As a popular alternative to coffee in many countries of South America, yerba mate can give you a real kick – but you should know how to prepare it the right way! We’ve gathered some tips that may be useful for beginners. Check them out!
If you have ever traveled to Argentina, Uruguay, or Paraguay, you’ve probably noticed people carrying thermos flasks around and stopping by to have a sip of yerba mate. For most citizens of these countries, having a yerba mate with them is as natural as carrying a bottle of water around. This plant is life – just as some need their coffee in the morning, many Latin Americans cannot imagine starting the day without a sip of this emblematic drink.
For many, the first approaches to yerba matte are rather ambivalent. This infusion is not easy to like. It’s far from being light and sweet its taste tends to be earthy and bitter. However, it’s multilayered – and after a few times, you most likely will start enjoying it a lot!
Preparation influences the taste of the infusion, not only its effect. Thus, we’ve prepared some tips that will help you make a great, tasty,
and energizing yerba mate.
#1 Invest in the equipment
You can drink mate from a regular cup (although we strongly recommend getting a proper matero!), but you cannot without abombill a. Due to the way of preparation and the structure of the yerba mate (thin chunks, often a bit powdered), you need a tool that will allow you to filtrate the infusion without leaning the cup. That’s what bombilla – a straw tipped with a curved spoon with small holes – is for.
Bombillas are usually made from metal and covered with decoration.
#2 Fill the cup with yerba mate
The preparation of the mate is very different than in the case of normal tea. The first difference is the quantity of the dry plant. When preparing yerba mate tea, you fill the matero at least to half. You place the bombilla inside, making a little “corridor” for water.
#3 Don’t fill the cup with water
When making regular tea, we usually add a small number of leaves or a tea bag, fill the cup with boiling water, and drink it until the end. With yerba mate, the water is added gradually – just for a few sips. This way, you can drink from the same matero for hours. Remember that the water shouldn’t be boiling. However, it cannot be cold either – then the infusion will become weaker and weaker.
Yerba mate provides you with an energy boost without all the negative effects of coffee, like stomach problems. It’s worth trying, especially if you’re tired of your small black!
