Mate or maté is a traditional South American caffeine-rich infused herbal drink. It is also known as chimarrão or cimarrón, and ka’ay in Guarani. It is made by soaking dried yerba mate leaves in hot water and is traditionally served with a metal straw in a container typically made from a calabash gourd, but also made from a cattle horn in some areas. A very similar preparation, known as mate cocido, removes some of the plant material and sometimes comes in tea bags. Today, mate is sold commercially in tea bags and as bottled iced tea.

Calabash, also known as bottle gourd, white-flowered gourd, long melon, birdhouse gourd, New Guinea bean, New Guinea butter bean, Tasmania bean, and opo squash, is a vine grown for its fruit. It can be either harvested young to be consumed as a vegetable, or harvested mature to be dried and used as a utensil, container, or a musical instrument. When it is fresh, the fruit has a light green smooth skin and white flesh.