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So … I had a “first” experience today, as a mate drinker…

I was drinking “unos mates” for the first time in a week (we were gone, visiting family in Ohio last week) and as I was drinking, I noticed that no liquid was coming through the bombilla, so upon a quick visual inspection, I found the culprit: a big chunk that was stuck at the very tip of the straw. Big meaning, it filled most of the opening!

I chuckled, and thought nothing of it, really… just needed to fish it out.

Then I started to think… Wait… how’d that get there?

Still confused, I went to get a toothpick to fish it out, and when I did it was black, and resembled very fine yerba dust compacted over the years I have been drinking mates! Um…. gross!!

Undaunted, I then tried to clean out the entire bombilla … but, don’t really have a tool for doing that. I rinsed and blew through it and nothing more came out. Satisfied (mostly), I filled up the gourd again and began drinking the mate.

MORE CHUNKS!?

This time, a lot more. I must have loosened them up! Anyway, more and more came out—all the same stuff—so I got a toothpick again and dug in as deep as that would go, about an inch and a half. It was nearly packed full of this black gunk! SUPER gross!!! I can’t believe that I’ve been drinking through it, actually!! 🙂

So… today… lesson learned. CLEAN YOUR BOMBILLA!!!!