Yerba Mate – beginners guide

Many people use Paraguay Holly as a replacement for coffee, tea or energy drinks. However, it should be remembered that yerba mate is not only a dose of stimulation coming from a properly prepared infusion, but also a number of other properties for your body.

You don’t know which mate to choose to start with? You are also not familiar with the available accessories? This article is for you.

Accessories

The most important accessory of every mateist is bombilla. What is bombilla? It is simply a straw used to filter drought from leaves and stem. It can be made of various metal alloys (most often stainless steel) relatively easy to clean or natural materials that require more involvement (bamboo or wood), the choice is yours. Among bombillas, 2 types of filters are the most popular: spoon-shaped and spring-shaped. Each of these models has its supporters and opponents, but the vast majority use straws with spoon-shaped filter with small holes, which is extremely versatile and can handle almost any type of mate.

Other thing that is nice to have is matero – vessel for yerba mate. You can find matero’s made out of many materials, most popular are ceramics, calabash, metal and wood. The most common choice among beginners is a cup made of ceramics due to the ease of use – it just needs to be emptied and washed. The same applies when it comes to metal cups.

Which Yerba Mate to choose?

First question you have to ask yourself is – what are your expectations?

If you expect stimulation, then you should consider classic yerba mate, preferably containing mainly leaves (the so-called Despalada). . All the power of this wonderful herb comes from leaves and, interestingly, from the dust. Varieties containing guarana or katuava can support stimulating effect.

If you are not looking for a variety rich in caffeine, but rather with a moderate effect, then it is worth reaching for Elaborada variety, i.e. with up to 30% of Paraguay holly sticks When looking for a mate with moderate stimulation, it is worth choosing Elaborada’s

If you want to find mate that supports work of the digestive system and metabolism, it is worth trying mate with Silueta, Regulase or Detox in the name. They contain an aromatic bouquet of herbs that effectively help our body. Among them are mint and its varieties, lemon verbena, boldo, senna, rosehip and many other helpful herbs. Such varieties are relatively mild in taste and stimulating effect, but are extremely aromatic and tasty.

Second question that is important as well is – how do you react to bitter tastes?

Bitterness and its intensity is often the biggest problem with Yerba Mate. Many people are discouraged from drinking it because, how later turns out to be, a wrong variety chosen for the start.

When the intense, slightly earthy taste with a noticeable smoky aroma is disturbing us, we strongly advise against varieties from Paraguay, because these are their characteristic features. In this case, you should reach for mate from Argentina, which is characterized by perceptible acidity, pleasant, but not too heavy bitterness with moderate notes of the so-called. smoked meats. Among Argentinean mates, we can also find hot-air-dried mates that do not have smoky notes, such as Kraus

You can also reach for Uruguayan mate. However, in this case, it should be remembered that these are relatively heavily ground mate. They are characterized by freshness, tartness and above-average stimulating effect. Interestingly, this type of mate is produced in Brazil, ultimately for the Uruguayan market. Uruguay is the largest mate importer in the world!

If it is still too much for you, then you can try mild Brazilian varieties, which are characterized by a strongly green color of the leaves and the method of drying with hot air (so-called sin humo), not smoke, like in case of mate from Argentina, and especially Paraguay. They are characterized by low intensity, very moderate bitterness but relatively high stimulating effect. These include the brands Verde Mate and Mate Green.

Our recommendations:

For those expecting a large dose of stimulation, which will not be disturbed by bitterness, more dust and intensity – Mateine Caffeine +, CBSe Guarana  – both with addition of guarana

For those interested in classic mate with milder taste but high level of stimulation – Pipore Despalada, Amanda Despalada or Rosamonte Despalada – as you remember Despalada means that stems and sticks are brought to minimum, nothing that good bombilla will not help with.

For those that won’t accept any bitterness in their brew – Verde Mate Frutos Tropicales, Verde Mate Energia Guarana, Yerba Mate Green Cactus – they are all very reach in fruity and herbal additives.

For those looking for a herbal blend that improves metabolism and reduces appetite – CBSe Regulase, Colon 90-60-90 or Campesino Fitness – selection of herbs in these blends makes the prepared infusion effectively support the digestive system, improves metabolism and causes feeling of fullness. If you are looking for a mixture that will effectively help in the fight against unnecessary kilograms, these mates will certainly make it easier.

We hope that we made your choice easier. Go ahead and follow us on Instagram and Facebook for offers and interesting facts about Yerba Mate @yerbafun.nl