Noordwijk and Leiden

[buggs_moran]

...it's me, hard at work, sippin' yerba mate...

Euhh... a Yankee sipping mate?

LOL. Yeah I am on Flickr (I enjoy photography as well) and you meet people from all over the world, like here. One woman's shots included a short bit on mate,
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nevfeniel/172821073/

I got intrigued
http://www.flickr.com/photos/buggs_moran/178083255/

and bought my own gourd, bombilla and the white plastic jobby in the shot from my previous post. Definitely an aquired taste, but good stuff.

[ElChristou]

...it's me, hard at work, sippin' yerba mate...

Euhh... a Yankee sipping mate?

LOL. Yeah I am on Flickr (I enjoy photography as well) and you meet people from all over the world, like here. One woman's shots included a short bit on mate,
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nevfeniel/172821073/

I got intrigued
http://www.flickr.com/photos/buggs_moran/178083255/

and bought my own gourd, bombilla and the white plastic jobby in the shot from my previous post. Definitely an aquired taste, but good stuff.

The recipient you use to put the mate (the herbs) and water is called "guampa", made of calabash in Argentina or cow horn in Paraguay; here most of the year we drink it cold, in this case it's called "terere"...

The good point of mate or terere is that you can add many medicinal herbs or simply "refrescantes", some herbs to add a more delightful taste...

[buggs_moran]

The recipient you use to put the mate (the herbs) and water is called "guampa", made of calabash in Argentina or cow horn in Paraguay; here most of the year we drink it cold, in this case it's called "terere"...

The good point of mate or terere is that you can add many medicinal herbs or simply "refrescantes", some herbs to add a more delightful taste...

Awesome info, can you give me a pronunciation for terere? Is it tay-ray-ray or ...?

I do have a low end gourd at home that I seasoned, but I don't use it much. My white guampa at work is used for drinking it cold. I like the taste now, I actually drink it straight... I went here http://www.yerbamatecafe.com/ and bought a bunch of samples (got the free guampa with $35 purchase) . Yeah mate...of course, I still like coffee.

[ElChristou]

Awesome info, can you give me a pronunciation for terere? Is it tay-ray-ray or ...?

In fact it's much like the French ?©... t?©r?©r?©...

I do have a low end gourd at home that I seasoned, but I don't use it much. My white guampa at work is used for drinking it cold. I like the taste now, I actually drink it straight... I went here http://www.yerbamatecafe.com/ and bought a bunch of samples (got the free guampa with $35 purchase) . Yeah mate...of course, I still like coffee.

What a crazy stuff!! "the ultimate bombilla" ... Nothing like a good old silver one! (handmade of course )

[tech2000]

Looks like this crew here like both celestia and the mountins, then I'll have to find my camera and show you the view from my livingroom then...

I have the most awesome view IMO...

Las cordilleras de los andes! in all its pride with snowdressed peaks.

Fridger had made some beautiful screenshots showing of his extraordinary textures in Celestia from the same sector, I'll try to dig deep in the forum to find this screenshots and show you from where the picture is taken and in what direction... (When the photo is taken)

Anders

[Adirondack]

It seems that we need a gallery of members.

Adirondack

[Celestial_Planets]

It seems that we need a gallery of members.

That is a great idea!

[chris]

Looks like this crew here like both celestia and the mountins, then I'll have to find my camera and show you the view from my livingroom then...

I have the most awesome view IMO...

Las cordilleras de los andes! in all its pride with snowdressed peaks.

And some of us are big fans of Chilean mountains in particular:



I can't wait to go back and see more of the country. I've heard that the Lake District is beautiful too. And Valdivia, Valparaiso, the Atacama, . . .

--Chris

[ElChristou]

Whow... this shot is really beautifull...

(too bad there is a guy making strange signs in the bottom... )

[julesstoop]

Agreed! That's an amazing landscape. Almost hard to belive it's real.

[abramson]

Excellent thread, I don't know how I fell here, I never read the Purgatory. You already know me from my avatar, but since I also like mountains...

This is Lanin volcano, at the border with Chile, last summer:


This is in Bariloche, last autumn, the mountain on the horizon is Tronador:


It's rather cold here, even in summer, so I drink all my mate warm...

Cheers,

Guillermo

[buggs_moran]

Wow Guillermo, I want to go to Argentina now... I will have a mate in your and ElChristou's honor now, I hear it is to be shared and I just had my first warm one two days ago as it hit the mid 50's (F, 13 C) here in Massachusetts. Do you guys have any mate brand favorites I should be looking for? You should join Flickr and post those shots...

