Alexis · Fondateur d'YVY Maté
It can be hard to find your way through the multitude of bombillas - yet it's an essential element for drinking a traditional mate in a gourd.
A very good mate straw can last a lifetime, while a mediocre one may not last long at all - a few months.
So which mate straw should you choose? What's the difference between an Alpaca and a stainless steel bombilla? Which bombilla suits your gourd?
The mate bombilla: what is it exactly?
The bombilla, or mate straw, is essential for enjoying mate in a gourd.
It's a filtered straw that can be made from different materials such as stainless steel, aluminum or Alpaca. These materials naturally affect the quality of the straw.
Several points deserve consideration before investing in a mate straw: its strength, the size of the holes, its shape, its size, its care and its compatibility with your mate gourd.
The workshop favorite: the engraved, hand-decorated Alpaca bombilla, guaranteed for life.
The different bombilla materials
Stainless steel bombillas
They are crafted to be strong and, above all, thick enough to reduce the risk of burns while drinking mate. They also have the advantage of not oxidizing like aluminum.
These straws are quite affordable and can be ideal for a first purchase.
To get started: our classic stainless steel bombilla, sturdy and affordable.
Alpaca bombillas
Bombillas made from Alpaca are the strongest, and are exclusively handmade. They also have low heat conduction, which makes drinking mate very pleasant.
We offer several Alpaca mate straws that we can guarantee for life - a pledge of the quality of our partner artisan's work.
The safe bet: the Alpaca bombilla, shaped by hand by our partner artisan.
Wood, aluminum, glass, bamboo and other bombillas
We don't recommend mate straws in anything other than stainless steel or Alpaca.
Other materials such as wood, glass or aluminum are not very durable, conduct heat, and can be hazardous: if poorly made, you risk sucking up particles of material.
The different bombilla shapes
The neck (mouthpiece)
The neck (pico in Spanish) or boquilla (meaning "little mouth") of the mate straw is where the matero places their lips to drink.
The tip of the mouthpiece is flattened to cool the water, regulate its flow and improve the overall experience, as it fits the lips better. The mouthpiece can also be curved, so the mate can be drunk without tilting your head or the gourd.
Here are a few examples of different mouthpiece shapes:
- "Pico de Loro" bombilla, or parrot's beak (curved mouthpiece): one of the most widespread and practical shapes.
- Straight bombilla: straight and practical for certain gourds, particularly stainless steel ones with fairly straight shapes.
The different mate bombilla mouthpieces
The filter
The bombilla's filter is there to stop yerba mate stems and leaves from sneaking into the matero's mouth:
- Flat filter: the most common type. We strongly recommend them, as they help with forming the well. This filter also handles every type of grind.
- Cylindrical filter: very practical for fine yerba mate cuts, as the holes are finer.
- Spring filter: the filter to favor for "Canarias"-style mate cuts if you don't take the time to form the well properly.
The filter of Alpaca mate bombillas
Size and weight
Good compatibility between bombilla and gourd is preferable, to avoid problems such as an unstable gourd caused by an overly heavy bombilla.
Here are a few gourd-bombilla pairings:
- Small, thin and light for small, light gourds - like our discovery mate kit with our classic stainless steel mate straw and our small wooden gourd.
- Regular, fitting most footed gourds.
- Large, for bigger gourds, like the Imperiale Mate Gourd.
