The words you'll hear in the circle, defined in plain English. Learn six of these and you stop being a tourist.

Cebador se·ba·DOR

The person who pours. Not a host and not a bartender — a position with duties. They fill the gourd, taste the first one themselves, keep the circle moving, and decide when the yerba is finished.

Lavado la·VA·do

The first pour, "washed". Weak, dusty and faintly bitter, because it carries everything that settled to the bottom. Also called el mate del zonzo — the fool's mate — for anyone who hands it to a guest.

Bombilla bom·BI·ya

Not a straw. A filter with a tube attached: the flared foot strains leaf out of the water, which is why stirring it is the fastest way to ruin a gourd.

Montañita mon·ta·ÑI·ta

The mound of dry yerba banked against one wall of the gourd, leaving a hollow on the low side. It's what lets you drink the same load fifteen times instead of three.

Palo PA·lo

Stem. Between a quarter and a third of a standard Argentine cut. It holds the pack open so water moves evenly, buffers bitterness, and stretches the gourd across more pours.

Estacionamiento es·ta·cio·na·MIEN·to

Aging. Dried yerba held in a controlled room — traditionally cedar-lined — for twelve to twenty-four months, which strips the raw green harshness and leaves something rounder and nuttier. Accelerated aging does it in weeks with heat.

Sapecado sa·pe·CA·do

The flash of direct flame within hours of harvest that kills the enzymes which would otherwise oxidise the leaf black. Every yerba goes through it; it's the step that makes mate green rather than brown.

Barbacuá bar·ba·CUÁ

Drying over a slow hardwood fire for a day and a half rather than on a hot-air belt. Lower yield, far more labour, and an unmistakable campfire note under the grass.

Tereré te·re·RÉ

The Paraguayan cold version: ice water, usually with crushed herbs, drunk from a wide guampa. Not iced mate — a different drink with a different job in 40 °C heat.

Yuyos YU·yos

Herbs added to the water — mint, boldo, burrito, citrus peel. Standard in tereré, treated with deep suspicion in Buenos Aires.

Rueda RUE·da

The circle. One gourd, one bombilla, one cebador, passed in a fixed direction at a fixed pace until somebody says gracias.

Ronquido ron·KI·do

The snore — the sound a gourd makes when it's drained. It isn't rude. It's the signal to hand it back.