Anyone who is interested (as if people want to look at my photos, it's like seeing the neighbor's slide show from their last trip) look here...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/buggs_moran/

[abramson]

Do you guys have any mate brand favorites I should be looking for?

My favorite brand is Rosamonte, with Pipor?© and Tarag???­ as runnerups... All three have "special selection" blends which are worth the extra peso. By the way, Pipor?© is favored by many a physicist and mathematician beacuse of its name: Pi-por-e, that is: pi-times-e...

I liked your photos. I should set up an album of selections, I have many good ones I'd like to share...

Guillermo

[ElChristou]

...Do you guys have any mate brand favorites I should be looking for?...

Well... humm... I must recall you I'm not a native from those nice lands so indeed I still prefer under those 35?°/45?°C a good cold beer! (raagh, shame on me...)

(Sure you cannot share it as mate/terer?©... but...)

[rthorvald]

My favorite brand is Rosamonte, with Pipor?© and Tarag???­ as runnerups

Guys, could you please tell me a little more about what mate *is*?
I did taste it once, but that is more than twenty years ago. It was greenish and i seem to remember it being vaguely tea-like in taste. But that is all i know.

Is it a health drink? Or a caffeine-type drink? What of the taste?

- rthorvald

[buggs_moran]

Simple fast version...it is a widely drank beverage in South America made from the brewing of a certain kind of dried holly plant native to the region with warm water... Technically I will guide you here: http://www.yerbamate.us/technical.html

When I first tried it, I found the "boost" it gives me was different than from coffee. I did not have the nervous energy I get from coffee, rather I experienced a relaxing of the mind and energizing of the muscles.

Mate contains the alkaloid caffeine. However as the site above notes

scientists studying yerba mate?€™s caffeine have coined the term mateine to describe the alkaloid as it occurs in yerba mate. This is based on findings that the nature of the chemical link of some minerals (like magnesium and manganese) and B-complex vitamins to the caffeine is different in yerba mate than in other caffeine-containing plants, including tea, coffee and guarana. Dr. Jose Martin, Director of the National Institute of Technology, of Paraguay has stated that ?€?new research and better technology have shown that while mateine has a chemical constituent similar to caffeine, the molecular binding is different. Mateine has none of the ill effects of caffeine."

So, I drink coffee in the morning but I usually have mate in the afternoon... As I think I noted above, it is an aquired taste and many will find it very strong. My wife shuddered when she tried it, but I liked it from the first sip...

[abramson]

Guys, could you please tell me a little more about what mate *is*?

Besides what buggs_moran very appropriately notes, one has to say that mate is a very important social drink, especially in Argentina, Uruguay and the south of Brazil. It is shared in a round, with one person in charge of preparing it and passing it in turns to the others, who must sip one gourd-ful each and return it immediately (so it doesn't get cold) *without saying thanks*. Whoever says "thank you" is implying he/she has had enough. It is also usual to drop by one's acquaintances, for example at work, in another office, to have a couple of mates with him/her, in the middle of the work day.

Some heretics put sugar in the mate, and even honey, herbs, coffee beans, fruit juice (perhaps this last is a good idea in the north, being warmer, Chris may have seen this in Paraguay).

Southern Brazilians, who are very fond of mate, prepare the leaves of the plant in a very different way, and it tastes *very* different. Buggs, see if you find some Brazilian yerba at your local Chinese market, it is definitively worth a try. It's called "erva" or "cimarr??o".

Guillermo

[ElChristou]

In Paraguay, terer?© (and mate in winter) is a real nightmare because most of employees spend too much time drinking it; sometimes it's even forbiden during working hours...

[rthorvald]

Besides what buggs_moran very appropriately notes, one has to say that mate is a very important social drink

Thanks, both. The cultural aspect was particularily interesting, and as for the taste, maybe i should look into it; i am very fond of both coffee and tea, so this is worth trying, too.

- rthorvald

[buggs_moran]

Some heretics put sugar in the mate, and even honey, herbs, coffee beans, fruit juice

Ha ha, I figured as much... When I was younger (much...) I probably would have done this, but I even drink coffee black now... I enjoy the mate pure.

Southern Brazilians, who are very fond of mate, prepare the leaves of the plant in a very different way, and it tastes *very* different. Buggs, see if you find some Brazilian yerba at your local Chinese market, it is definitively worth a try. It's called "erva" or "cimarr??o".

Thank you Guillermo, I will keep my eyes open.

Runar, you should probably be able to order it online, that's how I found it. yerbamatecafe.com may even ship overseas, I am not sure. Be sure to get a bombilla (the straw with a filter), use a tea infuser or order it in the teabags (not authentic). I have used my french press a couple of times too... Good luck.