How to Prepare Yerba Mate Tea
Yerba mate tea is an herbal tea traditionally grown and brewed in South America. Traditionally the way to drink the tea is referred to as "mate amargo" which means "without sugar." This includes artificial sweeteners such as splenda, corn syrup and aspartame. The tea is traditionally served in a hollowed out calabash gourd and sipped through a metal straw called a "bombilla," pronounced "bom-bee-ah." Yerba mate tea can be served at home or at parties as an exotic alternative to common drinks such as coffee and soda. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Boil water and pour the boiling water into the gourd until it reaches the top. Leave it there for 10 minutes. Pour the water out and scrape out the inner membrane of the gourd under running water, but be sure to leave the stem. This will cure the gourd and remove the bitter taste that the gourd would otherwise have from the inner contents of the gourd itself. Leave the gourd in the sun for a few days after scraping out the inner membrane and let it dry. Once dried from sunlight the gourd will be completely cured and add no bitter taste to the tea.
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Pour your loose yerba mate tea into the hollow gourd until it reaches the halfway point. Pack the tea down using your large metal spoon. Pack the tea down as tightly as you can, then place your hand over the tea and turn the gourd upside down. Shake the gourd until the more powdery leaves come to the top of the gourd. This will keep you from drinking them later on.
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Place the gourd on its side and shake it lightly several times. The goal here is to move the larger stems of the tea to the surface. These will filter the powdery leaves even further. Gently place the gourd back to its right side up position, but make sure that the leaves remain lopsided on the side of the gourd.
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Place the bombilla inside the gourd on the opposite side of the packed tea leaves. Pour cool water into the empty space until it it almost reaches the top. Make sure it does not reach the tip of the tea leaves where you have your more powdery leaves. You want to keep your powdery tip dry for this step. Wait for the cool water to be absorbed by the leaves. Pack the leaves again with your large metal spoon to help them maintain their shape.
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Pour hot water into the empty space after the cold water has been absorbed. Use hot water, but not boiling water. Boiling water will give the tea a bitter flavor. Sip the tea through the bombilla. Do not stir the herb with the bombilla as this will upset the delicate filter balance that you created by shaking the tea leaves in specific ways.
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Tips & Warnings
Yerba mate can be made by simply placing the herb in a coffee pot the same way you would coffee grounds, but the flavor will be remarkably different.
Never use boiling water or you'll end up with a disproportionately bitter tasting tea.
References
- Photo Credit Jack Hollingsworth/Photodisc/Getty Images
