564467 Mon Oct 13 12:31:31 -0700 2008 3 2 Los Angeles Area 0 4101496 Hello folks! Love these posts - read often and appreciate the opinions of all you posters but rarely do I find myself in a position to be additive...until now! ;-) I need to buy a new gourd for my mate and would appreciate any exposure to any Argentine stores in OC that sell mates and bombillas. I know Whole Foods carries them under a kit by Guayaki, but their yerba is terrible (imho) and the products are overpriced. Thanks for any advice! Mon Oct 13 12:31:32 -0700 2008 192105 chau 1 4101530 Can't help you with the OC thing, but I can tell you I drink a lot of mate and don't use either a gourd or a bombilla. I make it in a french press--yes like for coffee, an pour it into a coffee mug. Not as cool, but actually a superior method. Mon Oct 13 12:42:26 -0700 2008 4101496 22725 AHan 1 4101601 Claro's Italian Market in Tustin sells mate. They have a couple of Argentine brands in bags that look like 5 pound sacks of sugar. Price wise, I think this is your best choice. I believe they have bombillas, but I could be wrong. Also give a call to Mother's Markets. They sell mate, and at one point, they carried bombillas and glass "gourds." I believe Costa mesa is the biggest store, and know that inventory isn't identical at each location. Mon Oct 13 13:04:09 -0700 2008 4101496 10023 Professor Salt 1 4102671 Wonderful! Claro's is not too far away at all! I will check them out. And, I am sure mate in a french press is superior in extracting the best flavor, but I love the ritual of pouring my yerba in the mate, shaking it upside down, tilting it as I adulterate the product with orange peel and sugar, and giving it just a bit o room temperature water to moisten the leaves before adding the hot (but not boiling!) water. I don't know when it happened, but somehow, the ritual became much more satisfying than the drink itself. Thak you both! Mon Oct 13 23:12:49 -0700 2008 4101496 192105 chau