After my first sip of yerba mate back in 2016, I knew exactly how I would approach this new passion of mine.

It’s very similar to how I approached my other hobby of smoking pipes.

And of my time being in both these communities, I’ve noticed similarities between how pipe smokers continue their hobby and how yerba mate drinkers continue theirs.

Usually, as two new materos start figuring out how to prepare yerba mate, how to cure a gourd, how to clean it, as well as learning all the types of yerba mates, bombillas, and gourds, they’ll likely continue their yerba mate journey on two separate paths.

In this post, I’m going to walk you through each pathway to show you the four main types of yerba mate drinkers out there. Maybe you can identify with one of them after reading the below.

Let’s start!

#1: The Gourd Collector

This individual loves gourds and isn’t afraid to show it.

Like any other collectible, their primary goal is building up their gourd collection. With so many different styles, shapes, and designs, mate gourds easily become their playground. This person can have up to 40-50+ gourds in their home. And they may only use a fraction of them. The others will likely never be used and will just be there for display.

When it comes to drinking yerba mate, they may drink just a handful of different brands. Because remember, they just want to keep collecting the coolest gourds out there.

I can personally relate to this type of yerba mate drinker, but not to the extent they take it. I only have so much room for gourds…

#2: The Yerba Connoisseur

The next type of drinker is essentially the opposite of the previous one.

This person loves yerba mate and their goal is to collect and try a bunch of different brands. What they care most about is tasting each one. They find pleasure in discovering the differences and nuances of flavor within each brand. From Argentinian, Brazilian, Paraguayan, and Uruguayan, they’ll buy and try as many as they possibly can.

There’s no stopping them from purchasing a new bag.

If it’s yerba mate and it’s not something they’ve tried before, it’s going to be bought.

In regards to mate gourds, they’ll have a nice variety of around 10 gourds.

Again, I can relate. This describes me to the letter. At the moment of writing this, I have maybe 30 different brands at home. Now, this isn’t just for reviews for this website, but also because I like to taste something different pretty often.

#3: The Fixed Drinker

Up next, we have someone who has found the perfect gourd and bombilla (out of all the thousands of types in the world) for him or her. This individual only likes to drink yerba mate out of one specific gourd and bombilla.

The gourd could be stainless steel, palo santo wood, or your classic calabash, while the bombilla could be a spoon, coil, or spring.

But although this person is very particular with their equipment, they still like to enjoy a variety of yerba mate brands. It’s just only ever going to be consumed from the gourd and bombilla they love most.

For me, I can slightly relate to this person. Sometimes, I only use my stainless steel gourd or calabash gourd with my silicone-capped bombilla. This can go on for weeks. But eventually, I like to change it up and use a different bombilla with maybe one of my palo santo gourds. It makes drinking mate fun and interesting.

#4: The Signature Drinker

This last type of yerba mate drinker is what I like to call the Signature Drinker.

Similar to our previous one, this individual also likes to use one type of gourd and one type of bombilla. But they also like to drink only one yerba mate brand.

It doesn’t matter how long they’ve been drinking it, they won’t try anything else.

They find their brand to be the best there is and will usually buy kilos upon kilos of it to the point they’re stocked up for months on end.

I found this to be quite common among Uruguayans. As you may or may not know, Canarias is their crowned jewel so it’s almost all they drink. And it’s usually in this particular leather-wrapped, steel-rimmed calabash gourd (usually a torpedo gourd or imperial gourd) with a long spoon bombilla.

As of now, I can never be this type of drinker. There are so many brands out there to explore, I can’t stick to just one forever. I can barely even finish a kilo bag without reaching for a different brand. But who knows, maybe in the future, I’ll find one that’s just too perfect.

Final Words

And there you have it!

Now, this list isn’t the only type of drinkers out there, but the most common I’ve run into.

Were you able to identify with any of them? If so, comment it down below! If not, don’t worry. As you continue your yerba mate journey, you’re bound to start falling into one of the four types mentioned.

P.S. If you enjoyed this post, you might also want to check out our store for exclusive yerba mate items.