Buying Guide: How to Choose Your Mate Gourd

Factory-made stainless steel gourds are simple to manufacture. All that's needed is a basic design and stainless steel to produce them in large quantities.

Most often, they come with a double wall to prevent burns and contain the heat .

This mate cup is appreciated by consumers wanting to start consuming mate from a calabash.

Indeed, it is very affordable, easy to maintain, and durable . Being made of steel, cleaning the mate gourd is not necessary.

As a drawback, we noticed that the well is more difficult to form. Because the walls are smooth, the grip on the yerba mate is less good.

Without the well, the infusion of the mate leaves will not be controlled and the intensity of the yerba will be stronger .

Finally, the stainless steel cup is not handmade . These are gourds, very useful for on-the-go consumption, at the office, or for use in the kitchen. Unfortunately, they don't offer the same subtle flavor as a gourd cup made from a pumpkin.

Natural handcrafted gourds are made from the squash , a fruit of the Cucurbitaceae family!

The growth of a squash

Agricultural work begins with the harvest and selection of squash in South America. Indeed, it is necessary to find squashes suitable for consuming maté, neither too large nor too small.

The shape and thickness of the gourds are therefore important and have given rise to several types of calabashes: Torpedo , Imperial or Camionero .

After harvesting, the squashes are hollowed out and dried for 6 months , then selected before the artisanal work.

Drying the squash

The craft begins with the fitting of the feet and the leather .

The feet keep the gourd upright and the leather, in addition to the thickness of the walls, serves to insulate it from the hot water.

Aesthetics are also part of the craftsmanship of the mate gourd. Indeed, artisans usually add a ring (virola) around the “boca”, the opening of the mate cup.

The rim can be made from stainless steel, alpaca, bronze, silver, or even gold !

Engravings can also be added, either on the leather or on the rim.

You can find these mate gourds in our shop

The artisanal work involved in making a calabash

Making a gourd maté cup is a lengthy process. In fact, it can take up to two years for the largest gourds, including the growing time. This makes them rare and more difficult to find than steel gourds.

The natural gourd requires special attention before the first consumption of mate: it must be cured.

Curing serves to protect your gourd: the tannins present in the mate will create a protective layer and will also improve the flavor of your mate.

For more information on cleaning a calabash , we invite you to consult our blog article.

Furthermore, the maintenance of the calabash , although very simple , is necessary.

We recommend that you empty the yerba mate from the mate cup and clean it with hot water after each use .

What we love about the gourd is the values ​​it reflects. Indeed, it allows us to travel briefly to South America, thanks to its traditional method of consuming maté and its originality .

It also adds an extra flavor to the mate thanks to the tannins, which are fixed to the walls of the gourd, accentuating the taste of the yerba mate.