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Yerba mate, from Paraguay to Syria

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Re: Yerba mate, from Paraguay to Syria

#51

Post by Projectiboga »

Jtsummers wrote: post #27
ElectricBoogie wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I tried it, it's quite bitter and grassy. Not sure if it was the brand or how I made it, or if that's how it's supposed to be.

Straight mate is bitter. My wife and some people I've shared it with have said the same about it being grassy, I don't taste that myself though. You can also get it with mint or orange or other things if you don't want straight mate (I have these and plain mate so I can pick what I want each day). Some people add sugar or honey to it as well. EDIT: Also, the first steeping and drink is the most bitter. After that it'…

Ah that is why it is rebrewed. I do a mixed brew in a pair of quart jars. I fill about 2/3 w mate and water. Then I brew oolong tea and mix that strained tea w the mate that still has the mate leaves in it. I drink it w sugar. It's popular for the health and mood benefits it isn't consumed for flavor.

Re: Yerba mate, from Paraguay to Syria

#54

Post by cassianoleal »

hombre_fatal wrote: post #18
SwiftyBug wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also, it differs from coffee in that it contains many mineral salts that avoid the process of dehydration caused by coffee, which just makes you pee a lot and doesn't have these beneficial mineral salts.

Kinda seems like two myths here. 1. Coffee doesn't have a net negative hydration effect. 2. Both coffee and yerba mate appear to contain "mineral salts". And you certainly piss drinking the latter just like you do drinking any liquid.

Gaúcho (Brazilian from Rio Grande do Sul) here. I drink mate (chimarrão) daily. I certainly piss a lot during the first hours.

Re: Yerba mate, from Paraguay to Syria

#55

Post by inDigiNeous »

I love mate. It has probably saved my life as a software developer, not tolerating the strong effect of coffee on my sleep, but yerba mate, and especially freshly stored in vacuum bags, slightly dried but not smoked is my favorite.

Meta Mate (https://metamate.cc/) makes a total bomb of a mate product, can highly recommend if you are in Europe and want to try out their refreshing Meta Mate 23.

Have to order another batch from them now, I've tested many mates but theirs just tastes and works the best for me.

Was introduced to mate by a fellow software developer back in the day, happy that he did, would not have figure out it otherwise.

Re: Yerba mate, from Paraguay to Syria

#56

Post by glonq »

I visited Uruguay a couple years ago and got into drinking mate. Even brought a colorful cup and bombilla [metal drinking straw] back home with me as souvenirs. This was during the tail end of covid restrictions, so yeah I don't think there was as much sharing as there normally is.

Re: Yerba mate, from Paraguay to Syria

#57

Post by cassianoleal »

cblum wrote: post #16
soneca wrote: post #3

> ”sipping a hot, slightly bitter infusion of caffeinated leaves from a dried gourd through a filtered metal straw, before passing the gourd to their friends to share” Someone might correct me, but I believe it is only in Brazil south that “chimarrão” (how they call this drink) is drank like this, hot and shared. In Argentina and Uruguay you drink it individually. You can share the recipient with the mate in it, but…

Correct, that’s a thing only in Rio Grande do Sul. Source: born and raised there :)

Incorrect. Gaúcho here, born and raised - but with many many friends and relatives in the other mate-drinking countries and across our (unfortunately currently under a lot of distress) state.

Everywhere in the Pampas region - Uruguay, Paraguay, Argentina and Rio Grande do Sul -, the "roda de chimarrão" is pretty much the same. (Apparently in some part of Uruguay it's a bit less shared, more personal).

One person holds the thermos and generally owns the mate. They usually have the first drink as both a way of validating the drink and as a niceness to the rest of the group, since it's the coldest. Gourd is refilled and passed on to the next person, who drinks all of it and passes it back to the "cevador", who again refills it and passes on to the next person. So on and so forth.

Re: Yerba mate, from Paraguay to Syria

#58

Post by cassianoleal »

_3u10 wrote: post #13
soneca wrote: post #3

> ”sipping a hot, slightly bitter infusion of caffeinated leaves from a dried gourd through a filtered metal straw, before passing the gourd to their friends to share” Someone might correct me, but I believe it is only in Brazil south that “chimarrão” (how they call this drink) is drank like this, hot and shared. In Argentina and Uruguay you drink it individually. You can share the recipient with the mate in it, but…

It really depends, if you are with people for sure, but I see Ubers and concierge drinking it solo all the time. Plus there is always San Pedro’s or San Jaun’s cup. I forget the guys name it’s the guy who saved the Indios, when you first make terere you leave it sit and this is for that guy and also to let the horrible first taste soak into the first sip. Also as I found out it’s really bad manners to stir the spoon…

> Also as I found out it’s really bad manners to stir the spoon / straw thing.

It is as it ruins the experience. The "bomba" (Portuguese), or "bombilla" (Spanish) (the straw) is generally placed in a way that tries to ensure a smooth flow. Moving it means the leaves near the bottom of the "cuia" (Portuguese), or "mate" (Spanish) (the gourd, or cup), potentially blocking the flow of water. That ruins the experience for everybody in the circle.

Re: Yerba mate, from Paraguay to Syria

#59

Post by cassianoleal »

soneca wrote: post #3

> ”sipping a hot, slightly bitter infusion of caffeinated leaves from a dried gourd through a filtered metal straw, before passing the gourd to their friends to share” Someone might correct me, but I believe it is only in Brazil south that “chimarrão” (how they call this drink) is drank like this, hot and shared. In Argentina and Uruguay you drink it individually. You can share the recipient with the mate in it, but…

In Brazil, each person drinks a whole cup before returning it to the cevador (the owner of the circle, normally the person who made the drink and holds the thermos). It's bad form to send it back partially drank.

Re: Yerba mate, from Paraguay to Syria

#60

Post by dokka »

I've tried all the popular yerba mate brands, smoked, flavored, Uruguayan, Argentinian, but I still prefer organic unsmoked Yerba Mate with stems. I brew 1/2 cup of mate with 2 cups of 150F water and a splash of lemon juice for 30 minutes, then pour the whole thing through a chemex coffee filter. It takes a few minutes to filter, but the result is a delicious, very caffinated, slightly lemony tea.
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