Mate

Argentina's national beverage
Noteworthy for: You'll see mate being drunk throughout South America, and even though it can be an acquired taste, sharing the tea with a group of friends is a local ritual worth trying.

Word to the wise: If drinking mate for the first time, sweetened – dulce – is a safer bet
Everywhere you go in Buenos Aires porteños will be drinking mate, the traditional tea made from the leaves of a native evergreen tree. It is also popular in other parts of South America, especially Uruguay where people often carry their mate gourd around with them. The tea contains mateine, a stimulant similar to caffeine, and it has a strong, bitter, grassy taste – like strongly brewed green tea.

The vessel you drink from is also called a mate, a hollowed-out gourd with a straw called a bombilla, which has an inbuilt filter. Half fill the gourd with yerba (mate herbs), pour in hot water and drink from the bombilla. Sharing mate with a group of friends is a big part of the ritual. The person who prepares the mate is called the cebador, and they will try first, before passing the mate around the group, traditionally clockwise.