Argentine

Mate is a big part of culture in Argentina. Despite the fact that mate is enjoyed all over the country, it is grown and produced only in two northern provinces of Argentina — Corrientes and Misiones. According to the FAO, Argentina is the second largest producer of yerba mate in the world with 290,000 MT (32%), preceded by Brazil with 513,256 MT (58%).

Argentine people love their hot mate and prefer to drink it traditionally — out of calabash gourd or using vessels made out of palo santo wood or algarrobo wood.

Argentine yerba mate in general has a very balanced cut, that includes leaves, stems and powder — so called con palo. Some of the producers also make versions without stems and much less powder, so called despalada or sin palo. Pretty much all of the Argentine yerba mates are aged for 6 to 36 months to give them earthy, tobaccoey, dry fruit and hay taste that is loved by many people all over the world.