El Matero Authentic Mate Gourd and Bombilla | Original Argentine Calabash Gourd | Traditional Hand-Made Artisan Technique Using ANCIENT FIRE Method

On the plus side, the set does look nice and just like the picture, while the staining is clearly custom and not exactly the same. So you are getting what you are seeing.But the bombilla (straw) does not separate into two pieces as I would have expected, making it pretty much impossible to clean properly. Also, the metal rim is sort of cheaply crimped into place, and as I was scraping out the inside of the gourd to cure it, I kept catching and peeling back a loose flange of the inside of the rim. I could bend it back into place and it looks fine, but it didn't scream "quality craftsmanship".I had purchased this because I wanted something that was simple and functional but still looked a bit exotic, but I think this is more a "conversation piece" kind of thing. It's probably going to go on a shelf and look pretty, but for actually drinking mate, I'll probably buy a few spare, cleanable bombillas and a more pedestrian mug. (Hint: a thermos with a lid that unscrews to serve as a mug works just fine, and you've got the hot water with you. Thermos, bombilla, you're done.)BTW, if you are a squeamish germaphobe, gourds are probably not for you. You're scraping out a bunch of dried out and funky gourd muck, soaking it again in mate to de-funk it, then scraping it again. You're going to be drinking hot tea from it, so it's self-sanitizing. You'll be fine. Millions of South Americans are doing it right now. Literally dozens of them survive. ;)

This gourd while sturdy and well made is HUGE!! I don't really know how to avoid something like this in the future though this is the first time we have ever purchased a gourd online that was really too big to be practical. We find it too big with even five people sharing a mate in it. Ahh well - some you win and some you lose.

Use it everyday

Received the gourd, it came with no packaging and felt rather thin and delicate, also a few cracks on the bottom? It is curing now, so maybe they are just surface scars. Of it turns out to leak from them, I’ll return the gourd. The bombilla (straw) is very pretty and seems relatively sturdy!

The gourd arrived without a problem, and it is a quality product, but the bombilla didn't come with it! Is there a way this can be fixed?

I bought this for my daughter in law, she likes it but said it is VERY hard to clean and has concerns about how sanitary it is

I bought this for my grand daughter and she loves it. I also found a similar item here and ordered the tea straws and I can say honestly that the tea tastes 80 % better when using loose tea and the straws. In the future I will order a couple more for my tea drinkers for Christmas.

no me sirvio se sobre calientan y no desaparéese cierto color que tiene ya desde nuevos .