Drinking Yerba Mate
Can you drink it in a normal cup?
The traditional way to drink it is from a mate cup or gourd using a bombilla straw. This allows you to easily filter out the leaves while drinking and fully appreciate the flavor of the beverage. The bombilla also allows you to easily control the flow as you drink. The mate cup or gourd is specifically designed to hold the leaves and hot water. However, if you don’t have a mate cup or gourd, you can still prepare and drink mate in a regular cup or mug using a spoon or small strainer to remove the leaves before drinking.
Water Temperature
Never use boiling water. Temperatures of around 140-170oF work best. For every 8 ounces of fluid, use 1 tablespoon of yerba. Meeting up in parks or in very beautiful and calm parts of nature is part of the tradition and ritual. Several people get together, and stare one gourd with just one bombilla. The gourd gets passed around, and this creates a bond between the people gathered there. From what I’ve learned it’s far easier to purchase a pre-cultivated plant, you may find it in some select medicinal shops, or you can check Amazon for the latest price. The wonder of its action is to stimulate the body and mind. We are better focused, less tired, with a magically better attitude to the world.
But the most common way is to continuously sip it, for several hours and adding more leaves pr water as necessary. Each steep releases more flavor and nutrients. Here’s a simple illustration on preparing it. As you can see, there are a few steps, but with patience and practice, you’ll soon be preparing the perfect traditional gourd. Fill gourd roughly 1⁄2 capacity. Cover the top and gently shake up and down, bringing fine particles to the top.
Using a Mate Cup
How do you use it?
To use a mate cup, fill the gourd with leaves. Pour hot water over the leaves. The water should extract the flavor from the leaves, but not scorch them.
We’ll go over everything about using and preparing it. We’ll cover how to prepare it in a gourd, what a mate straw is called, and why mate is traditionally drunk with a straw.
- What are they?
- Below is everything I wished someone told me when I was a beginner. The ideal temperature for brewing it is just below boiling point. You don’t want the water too hot, as this can result in a bitter taste.
Other Methods
Never use boiling water. Temperatures of around 140-170oF work best. For every 8 ounces of fluid, use 1 tablespoon of yerba. Meeting up in parks or in very beautiful and calm parts of nature is part of the tradition and ritual. The gourd gets passed around, and this creates a bond between the people gathered there.
Can you drink it like normal tea?
It has a somewhat green tea-like taste, with hints of tobacco and oak. To enjoy it the traditional way, prepare it using a bombilla (filtered straw) and a gourd or cup. Place the leaves into the container, wet it with cold water, then pour hot water over the leaves. The bombilla strains out the leaves. It contains nutrients which boost the immune system, as well as minerals. It has health benefits but can taste bitter if prepared improperly with boiling water. Experiment to find your ideal brewing technique.
Can you use a bombilla for loose leaf tea?
A bombilla is a straw with holes used to drink it. You can use a bombilla to drink loose leaf tea. Bombillas allow you to drink loose leaf tea without a strainer getting in the way. Bombillas are reusable.
If you do not have a bombilla, you can use a French press. Wet leaves with cold water first. Then pour hot water over the leaves. Let it steep. Then use the plunger to press the leaves down. Pour and enjoy your drink.
You can also use a tea strainer. Wet leaves with cold water first. Then pour hot water over leaves and through the strainer.
To make it traditionally, use a gourd and bombilla. The gourd holds the loose leaf tea. The bombilla is the straw you sip the tea through. It strains the loose leaves. You can pass a traditional gourd and bombilla between friends.