Montevideo (AFP) – Argentina and Uruguay have helped stoke up the excitement at this World Cup but it’s the calming effects of mate — a herbal tea both countries claim as their national drink — which may be their lasting gift to the tournament.
Aficionados like Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez have been helping to spread mate’s popularity among their peers, and players like France’s Antoine Griezmann and England’s Eric Dier have caught the bug.
Half a world away in Montevideo, the publicity the bitter drink (pronounced mah-tay) is getting from the World Cup is a boon to Federico Bresciani.
His family business, Bresciani Plateria Criolla, produces the highly worked leather gourds — in which the powdery Yerba Mate tea is mixed with hot water and imbibed — and has clients in 16 countries, including some of the world’s greatest footballers.
And there’s nowhere better to spread the word than at Russia-2018, where Uruguay have brought 180 kilos of the tea and Argentina, who expect to go further in the competition, 200 kilos.
In his modest workshop seven craftsmen turn out these containers — gourds that are also called mates — polishing and finishing the edges with inlaid gold or silver.
A common sight in Argentina and Uruguay are men and women walking around with their gourds, sipping mate through a metal straw called a bombilla, a refill thermos flask of water tucked under their arm. An average drinker can consume two liters a day.
“It’s a mark of identity,” says Bresciani.
– “Player power” –
The stars of Uruguay’s national team Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani, Argentine captain Messi and midfielder Angel di Maria, are regularly pictured with mate paraphernalia. The flask pressed between arm and midriff, the mate in hand.
Stars new to the mate scene are French striker Antoine Griezmann. Like the others, he’s a client of Bresciani’s.
More recently, English midfielder Eric Dier told the Daily Telegraph he was “slightly addicted” to the drink. His Tottenham Hotspur teammate, the Korean Son Heung-Min, shared a photo on social media of him sipping a mate recently. Their manager at Tottenham is the Argentine Mauricio Pochettino.
The earthy, bitter root flavor is an acquired taste but it’s catching on, recognized by health experts around the globe for myriad health benefits.
“Nowadays, the mate and the bombilla are popular, taking a mate has become fashionable,” Bresciani says with a smile.
from World Soccer Talk https://ift.tt/2Na0ktW
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