Mate
A bitter South American infusion that became the daily drink of the Syrian coast: a gourd, a metal straw, and a sitting that can run for hours on end.
- Where to eat it
- A household drink in the coastal towns and the Druze districts, at morning and late-afternoon sittings. Not on café menus; the yerba and the kit are sold in spice markets.
- Price
- Variable — ask the price of a packet and a set at a spice shop
- When it is eaten
- Morning and late afternoon; the sitting can run for hours
Walk into a house in Latakia or Tartus and the first offer is not tea but mate. Yerba mate leaf is packed into a gourd, hot water that has not been boiled is poured over it, and it is drunk through a metal straw. The taste is bitter and green; on the first mouthful it is nothing like tea and much more like a strong herbal steep. It carries a lot of caffeine, which is why the morning is its hour.
How it reached Syria
Between the late 19th century and the early 20th, large numbers of Syrians and Lebanese emigrated to Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay. Those who came back brought the habit with them. Syria is now among the largest buyers of yerba mate in the world. The coastal towns and the Druze districts are where the custom is kept most closely.
How it is drunk
One gourd, one straw, taken in turn. The person who prepares it fills it, hands it on, and gets it back empty to refill. The water is never boiled: boiling water scorches the leaf and sharpens the bitterness past the point of pleasure. The straw is not used for stirring. It stays where it was set.
Where to drink it
This is not a café order but a household drink. Looking for it on a menu is wasted effort. It appears in front of a guest at home, and the sitting can last for hours. Packets of yerba and the equipment are sold in spice markets and grocers; anyone wanting to take the habit home can buy the gourd and the straw in the same shop.
Tips
- Do not look for it in a café — it is drunk at home, and offered to guests
- Never pour boiling water; it scorches the leaf and sharpens the bitterness
- Do not stir with the straw, it stays where it was placed
- The caffeine is high; a late-afternoon round can cost you the night
Transparency
- How this was chosen
- Two kinds of record live here: the dish itself, and the place that serves it. Both are chosen and written by hand; ranking is not for sale and there are no sponsored entries. If a price range is not known for certain, it says so. Venues that serve alcohol are not listed on this site at all.
- Facts checked
- August 2026
- Last updated
- August 28, 2026