A taste of home, yerba mate is a shared bond for many World Cup fans

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Alongside their flags, jerseys and songs, fans at World Cup matches are bringing along their cups and straws to share a sip of yerba mate as they root on their national teams.

The caffeinated beverage that is ubiquitous in some South American countries has spread alongside the multicultural appeal of soccer, including in the United States, where it’s become a drink of choice for star athletes on the pitch and off.

When reigning World Cup winners Argentina arrived at their hotel in Kansas City, Missouri, fans were outside pouring and sharing yerba mate in gourd cups with metal bombillas, the straw that acts as a filter for the steeped leaves. At Cafe Corazon, one of the biggest importers of yerba mate in the Midwest, a line of fans wearing sky blue-and-white striped jerseys was nearly out the door on Monday, the day before Argentina played their first match of the World Cup.

“Our mate has been flying off the shelves,” said Dulcinea Herrera, one of the co-owners of Cafe Corazon. “So a lot of people have been coming in to try it. People who aren’t Argentinian want to just have that experience. And we have a lot of Argentinians coming in saying, ‘Oh, this reminds me of home.’”

Plenty of the World Cup’s most famous stars are avid drinkers, from Uruguay’s Luis Suarez to Argentina’s Lionel Messi. The latter posted a photo of himself holding a mate cup in one hand and the World Cup trophy in the other after his team won in 2022, cementing the drink’s place in the hall of famous sport beverages.

Mate, your way

The drink that dates back to Indigenous people and the gauchos — South American cowboys — is sipped around the world, with other nations and cultures adding a different spin or flavor, says Christine Folch, a cultural anthropologist at Duke University and author of “The Book of Yerba Mate.”

People of certain regions, such as Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina and Brazil, prefer their mate in different types of vessels and prepared certain ways, which can be a cultural identifier when those fans meet up at a friendly match. Fulch has a large collection of mate cups, including ones made of cow hooves and horns, alongside hand-stitched, leather-wrapped metal cups and gourds.

In the early 20th century, mate became popular in Syria and Lebanon, which is why one the main places to get the traditional dried leaves in the U.S. is at Middle Eastern grocery stores, Folch explained. In the U.S., it’s often sold in refrigerated cans, marketed to an American audience as a natural energy drink and mixed with fruit flavors. Some Cuban Americans drink a version of mate that’s sweetened and carbonated. In Berlin, Club Mate is a popular carbonated drink that often gets mixed with alcohol.

Traditionally, the leaves of the trees are smoked during preparation, so the mate can have a smoky overtone as well as a strong grassy, earthy flavor that people say makes them feel less jittery than coffee.

And if you want to sound knowledgeable when ordering, it’s pronounced like MAH-teh, not as in your soccer teammate.

Sip and share

It’s a drink made for social settings, like a sporting event, because traditionally people will share the same cup or bring enough to share, says Folch.

“When somebody offers you mate and you accept, what you have done is you have stepped into a relationship. So it’s a way of bonding with people,” says Folch.

Sebastian Cufre and his father Rene, who was born in Argentina, drove to Kansas City from Albuquerque trying to score last-minute tickets to the match. They met other Argentina fans at Cafe Corazon and shared a cup of mate around their tables.

“It’s like something that you pass around during the games,” said Cufre.

He’s tried the canned American version, but isn’t a fan.

“Honestly, I don’t even consider that to be mate,” Cufre said. “That’s like a completely different class of beverage.”

Whatever the preference, fans of mate want their North American friends to give yerba mate a chance if they see a cup being passed around while at a cafe, a restaurant or a watch party.

“It’s not only a drink, but a social thing,” said Fernando Villagran, originally from Salta, Argentina, who traveled from California to cheer on Argentina’s team. “It is about friendship.”

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AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup