Mate (drink)
Mate is a traditional drink in some countries in South America, especially in Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, Chile, Bolivia and Brazil. The drink, which contains mateine (an analog of caffeine), is made by an infusion of dried leaves of yerba mate (Ilex paraguariensis). It is usually drunk with friends and served in a hollow calabash gourd with a "Bombilla", a special metallic drinking straw. The straw is also called a bomba in Portuguese, and a bombija in Arabic. It is traditionally made of  silver. The gourd is known as a mate or a guampa. In Brazil it called a cuia. Even if the water comes in a very modern thermos, the drink is traditionally drunk from mates or cuias. There are now modern "tea-bag" type infusions of mate called mate cocido which have been sold in Argentina for many years. They are drunk from a cup. They are sold under such trade names as "Cruz de Malta" (Maltese Cross) and in Brazil under the name "Mate Leão" (Lion Mate).