Making the South American tea is a delightful journey. Grab your gourd, fill it with the dried leaves, steep it perfectly, and savor every sip.
The traditional circle is a way to catch up or make friends. Fill a gourd 2⁄3 with the herb, create a pit, pour sips of 150°F water into the pit, share and enjoy.
Guide on Preparing Yerba Mate
List of Items:
- Gourd
- Bombilla
- Dried leaves
- Hot water
Drinking with a cup and bombilla brings it to a new level. Traditionally enjoyed from a gourd filled with dried leaves. Hot, not boiling, water is poured in and sipped filtering out leaves.
You can make the South American beverage like other teas. Use 1 tablespoon per 8 ounces of water. Steep 3-5 minutes. Never use boiling water. You can also drink tea bags by steeping one bag per 8 ounces of water.
To Prepare:
- Gather materials: gourd, bombilla, dried leaves, hot water
- If new gourd, cure it first
- Fill gourd 1⁄2 to 2⁄3 with leaves
- Pour hot water in
- Sip through bombilla
Enjoy this delicious, energizing beverage without a gourd by steeping dried leaves in hot water.
Discover the secrets to brewing the perfect cup with our step-by-step guide. It tastes like green tea, with hints of tobacco and oak. The simplest method is to steep it in 170°F hot water and filter out the leaves before drinking.
This gives a mellow taste. Add the South American tea to a French press for an extremely easy way to prepare it. Let it sit then serve.
The traditional method requires a delicate gourd and bombilla. It yields tasty results and allows you to get the most out of the experience.
Loose leaves provide better water absorption and flavor release than tea bags. You can control the strength, re-steep loose leaves several times, and they’re often sustainably sourced.
What is the Best Way to Drink Yerba Mate?
It is a tea made from the dried leaves and twigs of the Ilex paraguariensis plant. It has a rich, earthy flavor reminiscent of green tea, with hints of tobacco and oak.
The simplest preparation method is to steep leaves in hot water (170°F is ideal) and filter them before drinking. However, it is also drunk in South America using a gourd and bombilla. The bombilla filters it, allowing you to consume the tea without drinking actual leaves.
It contains caffeine and stimulants like theobromine, giving energizing effects. It has become popular worldwide as a coffee alternative that provides balance without anxiety or sleep disruption.
South Americans drink 1-4 liters daily. Even outside South America, drinkers may consume 1-2 liters daily. The practice of sharing in a social setting is an important part of South American culture. Beyond stimulants, it also contains antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals.
Are You Supposed to Drink the Leaves?
It is a tea from the leaves of a South American plant. It has caffeine and benefits. To brew, fill a gourd one-quarter to three-quarters with leaves. Cover with 170°F water. Drink through a bombilla. Refill and pass to friends. This is the traditional social way to drink it. You can also brew it like normal tea.
Leaves grow on an evergreen holly plant in the rainforests of South America. Wild plants are harvested every other year. Cultivated plants are harvested annually. The leaves are dried to make tea.
Dried comes as leaf tea or fine powder. The powder dissolves like matcha. The leaf tea has stems. Both work for brewing.
To brew, add to your gourd or cup. Cover with cool water first. Add hot water – not boiling to avoid bitterness. Drink with a bombilla or strainer. Add water until flavor fades. Sip continuously for hours. It gets stronger with each refill.
Iced is served cold. Just brew normally then pour over ice and lemonade. It also makes a good addition to desserts for flavor and color.