I bought a couple of nice bags of what I believed to just be normal herbal tea. Having never heard of this "yerba mate" thing I thought it was just the brand. Once I looked closer at the bags it had a whole load of instructions like "use the pipe" and "don't stir as it blocks the pipe" which was just bizarre. Since when is a pipe or straw needed for tea? I tried to make a normal herbal tea with it but it tasted disgu…
I brew it just like any regular herbal tea and I'm pretty happy with it. The whole ritual with the pipe and gourd is a bonus, but never required. If you dislike the more bitter flavors about it, try steeping it at a lower temperature (like 70-80C) and only for a short duration (2 or 3 minutes). That should make it a lot more bearable to you. You can also get packages that have less or no stems or powder, which both a…
That said, if you enjoy it, keep doing that way... there's no mate police!