Yerba Mate

D

Don_Luis

Joined
Aug 25, 2006
Messages
289
I first tried Yerba Mate back in 1974 when my mother brought some from Argentina and I soon got into the habit, it's stimulating and an interesting ritual if you like to follow tradition, it's got caffeine but not as much as coffee.

I never had too much trouble getting Yerba Mate in Mexico but good traditional gourds are hard to find, I got this one three days ago from a friend and after proper curing it's ready and I have been sipping from it all day today, good stuff.

Luis


Click to enlarge
 
I have some that I drink from time to time- Interesting flavor- most assuredly an acquired taste- not for everyone. I like the ceremony of it- adding the water to the Bomba & refilling... relaxing. The 'buzz' is unlike that of coffee- more aware, less nervous.
 
Yes, drinking mate is a very relaxing habit, although it do has more caffeine than coffe. :-)
Cuias.jpg
 
I have 2-3 cups of YM every day from a coffee press. I put it in a thermos and bring it to work. When I have more time, I use a gourd. Unfortunately, this is seldom.
 
I just did an Amazon Search for Yerba Mate and came up with a lot of different brands including some tea bags:eek: . Which one is the best?
 
My Dad used to drink YM once in a while, being Argentinian.
I don't think the gourds could be THAT hard to find.
Yerba Mate is now being used in many modern energy drinks because of the high level of caffeine. I don't know which ones off the top of my head, but I'm sure there's several everyone's heard of.
 
Well. In Brazil we drink "Chá (tea) Mate" -mate in infusion-. This is the case of the tea bags. You could also prepare cold (iced after the hot infusion).
The yerba mate used in the cuias (pots) like D. Luiz´s and mine is prepared with a diferent process, taste diferent, altough not sweet... :-) and is sold in bigger packets of 500g for example.
Hope it helps.
 
I like to use the gourd when I am staying home and have time to prepare it properly, relax and refill as needed.

Most days though I put a couple of spoonfulls in a cup and add hot water, let it brew for a few minutes and sip through a bombilla (the metal straw with built in filter), I have enlarged the hole in the cap of a 14 ounce coffee travel mug that fits in a car cup holder, so that I can fit a bombilla and carry it when I go out.

I have never brewed in a coffee maker or used the tea bag, though I guess it should work.

The brands of Yerba that I use are what I find bulk in Mexico, mostly Taragui, Amanda and Nobleza Gaucha.

The traditional preparation can be complicated and probably varies by region, let me see if I can explain one way:

You fill the gourd with plenty of Yerba (1/2 to 3/4), cover it with your hand, turn it around and shake it a bit so that the powdered Yerba sticks to your hand (and you take it out to prevent it from blocking the filter in the straw), then you turn it back leaving the Yerba at an angle, most is against the side and there is a space where you put in some warm water, let it get wet a little bit and sip it, the first sip is somewhat bitter and some people spit it out, then you use hot (not boiling) water and fill from the empty side of the gourd so that some Yerba stays dry, put in the straw in the side of the water and drink, when you can't sip any more you pour in more hot water so that some of the Yerba that was dry gets wet, drink it and repeat the process until all of the Yerba has been used and the flavor is weak.

Traditionaly (at least in Argentina I believe) a group of guys gets together and one prepares the Mate, drinks the first sip, fills it again and passes it to one guy who drinks the second sip, he returns it to the first guy who adds water and passes it to a third guy, and so on until they go full round.

Another thing about the gourd is that is has to be cured before the first use, this involves cleaning, filling with water, scrapping the inside to remove the softer wood, then filling with a strong Yerba infusion and letting it rest for a day or more.

Hope this helps.

Luis

Edited to add: Geraldo, that's a really nice picture of fine Mate gear, thanks for showing, obrigado.
 
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