The Guarani
Mate is a "tisane", or herbal tea, that is popular in Argentina as well as in Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. "Mate" is the Quechuan word for "gourd". "Mate" is served in a hollow gourd (or occasionally a horn or a hoof), and drunk through a metal straw called a "bombilla". This serving style originated with a native culture, the Guarani. The Guarani called the "yerba mate" plant "Caa"'. Indigenous peoples made "bombilla" straws from hollow cane, and made a filter at the end with vegetable fibers; today's "bombilla" straws, although made of metal, retain the filter feature at the end that is submerged in the gourd.