Perhaps because the traditional way to drink it involves a vessel like this one, with a metal straw could potentially impale someone’s eyeball if the driver has to make an emergency stop
As an uruguayan can confirm this is the reason, and to avoid getting the straw sent down your throat, also to avoid spilling boiling water over someone else.
Also, instead of a straw, wouldn’t it be possible to use a sippy cup lid (like those on coffee travel mugs), but with a built-in sieve (like those on a French press), or would that ruin the experience?
The way we use it is, every time you want to drink you pour a bit of hot water from a bottle to the gourd (mate) that is almost filled with yerba mate (dried and milled leafs) to make the infusion, the straw has tiny holes to filter the water. A sippy cup lid would make you to get a lot of yerba on your mouth.
So you sip the straw until you get all the water, and as you almost constantly are pouring new water it’s impractical to have a lid. Many people leave the bottle with the cap always open for convenience and walk around with the bottle tucked under their arm.
We got things like this where the colored part is the gourd
I have not tried it but the purists will despise you for using them.
A sippy cup lid would make you to get a lot of yerba on your mouth.
Right, that’s where the French press sieve comes in. It’s a permanent metal filter like this one, which is fine enough to deal with ground coffee, so mate should be no problem, as it’s usually much coarser. A lid with something like this underneath should be able to keep all the mate inside the cup, and also prevent clogging. Combine with an insulated mug that keeps the water hot for more than five minutes, and you shouldn’t have to constantly refill it either.
I understand that traditions are important, but are they important enough to scald or impale yourself over on the freaking bus?
Perhaps because the traditional way to drink it involves a vessel like this one, with a metal straw could potentially impale someone’s eyeball if the driver has to make an emergency stop
As an uruguayan can confirm this is the reason, and to avoid getting the straw sent down your throat, also to avoid spilling boiling water over someone else.
Have lids not been invented in Uruguay yet?
Also, instead of a straw, wouldn’t it be possible to use a sippy cup lid (like those on coffee travel mugs), but with a built-in sieve (like those on a French press), or would that ruin the experience?
The way we use it is, every time you want to drink you pour a bit of hot water from a bottle to the gourd (mate) that is almost filled with yerba mate (dried and milled leafs) to make the infusion, the straw has tiny holes to filter the water. A sippy cup lid would make you to get a lot of yerba on your mouth.
So you sip the straw until you get all the water, and as you almost constantly are pouring new water it’s impractical to have a lid. Many people leave the bottle with the cap always open for convenience and walk around with the bottle tucked under their arm.
We got things like this where the colored part is the gourd
I have not tried it but the purists will despise you for using them.
Right, that’s where the French press sieve comes in. It’s a permanent metal filter like this one, which is fine enough to deal with ground coffee, so mate should be no problem, as it’s usually much coarser. A lid with something like this underneath should be able to keep all the mate inside the cup, and also prevent clogging. Combine with an insulated mug that keeps the water hot for more than five minutes, and you shouldn’t have to constantly refill it either.
I understand that traditions are important, but are they important enough to scald or impale yourself over on the freaking bus?