Mate: The Complete Guide
What is mate?
Mate has become increasingly popular in France and Europe in recent years, but many still have questions about yerba mate .
To shed light on this ancient plant, we have written a comprehensive article to help you become an expert and impress others with your knowledge!
- No, mate and matcha are not the same.
- Yes, mate is the 3rd most consumed energizing plant in the world after coffee and tea.
- Yes, mate is a plant in the holly family!
To learn more and delve deeper into the subject, go to the full article.
The benefits of yerba mate
The list of benefits of mate is long. Mate is what is called a "superfood" , meaning that this infusion has benefits for both body and mind .
Among the best known:
- Yerba mate is an energizing plant. It's a stimulant for both body and mind . The tannins allow for gentler absorption, preventing the risk of high blood pressure!
- Mate leaves are highly antioxidant, twice as much as green tea!
- Mate accelerates muscle recovery, very useful before and after physical exertion!
Discover below the complete list of benefits of mate and to go into a little more detail.
How to discover maté?
Discovering mate is very simple: either you embark on the adventure with traditional consumption using a gourd and a bombilla, or you discover this plant in a gentler way by infusing it like a tea!
The two methods offer a completely different experience. The flavor is, of course, more concentrated in a gourd , so tea bags, tea balls, or a French press are preferable if you want to gradually become accustomed to the flavor of maté.
Seriously, who hasn't already fallen under the spell of coffee from the very first sips?
To find out how to discover mate , we have created a quick quiz to help you make the right choice.
How to prepare a mate?
Preparing maté as an infusion is identical to preparing tea.
Get yourself a tea ball, a French press or an infuser and place the amount of mate of your choice in it (about 3g per cup).
Infuse with water heated to 80°C and enjoy!
Preparing maté in a calabash requires a little more preparation, but it's a true ritual, much appreciated. People like to take their time and gather alone or with friends to prepare their calabash.
- Bring your gourd and the mate of your choice.
- Fill your calabash 2/3 full and make a well.
- Add a splash of fresh water and let the leaves absorb the water.
- Insert your bombilla into the well and add water heated to 80°C into the same space.
- Enjoy and fill the gourd as you wish!
For more details on preparation, videos and a diagram, please visit our dedicated article below.
Accessories for traditional mate
Mate is traditionally consumed using a gourd and a bombilla (metal straw). We'll explain everything.
- The calabash is a container, traditionally made of gourd, but it can also be made of wood, stainless steel, or glass. It's where the yerba mate leaves are placed; it's essentially the cup for the yerba mate drinker!
- The bombilla serves as a filtering straw. It is a spoon, which can be made of stainless steel or alpaca, with several holes at its end, which allows the leaves to be filtered from the water when drinking.
- A mate thermos . To make drinking mate easier, a thermos specifically designed for mate is highly recommended.
So, is it mandatory to brew it to enjoy a mate? No, you can absolutely infuse the leaves like tea.
However, to take it to the next level and discover the traditional experience, the minimum requirement is to have a calabash and a bombilla with you.
When to drink maté?
Of course, the best time to drink mate is in the morning , to start your day off right!
The afternoon is also a very strategic time to drink a mate in order to overcome the slump that one can feel after the meal.
If you are sensitive to caffeine, we recommend not drinking it after 6 p.m. to protect your sleep, even though many people don't experience insomnia like they might with coffee. The best approach is to know yourself and, above all, understand your relationship with caffeine so you can adjust your consumption accordingly!
Feel free to consult our full article which addresses this issue to go into a little more detail!
What are the flavors of maté?
Yerba mate has an extremely wide range of flavors. That's one of the reasons why we love this plant so much!
Among this range, we can describe 3 main flavors:
- Green mate can be described as very vegetal, close to the taste of green tea.
- The matured mate expresses a flavor that is unique to mate, with very pleasant notes of nuts.
- Roasted mate is often described as a blend of coffee, chicory, and caramel.
Like all infusions, blends with fruits or flowers can be created to multiply the aromatic ranges!
To learn more about the different flavors of mate, we have written an article that deals specifically with the subject.
How to soften the taste of maté?
The first experience of mate in a calabash can be surprising, especially if you start with a mate of average quality.
Indeed, as with tea or coffee, the quality of the mate will greatly impact the taste of the mate and give it a rather bitter flavor.
There are several solutions to soften the taste of maté:
- Infuse with water at 80°C (boiling water will tend to burn the leaves and bring bitterness).
- Add sugar and honey to your preparation (infusion or in a calabash).
- Add orange or lemon peel .
There are many methods to reduce the bitterness of yerba mate; we've written a complete article with the 6 most effective methods. widespread.
How does the quality of yerba mate influence its taste?
Mate is a plant and, like all plants, several factors will influence the final flavor of the harvested fruits or leaves:
- Just like with wine, terroir has a key impact on the quality of maté.
- The cultivation method will also impact the final flavor of the yerba mate. Yerba mate grown in full sun will yield two harvests per year, while grown in agroforestry systems, in the shade, will only produce a harvest every two years.
- Harvesting by hand will allow us to select only the fully mature leaves, which are less bitter.
If you would like to learn more about all the factors that influence the taste of mate, a complete article is available!
