Alexis · Fondateur d'YVY Maté
Before investing in an artisan mate gourd and bombilla, you'll first need to learn how to cure your natural gourd.
Rest assured, it's a very simple step - no need to be a specialist to pick up the basics of curing!
If you have a stainless steel or ceramic mate cup, this step obviously isn't needed!
So how do you cure your artisan mate gourd, the easy way?
Why cure your gourd?
If you're starting out, you're probably asking: why does a mate gourd need curing?
Curing your gourd serves a double purpose:
- Protecting your squash
- Improving the taste of your mate
Since the gourd was originally a fruit, it's important to take care of it - especially in the first moments of its new life.
For algarrobo wooden gourds, we have a dedicated article on curing wooden gourds.
Protecting your gourd
During the making process, the squash is emptied, then dried. It takes on the resilient properties of wood. Hollow veins sometimes form naturally.
Curing your gourd smooths the inner walls, preventing yerba leaves from lodging there.
Natural tannins gradually settle on the wall to form a protective layer.
Once this layer has formed, the gourd will dry faster and be very resistant.
Improving the taste of your yerba mate
Squash mate gourd
Once cured, the squash brings a very pleasant flavor to your brews.
As with Japanese stoneware teapots, successive mate brews add an extra layer of flavor to your mates!
Indeed, the flavor of your mate is reinforced by the tannins of your past brews!
How to cure your artisan mate gourd?
Now for the most important part: how do you cure your mate cup?
Nothing simpler - we've made an explanatory video for you, because we always learn better with our eyes!
Curing your mate gourd, on video
Here are the 5 steps to cure your mate gourd:
- Fill with yerba mate (ideally already used)
- Add hot water, between 80 and 90°C.
- Let it rest for around 24h, to make curing easier!
- Take a teaspoon and scrape the walls to remove the residue.
- Rinse with hot water.
Drain your traditional gourd upside down for 5 minutes, then let it air-dry the right way up.
NB: All our gourds come pre-cured by our artisan. Just let the yerba rest overnight to finish the curing (instead of the usual 24/48h for "rawer" squashes), then scrape the inside with a spoon.
Your artisan gourd is ready for its first use!
Curing a mate gourd
I have a problem with my gourd's curing
During curing, you may run into a few issues - let's go through them together.
There are stains inside my gourd
It's a question you might ask when your gourd arrives: there are stains inside my gourd - is that normal?
First, distinguish between two types of stains:
- Natural stains
- Mold stains
Natural stains may be present before curing. They're usually green, brown or black. That's completely normal!
Natural stains don't affect the gourd's strength or the taste of your brew.
Mold stains, on the other hand, show as a white, velvety color. They appear after curing, if your gourd hasn't dried properly. You absolutely must remove this mold, or your squash will deteriorate.
To learn more about gourd stains, we've written a full article on the topic!
How to remove mold?
The sooner the problem is spotted, the easier the mold is to remove.
If the stains haven't spread across the whole interior, you can easily remove the mold by lightly scraping the affected areas with a spoon, then rinsing with hot water (90°C).
If mold covers the entire interior, you'll need to cure the gourd again.
Before this new curing, we strongly advise letting a solution made of the following work for 2 to 4 hours:
- Lemon
- White vinegar
- Hot water (90°C)
Once the solution has worked, rinse your gourd thoroughly with hot water.
With these steps done, you can cure your gourd again - and then let it dry properly!
Find all our tips for caring for your squash gourd.
