What You Need
To make it, pack the leaves into a hollow gourd until half full. Place hand on top, turn upside-down, shake, turn on side and shake again. Insert metal bombilla into empty space next to leaves. Use tablespoon per ounces of water, steep minutes, presto! Tea bags too mild for my taste, good for beginners. Mate (mah-teh) is like green tea, tobacco and oak. Steep in hot water then filter before drinking. Ideal temperature 170°F; boiling makes bitter.
Prepare the Gourd
Fill gourd roughly half, cover top, invert and shake up and down, bringing fine particles up, larger ones stay to filter. Illustration:
- fill gourd half
- tap to side pit
- moisten with cool water
- insert bombilla in pit
- pour small sips 150°F water
- share and enjoy
Steps make special. Methods: traditional – fill 2⁄3 gourd loose leaves, tap side pit, moisten pit cool water, insert bombilla in pit, pour sips 150°F water. This easy guide teaches art of Cebador. Need gourd or cup, leaves, bombilla, hot water then go!
The Basics
By the time you’re done reading this post, you’ll know how to prepare it. The traditional method requires care and attention. But you’re rewarded with a delicious infusion. You’ll need a few tools… A gourd (also called a mate).
Grab your gourd, and fill two-thirds of it with loose-leaf. Cover the entire top of the gourd, and give it 2-3 good shakes to get the dust out. It can clog up your bombilla. Do your best to make a half-moon of sitting on the bottom of the mouth of the gourd and free space at the top. Pour a small amount of cold water to help protect the nutrients from the hot water you’re going to pour in.
Leaf Cut & Size
When drinking traditional-style, we prefer a loose tea cut with leaves and stem. A whole-plant cut with leaves and stem creates a smooth balance over many pours. We keep the powder content low to help prevent bombilla clogging.
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In this guide, I’ll explain how to brew tea. I’ll give you easy-to-follow instructions for preparing and enjoying the traditional way.
Equipment
What type of mate cup, what to look for in a bombilla, and types of. Mate cups come in all shapes, sizes, and materials: from bone to silicone, wood to ceramic, glass, metal and gourd.
The first thing you’ll need is a gourd (also called a mate). There are natural ones made out of gourds, there are glass ones, wooden ones, metal ones, plastic, or silicon, to name just a few. This is the diffusing straw that fits into the mate. The bombilla is used so that you can drink the water without getting tea leaves into your mouth.
I’ve never personally brewed with a coffee maker, and just wouldn’t. Coffee makers, if they’ve ever been used for coffee, usually impart coffee flavor into anything that goes in them, regardless of if you’re using a new filter.
Conclusion
Follow along as we share the secrets to always get your mates right!