BALIBETOV Yerba Mate Gourd Set – Original Natural Handmade Yerba Mate Cup from Argentina, Includes Mate Tea Cup, Bombilla (Mate Straw) and Cleaning Brush, Traditional Mate Cup Gift Set

This mate gourd can't be more perfect. Perfect size, to grab with your hand (see photo), beautiful design and carved metal edge, and gourd quality. I am so happy to have trusted my intution while looking at the images and not having payed attention to some negative reviews! I am Argentine and I have tried thousands sorts of containers. This is among the best ones I've tried, as it is made of the original material with which yerba mate was consumed in the past. That "leaking" that some people complain about is part of the craft and natural material it is made of. It is a question of which your priorities are when you drink mate, and learning how not to fill it so much with water. I just love it.

Curing a gourd is quite an involved process... but if you follow the instructions you will end up with a cured gourd that you can use for a long time. These gourds are quite fragile though & should be protected from bumps & falls. The key in gourd curing is drying the gourd in the sun. After 1 curing of 24 hours & one drying session of 24 hours with 6 of that in direct sunlight, I used my gourd for the first time. What a treat! Besides the doughy & oaty aroma of my yerba, I was hit by the smoky scent of the calabash gourd. This added to my second cycle where the taste of melons & nuts came through with a touch of bitterness made this a divine experience. I now knew why the top cebadors used small gourds in their competitions. The flavors are more intense & less watered down. You get more cycles of consistent flavor. And even if your yerba becomes lavado aka washed out you still can enjoy the aromas & flavors a newish, no longer bitter gourd will impart. Caveats: spoon yerba into the gourd and scoop it out. If you don't it will get caught under the ring. This is something they should add to the manual. Also never fill it all the way to the top. There should be 1/2 or a 1/4 centimeter of space between the ring & water. Otherwise it will leak. This is just how these kinds of gourds are. You'll need a gourd of a different shape. Anyway, I like this new gourd so much, I'm taking it on my trip to the lands that drink yerba mate wrapped in bubble wrap.

Poor craftsmanship, unsurprising cause of price but also with 2 holes that leak.

Quality is great. The mate is HUGE, and the metal straw is too small for it. Overall it was a win, but did I mention it’s huge?

Original hand made, really nice gourd. I need to learn how much tea to pack in… learning curve required if you used one only with the Argentinian preparing it previously..:). I love it.

Attractive in appearance but difficult to clean and maintain. I just use it as a decorative piece now.

My grandson bought this yerba because he said it looked cool. Lol. I took it out of the box, read the instructions on it, how it was made, and how to clean it. This thing is really neat. It's made from a natural grown product. It looks like leather on the inside, but the booklet says no. It's all natural. The booklet tells in detail how it was made and how long it took. Me & my grandson love this thing. I don't think he will ever use it though. He has it sitting on a shelf in his bedroom, still in the box. When his friends come over he has to show it off, but he don't let anyone touch it. He's pretty good at taking care of his things. He does know what to do with it, and how to use it, but like I said, I don't think he will ever use it.. I give it 5 stars because it's made from natural grown vegetable. Very unique in craftsmanship.

I chose this gourd because I love the flower detail on the metal ring at the mouth. The seasoning process was simple...after it sat with maté in it overnight, the internal stem was easy to snap off. I have had to change my ways a little bit to care for the mug and prevent damage to it. Out of laziness, I usually leave my tea cups out overnight with a little bit of tea left in them, and then dump it and rinse it in the morning just before using it again. But this mug doesn’t like staying wet that long so when I’m done drinking I just shake it into the trash or the garden and set it somewhere (right side up) to dry. Don’t place it upside down or you’ll encourage mold. But really, it takes more effort to type about all this than to actually do it. I love how the warmth of the tea transfers easily through the gourd (which never burns because you shouldn’t use boiling water with maté) and the shape of the gourd is perfect for cradling in your hands to warm them. I ordered the dark gourd and it is so handsome that my husband wants one now. I told him he has to start drinking maté before he can have a gourd. The box it comes in is nice enough to be giftable and anyone into maté would be thrilled to receive such a lovely gourd.

Bonne, bonne

Belle qualité

Viel kann ich nicht berichten, da sich jemand diesen Becher gewünscht hat und ich ihn nur bestellt habe. Auf jeden Fall gäbe es nichts zu bemängeln und die Person ist super zufrieden. Sowohl mit der schönen Optik, als auch mit der Verarbeitung. Ich darf daher "im Auftrag" fünf Sterne vergeben ;)

Excellent quality!!! Fast delivery! Use it daily!

This is the size of a small egg cup don’t buy it try found somewhere else where’s it’s the core t size very disappointed