Yerba mate is a tea whose consumption is deeply rooted in the cultures of Paraguay, Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil -- although it has become popular in North America and abroad. Yerba mate is enjoyed for both its distinctive smoky flavor as well its stimulant properties -- similar to those of coffee. The traditional preparation of yerba mate is comprised of several key stages necessary to produce a steaming, eye-opening beverage -- one that you can enjoy alone or with friends.
From Tree to Tea
The first stage of yerba mate preparation begins with harvesting leaves from the South American holly tree called ilex paraguariensis, reports G.C. Gilberti of the Centre of Pharmacological and Botanical Studies in Buenos Aires. After harvest, the leaves of this tree are dried and crushed into yerba mate -- a tea now ready to prepare. Although mate leaves are sometimes packaged into individual tea bags by manufacturers, the traditional preparation process is somewhat more involved.
Preparing Yerba Mate
When preparing yerba mate, the Lagenaria gourd is the traditional vessel, according to Palomar College, although larger gourds or even kettles are often used when the tea will be shared among a group of people. First, mate leaves are placed into the gourd, and boiling water is added carefully to allow the yerba mate to remain towards the bottom of the gourd. The yerba mate is allowed to cool below boiling, steeping into a tea in the process. As with other teas, the longer yerba mate steeps, the more potent it will be when it is prepared.
The Art of Drinking Mate
Although you can purchase yerba mate ready-to-drink in standard tea bags at many tea shops and some grocery stores, the traditional preparation for sipping mate is the insertion of a bombilla into the tea mixture. A hollow metal tube with one straw-like open end and another, closed end perforated with small holes, the bombilla allows you to enjoy the flavor of traditionally-prepared mate without getting large pieces of leaves in your mouth.
Social Preparation
While drinking mate alone can be enjoyable and stimulating -- even as a potent substitution for that morning mug of coffee -- yerba mate is a key part of the social culture of countries such as Argentina and Paraguay. When mate is to be drunk in a group, the gourd is typically passed around in a circle or poured individually from a large kettle where each person can easily access it. Yerba mate, like coffee, is a preparation that contains fairly copious amounts of caffiene, so you can expect plenty of lively conversation at social mate gatherings.
References
- Wayne's Word - Palomar College: Yerba Mate - A Tea From South America
- Swarthmore College Computer Society: Yerba Mate - The Drink of the Gods
- G.C. Giberti - Centre of Pharmacological and Botanical Studies, Buenos Aires, Argentina: Mate (Ilex paraguariensis)
- National Library of Medicine -Dietary Supplements Labels Database: Yerba Mate
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