Today's Tea: Yerba Mate!

For many years, I've been TRYING to be able to drink straight, unflavoured yerba maté. I have been grossly unsuccessful, until this weekend.

Traditional Yerba Maté is sipped from a guampa (a horn or a gourd, also known as a tereré) using a straw with a filter on the end, called a bombilla. 

One fills the guampa 3/4 full with maté, and then one has to invert the guampa and shake it so that all the teeny little stuff goes to the top. That way, it takes a while to get to the filter. 

Once you've shaken the guampa upside-down, you turn it right side up. The instructions on my package of yerba maté said that you wet the maté on the edge in one spot, and once the maté has soaked up all the water, you insert the bombilla all the way to the bottom. Once the bombilla is in, you fill the guampa up with water, and sip everything. 

Some say that when preparing the maté for the straw, you should use COLD water and let it sit and absorb for about 2-3 minutes before adding the straw.

 

The very first few times you add water, it may be very bitter.

Now, the VERY IMPORTANT thing about yerba maté is that you CANNOT use boiling water. If you use boiling water, the maté comes out even more bitter. 80°C is ideal. Also, resist the urge to stir this stuff. I know it's tempting with a straw in it, but don't. Just.... don't. 

The reason I've decided to do this is because for Christmas, we received a guampa, bombilla and a brick of maté from my brother-in-law. We got Pajarito from Paraguay.

We went camping this weekend, and I figured that it would be the perfect opportunity to try this out.

It would've gone a little better with someone who drinks maté on a regular basis to help us out, but in the end I think we did not too badly.

The first few sips were VERY bitter and I was a little concerned that I'd hate it. But after several turns with the bombilla (the hubby and I shared, as you are supposed to do, as maté is a communal drink) it started tasting a lot better. Either our bitter taste buds were so disgusted that they turned themselves off, or the taste changed to be a little bit more sweet.

Yerba Maté does have quite a kick, so it's not a good evening drink. It is also a bit bitter, though it can be sweetened. Refined sugars cut down on the health effects of maté (it's been suggested that maté aids in digestion, reduces certain types of cancers, helps with weight loss, combats fatigue, as well as a host of other things) so it is suggested that sweeteners like agave or honey be used.

The hubby suggested cupping your tongue around the bombilla and putting it further back in your mouth, and sucking the whole guampa dry (our guampa is really small!), which helps with the bitter taste. 

Also, the more cups you drink, the smoother and less bitter it becomes, while still being very flavourful. Ours tastes a little woody. 

All in all, I think our first experience with our brick of maté wasn't so bad. I'll ask for some help from a seasoned veteran and we'll go from there. But.... I think I might be a maté drinker. Not quite like some of the people I know, but .... getting there!