter mate.