testmeat photoblog

mate is one of those drinks that you literally see everywhere in uruguay and argentina. i found it strange at first to see people out and about drinking it, because it's not particularly portable. you need the cup, the straw but also a thermos full of hot water to constantly top it up - so it's usually a balancing act when people have this and any other item of luggage. i first tried mate at an argentinian friends place in rio and found it incredibly hard to drink. not because of the taste, which was a little bitter but something i can see you'd get used to. no, the difficulty arises when you suck boiling water out of a metal straw. it must be something that south american lips grow accustomed to, but my sensitive mouth burnt up whenever the water passed through the metal it was touching. consequently i could only really take a few sips at a time as the pain was too high. it's a cool sociable drink though, which you top up and pass on when you're with a group of friends. i think along with improving my spanish, finishing a cup of mate without grimacing is high up on my list of south american targets.

here's the original