Seven Ways to Prepare Yerba Mate

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2.  Yerba Mate is common in Argentina, Brazil,
Uruguay and Paraguay.
 It contains less caffeine than coffee and is
often compared to green tea.
 The South American beverage contains
antioxidants and is gaining renown in North
America as a healthy alternative to coffee.
 The beverage is traditionally sipped through a
metal bombilla from a gourd but you have
many options when it comes to drinking yerba
mate.
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3.  The most common way to
drink yerba mate.
 Mate is placed in the
gourd which is filled with
water.
 Tea becomes infused and
is sipped through the
metal bombilla which acts
as both the straw and
strainer.
 The gourd can be refilled
ten or more times before
the mate loses its flavor
and potency (is said to be
lavado).
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4.  Warm water is usually poured from a
thermos which keeps the water hot (about
180 degrees F).
 Our preference is to use the gourd and
bombilla but this is not always convenient.
Especially if you are driving or are at your
desk at work.
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5.  Yerba Mate in tea bags are commonly
available online or in some grocery stores.
 Simply add a tea bag to a cup of hot water.
 Control the strength of the tea by adjusting
the time it is steeped.
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6.  Believe it or not you
can make a decent
cup of yerba mate
using a regular coffee
machine.
 Simply add a few
tablespoons of loose
leaf yerba mate into
the filter, add water
and let it brew.
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7.  Ifyou enjoy a strong tasting and potent
yerba mate this is a good method of
preparing the tea because you can add a
much as you like and can even run the
water through the tea twice.
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8.  If you can brew mate
in a coffee machine
then why not a French
press?
 Place tea at the
bottom of the press,
fill with hot water and
allow to steep.
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9.  When the tea is steeped to your
preference, push down on the press slowly
to concentrate the herb to the bottom of
the glass. Then pour the tea into your
favorite cup or mug.
 Adjust the amount of yerba mate and
steeping time to adjust the strength of the
tea.
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10.  Just as you would
prepare any loose leaf
tea you can use a tea
infuser.
 Fill the infuser about
half way full of yerba
mate and add to a cup
of hot water.
 Good for a light cup of
tea.
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11.  Ifyou live in a warm or sunny area you can
make tea on your front porch.
 Add yerba mate in tea bags or loose leaf
yerba mate in an infuser to a large jug of
water.
 Cover the jug so that no leaves or dust will
get into the tea.
 Place in a sunny spot for most of the
afternoon.
 The rays from the sun will steep your tea but
the mate will not be hot so you may want to
enjoy…
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12.  On a warm day you may not be in the
mood to sip a hot beverage.
 Enjoy an iced yerba mate by brewing up
some tea in one of the methods above and
place the tea in a refrigerator to cool.
 Once the liquid is cool, enjoy in a tall glass
over ice.
 You can also enjoy cold yerba mate by
simply adding cold water or lemonade to
your gourd.
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13.  To find out more about yerba mate and
browse our selection of Latin American
foods, visit www.buenaondafoods.com.
 Our selection of yerba mate can be
foundon our web site.
 Recipes and ideas are added regularly to
our blog.
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