Mateist, have you found your favourite, best bombilla yet?
What comes to mind when you hear about yerba mate? The image that immediately pops into our heads is that of a steaming vessel with a hot beverage and a metal tube stuck in it – the bombilla. This object with a funny-sounding name is an integral part of the yerba mate drinking ritual. How is it that we use the bombilla to drink yerba mate? What is the best bombilla for yerba mate? Where to buy your first bombilla? Today we will answer all these questions.
Summary:
- Bombilla – what is it? Knowledge in a nutshell
- Take your pick… Types of bombilla – which is the best?
- Where to buy a yerba mate bombilla?
Bombilla – what is it? Knowledge in a nutshell
Bombilla, mate, palo santo... So many items with names that are difficult to remember. Especially for beginner yerba mate drinkers, this amount of information can seem quite overwhelming. Believe it or not, we once got a question about how to put tea in a bombilla that only has a small hole from the top and it is difficult to squeeze the dried tea through it? Bombilla is not a brewer. Nor is it a tea spoon, although it often resembles one. It is used to drink the brew – it works in a similar way to a regular plastic drinking straw, and additionally filters the fine dried yerba mate. Bombilla is, next to mate cup, an indispensable and very characteristic tool of every mateista. It makes drinking yerba mate easier.
How did the Guarani Indians drink yerba mate centuries ago?
The Guarani Indians, who inhabited areas of Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay, were the first to discover the miraculous effects of the wild-growing yerba mate plant. They noticed that the plant gave them energy, increased their concentration and reduced their feelings of hunger. At first, they simply chewed the raw leaves. Later, they discovered that an infusion made from them showed the same properties as the raw leaves. They strained the drink from the dried and crushed leaves and twigs through their teeth. This was neither aesthetically pleasing nor pleasant – the tiny pieces of the plants stuck to their teeth and irritated their throats. Eventually they came up with the idea of drinking the brew through a tube – made of bamboo or reeds. This was still not ideal, as pieces of crushed yerba mate kept getting into the mouth, so they came up with the idea of plugging one end of the bamboo tube and perforating it. This is how the first prototype bombilla was created. It had its drawbacks – it was not very durable and quickly rotted if left too long in the residual brew. After the arrival of colonisers from overseas in South America, the bombilla was improved by using metal to make it. Today, we have a wide range of bombillas – they vary in material of manufacture, shape, type of filter and function. Still, in keeping with tradition, bombillas made of bamboo are used.
Etymology
The name bombilla comes from Spanish and is made up of two parts – the word bomba, which means “pump”, and the suffix -illa, which acts as a diminutive. The word bombilla in Spanish also means “bulb”. Before Latin America was colonised, the Guarani Indians called the yerba mate drinking tube takuapý.
Take your pick… Types of bombilla – which is the best?
Nowadays, yerba mate is becoming increasingly popular. Every now and then, shops appear on the market selling packets of the green dried Ilex paraguariensis to satisfied customers. As the number of amateurs of the South American brew grows, so does the number of available tools necessary for drinking yerba mate. Today, we can choose among different types of bombilla. Which one to choose? Which one will be the best to start your yerba mate adventure?
What is a bombilla made of?
Following tradition, some bombillas are made of bamboo. They are cheap, but not very durable. Bamboo is an organic material, so such bombillas do not litter the environment after use, but constant care for them can be a nuisance. Bombillas are also made from wood – usually from the “sacred tree” Palo Santo. This is a very interesting type of bombilla that adds a touch of magic and mystery to the ritual of drinking yerba mate. However, wood, like bamboo, is not durable; it can easily rot when exposed to moisture and crack when exposed to heat. Bombillas made of metal are more durable. They do not affect the taste and aroma of the brew, have an aesthetically pleasing appearance and are easy to wash. The cheapest are those made of stainless steel – they are particularly recommended for beginner mateists because of their price and ease of maintenance. More expensive, but also much better looking visually, are bombillas made of alpacca. They will be particularly appreciated by advanced yerba mate enthusiasts. Alpacca is an alloy of copper, nickel and zinc which was invented by the Chinese during the Qing Dynasty. Alpacca resembles silver in appearance, which is why it is often referred to as “new” or “Chinese” silver. The most expensive and elaborate bombillas are made of silver. Silver is not only elegant. It also exhibits widely appreciated properties that were described by Hippocrates in his writings as far back as antiquity. To a certain extent, utensils or cutlery made of silver show disinfecting properties. Due to their price, bombillas made of silver are rather treated as jewellery.
Different filters in bombillas
Bombillas are divided into different types not only because of the material they are made of, but also because of the type of filter they are equipped with. The most versatile and most common are spoon bombillas, equipped with a perforated, flattened filter. They look like a small tea spoon. Bomba is the bombilla that is mainly used in Brazil – the large, flat and round filter allows the chimarrão, which has been ground into dust, to be filtered thoroughly. A completely different shape is the spring bombilla. This is a tube with a small spring placed at one end. Such a filter is not suitable for finely-cut dried mate – it is less accurate. Somewhat similar to the spring bombilla is the cylinder bombilla. Instead of a spring, one end of the bombilla tube has several perpendicular cuts. This type of filter in a bombilla is also not very accurate. The best filtering is provided by a multiple filter bombilla, with more than one filter. Usually, there are small holes at the end of the tube, a spring is placed over them and, in addition, a fine mesh is often mounted between them.
Where to buy a yerba mate bombilla?
You have already taken an interest in the subject of yerba mate, chosen the most suitable type of dry mate, brand and flavour for you, and bought a mate cup from which to drink your brew. Now it is time to buy a bombilla. Where to buy the best bombillas? In our shop, of course! You will find a wide selection of different types of bombillas – from the cheaper stainless steel bombillas to the more expensive, screw-on ones which you can easily wash after drinking your infusion. We especially recommend that you buy a bombilla in a set with mate cup or in a set for yerba mate beginners. This is the best option for saving money!
Source of information:
- Wikitionary.org: https://es.wiktionary.org/wiki/bombilla.
- Wikipedia.org:
