Mate: The Complete Guide
What is mate?
Mate has become increasingly popular in France and Europe in recent years, but many people still have questions about yerba maté .
To shed light on this plant and this thousand-year-old infusion, we have written a complete article to become an expert and impress others with your culture!
- 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 from the holly family!
To learn a little more and delve deeper into the subject, go to the full article.
The benefits of mate
The list of benefits of mate is long. Mate is what is called a "superfood" , that is to say that this infusion has benefits for the body and the mind .
Among the best known:
- Mate is an energizing plant that is both physical and psychological.
- Mate leaves are highly antioxidant, twice as much as green tea!
- Mate accelerates muscle recovery, very useful before and after physical effort!
Discover below the complete list of the benefits of mate and to go into a little more detail.
How to discover mate?
Discovering mate is very simple: either you embark on the adventure with traditional consumption using a calabash and a bombilla, or you discover this plant in a gentler way by infusing it like a tea!
Both solutions offer a completely different experience. The flavor is of course more concentrated in gourd , so we will favor infusion in tea bags, tea balls or French presses if we want to get used to the flavor of mate gently.
Isn't it true, who has ever fallen under the spell of coffee after the first sip?
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 a mate is child's play:
- The preparation of mate infusion is identical to that of a tea.
Take a tea ball, a French press or an infuser and place the quantity of mate of your choice in it (around 3g per cup).
Infuse with water heated to 80°C and enjoy!
- Preparing mate in a calabash requires a little more preparation, but is a real ritual, very appreciated. We like to take our time and meet alone or with friends to prepare our calabash.
Get your gourd and the mate of your choice.
Fill your gourd 2/3 full and make a well. Add a trickle 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, go to our dedicated article below.
Accessories for traditional mate
Mate is traditionally consumed with a gourd and a bombilla. We explain everything to you.
- The calabash is a container, traditionally made of squash, but which can also be made of wood, stainless steel or glass. This is where the mate leaves are placed, it is in a way the cup of the mate drinker!
- The bombilla serves as a filtering straw. It is a spoon that can be made of stainless steel or alpaca, pierced with several holes at its end, which will allow the leaves to be filtered from the water during consumption.
- The mate thermos . To facilitate its consumption, a thermos specially designed for mate is highly recommended.
But then, is it obligatory to enjoy a mate? No, you can absolutely infuse the leaves like a tea.
However, to take it to the next level and discover the traditional experience, then, the minimum is to have with you a calabash and a bombilla .
When to drink mate?
Obviously, 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 to overcome the slump that one can feel after the meal.
If you are sensitive to caffeine, we recommend not drinking it after 6pm to preserve your sleep, even if many do not suffer from insomnia as one might have with coffee. The best thing is to know yourself and especially to know your relationship with the molecule in order to adapt your consumption!
Feel free to check out our full article on this topic to go into a little more detail!
What are the flavors of mate?
Mate has an extremely wide range of flavors. This is 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 refined mate expresses a flavor that is specific 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 increase the aromatic palette tenfold!
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 mate?
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 mate:
- Infuse with water at 80°C (boiling water will tend to burn the leaves and make them bitter).
- Add sugar and honey to your preparation (infusion or gourd)
- Add orange or lemon peel .
There are many methods to reduce the bitterness of mate, we have written a complete article with the 6 most widespread.
How does the quality of mate influence its taste?
Mate is a plant and like all plants, several factors will influence the final flavor of the fruits or leaves harvested:
- In the same way as wine, the terroir has a key impact on the quality of the mate.
- The cultivation method will also have an impact on the final flavor of the mate. A mate crop in full sun will be able to benefit from 2 annual harvests, while a crop in an agroforest, in the shade, will have a harvest every 2 years.
- Hand-harvesting will allow us to select only the leaves that are fully ripe and less bitter.
If you want to know more about all the factors that influence the taste of mate, there is a complete article at your disposal!