Mate Straw: An In-Depth Look at the Bombilla
The Bombilla: A Traditional Mate Drinking Straw
A bombilla (pronounced bombi?a, in Spanish River Plate: bombi?a / bombisha ‘/’) is a metal or cane straw used to drink the infusion called mate. A heritage of colonial times, the bombilla usually has a decorated stage, like the container, also called mate.
It is the antecedent of the bombilla itself, a kind of thin, hollow reed called takuapy in Guarani (taku = cane, py = “hide” or wrapper) used to drink mate and tereré.
Parts of a Bombilla
The bombilla almost always consists of three parts, usually all metal:
- The peak (where the user supports their lips to drink the infusion) that is inclined toward the person who has a mate in their hands.
- A narrow metal tube, often straight (although there are some curved models, and some very unusual spiral-shaped ones), where the liquid rises due to the pumping action by the mateador (hence the name of the bombilla).
- A bulb with holes (coconut), which settles to the bottom of the gourd and acts as a filter, preventing mate from entering the bombilla. In some cases, the bulb may be removed for easy cleaning. In cases where it is not removable, it must be boiled in water for cleaning, avoiding the effect of a “light bulb covered.”
Depending on the area, the bulbs can be of various forms: round, flat, and so on. Also, according to each place, their holes can be more or less fine, depending on the grinding of yerba mate used.
Heat Dissipation
To prevent the bombilla’s peak temperature from rising and thus damaging the lips of the user, the metal tube has one or more rings that double as trim and a heat sink. Each ring acts as a heat sink, allowing the tube to remove excess heat, thus preventing the water temperature from being transferred to the peak. The bombillas are made of the finest alpaca and plated in gold, using (gold plated) at the peak of it also acts as a heat sink.
The existence of very unusual spiral bombillas has been mentioned, precisely to dissipate as much heat as possible from the infusion. It is said that these spiral bombillas were used in Chile where (XIX century) they preferred to mate with moderate temperatures.
A bombilla (pronounced bombi?a, in Spanish River Plate: bombi?a / bombisha ‘/’) is a metal or cane straw used to drink the infusion called mate. A heritage of colonial times, the bombilla usually has a decorated stage, like the container, also called mate.
It is the antecedent of the bombilla itself, a kind of thin, hollow reed called takuapy in Guarani (taku = cane, py = “hide” or wrapper) for that drink mate and tereré.
Parts of a Bombilla
The bombilla almost always consists of three parts, usually all metal:
- The peak (where the user supports their lips to drink the infusion) that is inclined toward the person who has a mate in their hands.
- A narrow metal tube, often straight (although there are some curved models, and some very unusual spiral-shaped ones), where the liquid rises due to the pumping action by the mateador (hence the name of the bombilla).
- A bulb with holes (coconut), which settles to the bottom of the gourd and acts as a filter, preventing mate from entering the bombilla. In some cases, the bulb may be removed for easy cleaning. In cases where it is not removable, it must be boiled in water for cleaning, avoiding the effect of a “light bulb covered.”
Depending on the area, the bulbs can be of various forms: round, flat, and so on. Also, according to each place, their holes can be more or less fine, depending on the grinding of yerba mate used.
Heat Dissipation
To prevent the bombilla’s peak temperature from rising and thus damaging the lips of the user, the metal tube has one or more rings that double as trim and a heat sink. Each ring acts as a heat sink, allowing the tube to remove excess heat, thus preventing the water temperature from being transferred to the peak. The bombillas are made of the finest alpaca and plated in gold, using (gold plated) at the peak of it also acts as a heat sink.
The existence of very unusual spiral bombillas has been mentioned, precisely to dissipate as much heat as possible from the infusion. It is said that these spiral bombillas were used in Chile where (XIX century) they preferred to mate with moderate temperatures.