Dear IP: The maté I have is a product of Paraguay, "Rainforest- Grown". I'm glad it is in little bags, for convenience. I don't have the traditional strainer straw. And even if I had the traditional "sharing gourd", I have nobody to share it with. I did not find it at all disagreeably bitter. I had the pecuiliar sensation of being able to taste it with my whole mouth, and the taste tended to linger.