With Folgers to wake you up in the morning and Starbucks looming on street corners in the United States, coffee is a presumed element of most American mornings — in the north, that is.

In South America — particularly Argentina, Uruguay and Chile — the tea drink mate is the morning beverage of choice and is also the basis and symbolism of the ISU student group Mates — South American students who pride themselves in their heritage and strive to make the rest of the student body more aware of their cultures.

The mate drink served as a centerpiece to the gallery of South American artifacts which Mates put on display Wednesday evening in the South Ballroom at the Memorial Union. Other objects included artwork, leather work, different foods and music representative of the three countries.

Mate is processed in a grainy form and put into small bowls, sometimes decorated or bound in leather, and hot water is poured on top. Then a unique metal straw is used to suck out the tea, but only a small amount of water is used in each pour to prevent the tea leaves from clogging up the straw.

Valentin Picasso, one of the student members of the group, says the drink is symbolic of his culture and the group on multiple levels.

“Some people believe drinking mate is not very sanitary because we all share the same straw but we do it all the time in university,” says Picasso, graduate student in agronomy. “It is an important part of the intimacy of sharing in our culture.”

He says the group chose the name to help reflect a feeling of community among the international students and also to serve as an invitation for others to learn about different cultures.

“Drinking mate is very representative of our countries and has a connective influence,” he says. “That’s why we chose the name, because it is not only a common drink, but it also means ‘friend’ and represents community that we want on campus.”

Mario Perez-Bidegain, Mates president, says the gallery is part of their second annual weeklong celebration showcasing their cultures to the student body in hopes of creating more awareness.

“We plan to keep doing this every year during Holy Week,” says Perez-Bidegain, graduate student in agronomy. “Our hope is more people will join us — not just from our countries but from campus, and we also want to learn from them.”

He says the group will participate in many different events on campus, such as the National Food Fair, to help get its name out.

Mates started organizing events only two years ago, and past president Laura Aguiar says she hopes things will only become better and larger in following years.

“We hope to organize more activities and get more people involved,” says Aguiar, graduate student in logistics operations and management information systems.