I've always said it like this:

"Socialism for the things we need. Capitalism for the things we want."

I definitely recommend a proper gourd, the curved side of the gourd allows the mate to kind of shape into it.

You may want to position your bombilla in a way so that it kind of holds everything up and supports montanita. You can use the bombilla to press into the mate to form a wall of mate.

Another component is dust content, which I think rosamonte has fairly low dust. Basically the dust kind of acts like a glue and holds everything together.

Argentine style cut is more prone to this issue. I found La Merced, De Campo had a bit more dust and I had no problem with it. You could also try a Uruguayan style such as Canarias, or Chimarrao which have its own set of challenges to prepare such as clogging the bombilla.

Just remember that there really isn't a right or wrong way to prepare it. If you enjoy the experience it should be good enough.

Its it like this

Or more like this?

The first one is going to be much harder to get a proper montanita due to the shape.

It might have to do with the shape of your gourd.

Can you describe the shape or post a picture?

Also, what do you mean by swell? Are you just letting it soak with room temp water?

Rosamonte is pretty coarse when it comes to cut size. The more coarse the mate is cut, the harder it will be to form and keep the montanita.

LeBron Jenkins

Stanley 1.4L Thermos.

Built like a tank, holds heat as well today as the first time I used it years ago.

Also, the Herman Miller Aeron chair. Bought one used for $250 a few years ago and use it every day and there has been no wear. That said, replacement parts are very easy to find online if something ever breaks.

Which I find pretty funny considering that the discovery of DNA is one of the most compelling arguments against the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon.

Basically, the premise of the Book of Mormon is that a group of Jews floated in a wooden ship across the Atlantic Ocean without any navigation, using glowing rocks blessed by God to light the "ships." This is how Joseph Smith tried to explain the existence of the native Americans.

The discovery of DNA shatters any truth claims of the book of Mormon because the natives do not have a DNA link to ancient Jews. They decended from Asia.

Nailed it!

Phenomenal album.

Morphine is a criminally underrated band.

As a former user of Baconreader for 11 years, and old.reddit + RES for about the same, this was what did it for me.

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