The drink has a pungent taste like a cross between green tea and coffee, with hints of tobacco and oak. Some drinkers like to add sugar or honey, creating "mate dulce" (sweet "mate"), instead of sugarless "mate amargo" (bitter "mate"). It is considered bad for the gourd (especially for the natural (squash or wood) ones) to be used for "mate dulce" so it is normal for households with drinkers of both kinds to have two separate gourds.