BALIBETOVYerba Mate Gourd Set (Original Natural Handmade Yerba Mate Cup Argentina) - Includes Mate Tea Cup, Bombilla (Mate Straw) and Clean Brush - Classic Mate Cup and Bombilla Set (BROWN X2)

Looks good, natural calabas.

Simple yet effective. Excellent for the price.

craftmanship poor aluminum end loose and licking .size goodspent a little more time to Q.C.Item works good .look cheap

Mate is in fine condition and not cracked as some have experienced. Opening is smaller than ideal but useable. The bombilla is trash. The inside obviously needs to be cleaned and cured prior to use, which is less involved than some reviewers say but still more than the instructions. All being said, unless you plan on making a trip to South America, where you would find a far superior one for only a couple dollars, this is about the only authentic mate I saw here within a reasonable price range. Paying $30 or more for a mate is just absurd. And who would want one line with plastic, ceramic or steel? As they say, those are only good for tereré.

In the languid embrace of an Arkansas summer, when the air was thick with the scent of magnolia and the languorous pulse of cicadas hummed a reminder of childhood days, I found myself the grateful custodian of two humble gourds. The process of curing them became an intimate ritual, a slow dance with time—soaking them tenderly in herba mate and later laying them under the benevolent gaze of the sun as if coaxing secrets from their wooden skins.On the smaller of these, I affixed a Louisiana quarter, a talisman of my boyhood home, a shimmering sliver of nostalgia that held the echoes of my past. Each day, without fail, I would engage with these gourds, their surfaces polished to a gleaming lustre with a carnauba lemon oil that whispered of brightness and warmth. It was a communion of sorts, a celebration of memory intertwined with the beauty of the present.Yet today, calamity struck—a fateful misstep as the flapping cuff of my shirt carelessly caught the gourd, sending it skittering across the tile floor in a cruel ballet of misfortune. It landed with a resigned thud, now marred by a crack that traversed its elegant form, a poignant reminder of fragility amidst beauty. Nonetheless, even in this imperfect state, it remains a sight to behold, a testament to its grace.While it is true I possess a spare—an echo of the original—I am determined to seek out a new companion for it, for this encounter with beauty, even when shadowed by misfortune, has left me profoundly pleased with the generous gift I encountered. Life in all its imperfections retains a certain allure, a continuous narrative threading through the fabric of my existence here in Arkansas.

Hello,I really wanted to like this product, as it seems similar to what acquaintances were using when I was drinking Mate for the first time in Argentina.I received it, followed the instructions (soak overnight & strip out the extra gourd flesh x 2) , and despite taking extreme care to not over-strip the flesh, the gourd still leaks.It's not a fast leak - but it will make anything under it wet over the course of hours.So it's basically un-usable, and is not the device that will get me to enjoy Mate.I do like the item, the thought behind it, and the overall package - I just wish it didn't leak.I may just have had bad luck - these are natural containers, and may not all be waterproof.

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.

Great product .