Mate: The Complete Guide
What exactly is mate?
In recent years, mate has grown more and more popular in France and Europe, but many people still have questions about yerba mate.
To shed full light on this age-old plant, we've written a complete article to help you become an expert and impress everyone with your knowledge!
- No, mate and matcha are not the same thing.
- Yes, mate is the 3rd most consumed energizing plant in the world, after coffee and tea.
- Yes, mate is a plant from the holly family!
To learn a little more and dig into the subject, head to the full article.
How to discover mate?
Discovering mate is very simple: either you dive into the adventure with traditional drinking - a gourd and a bombilla - or you ease into this plant by brewing it like a tea!
The two options offer completely different experiences. The flavor is of course more concentrated in a gourd, so go for brewing in a tea bag, tea infuser or French press if you'd rather get used to mate's flavor gently.
• A green tea fan? Go for green mate!
• Not so keen on herbal notes? We recommend aged mate!
• For coffee lovers, roasted mate is made for you!
To find out how best to discover mate, we've created a quick quiz to help you make the right choice.
The benefits of mate
The list of mate's benefits is long. Mate is what's known as a "superfood" - an infusion with benefits for body and mind.
Among the best known:
- Mate is an energizing plant. A physical and mental stimulant at once. Its tannins allow a gentler absorption, avoiding sudden spikes!
- Mate leaves are highly antioxidant - twice as much as green tea!
- Mate supports muscle recovery, very useful before and after exercise!
Discover the full list of mate's benefits below, in more detail.
How to prepare mate?
Preparing mate as an infusion works exactly like tea.
Take a tea infuser, a French press or any infuser and add the amount of mate you like (about 3g per cup).
Brew with water heated to 80°C and enjoy!
Preparing mate in a gourd takes a little more setup, but it's a true and much-loved ritual. It's a moment to slow down, alone or with friends, while you prepare your gourd.
- Take your gourd and the mate of your choice.
- Fill your gourd 2/3 full and shape a well.
- Add a splash of cool water and let the leaves absorb it.
- Insert your bombilla into the well and pour water heated to 80°C into that same space.
- Sip, and refill the gourd as you please!
For more preparation details, videos and a diagram, head to our dedicated article below.
Accessories for traditional mate
Mate is traditionally drunk with a gourd and a bombilla. Let us explain.
- The gourd is a vessel, traditionally made from squash, but it can also be wood, stainless steel or glass. This is where the mate leaves go - the mate drinker's cup, in a way!
- The bombilla acts as a filtered straw. It's a spoon-like straw in stainless steel or Alpaca, pierced with several holes at its tip, which filters the leaves from the water as you drink.
- The mate thermos. To make drinking easier, a thermos specially designed for mate is highly recommended
So, are they mandatory to enjoy mate? No - you can perfectly well brew the leaves like a tea.
However, to move up a level and discover the traditional experience, the minimum kit is a gourd and a bombilla.
When to drink mate?
Naturally, the best moment to drink mate is the morning - the perfect way to start your day!
The afternoon is also a very strategic time for a mate, to beat the post-lunch slump.
If you're sensitive to caffeine, we recommend not drinking any after 6pm to protect your sleep - even though many people don't experience the insomnia coffee can cause. The best approach is to know yourself, and above all to know your relationship with the molecule, so you can adapt your habits!
Feel free to read our full article on the question for more detail!
What are mate's flavors?
Mate has an extremely wide palette of flavors. It's actually one of the reasons we love this plant so much!
Within that spectrum, three great flavors stand out:
- Green mate can be described as very herbal, close to the taste of a green tea.
- Aged mate expresses a flavor that is mate's very own, with delightful nutty notes.
- Roasted mate is often described as a blend of coffee, chicory and caramel.
As with every infusion, blends with fruits or flowers can be created to multiply the aromatic palettes!
To learn more about mate's different flavors, we've written an article devoted to the subject.
How to soften the taste of mate?
Your first experience of mate in a gourd can be surprising - especially if you start with a medium-quality mate.
Indeed, as with tea or coffee, mate's quality greatly affects its taste and can bring a rather bitter flavor.
There are several ways to soften the taste of mate:
- Brew with 80°C water (boiling water tends to burn the leaves and bring bitterness).
- Add sugar or honey to your brew (infusion or gourd)
- Add orange or lemon peel.
There are many methods for reducing mate's bitterness - we've written a full article with the 6 most common.
How does mate's quality influence its taste?
Mate is a plant, and like all plants, several factors influence the final flavor of the harvested fruit or leaves:
- Just like wine, terroir plays a key role in mate's quality.
- The farming method also affects the final flavor. Full-sun mate farming allows 2 harvests a year, while shaded agroforest farming harvests every 2 years.
- Hand-picking allows only fully mature - and less bitter - leaves to be selected.
If you'd like to know more about all the factors that influence mate's taste, a full article awaits!
