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Yerba Mate – A Long but Current History (2021)

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

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Re: Yerba Mate – A Long but Current History (2021)

#11

Post by kamiheku »

wincy wrote: post #2

Is there any Yerba Mate you can buy that doesn’t taste horrible though? I consider myself pretty adventurous, but I bought some the other day and was shocked at how such a gross beverage has become popular so quickly.

Try Meta Mate 23 [0] if you can find it where you are. It's vacuum packed while fresh, so instead of the usual bitter road dust affair you get a vibrant-green mate with a mellow, grassy taste. Haven't bought anything else after I discovered this one.

[0] https://metamate.cc/product/23/

Re: Yerba Mate – A Long but Current History (2021)

#13

Post by nbk_2000 »

wincy wrote: post #2

Is there any Yerba Mate you can buy that doesn’t taste horrible though? I consider myself pretty adventurous, but I bought some the other day and was shocked at how such a gross beverage has become popular so quickly.

Depends upon which flavor you find objectionable. If you don't like the taste of very strong green tea, then yerba mate may not be for you. However there are several other factors that can lead to yerba mate tasting bad. First is the quality and freshness of the yerba. It should be 6 months or less since it was packaged (check date stamps). It should be made with 80-85* C water (too hot, and it will be super bitter). Whether the yerba has stems (palitos) or not (despalada) can make a difference, stems contribute a bitter taste to the drink. As has been mentioned, knowing how to load the mate and get it primed can also have an effect (ideally, you're going for a slightly nutty, green tea flavor, with a tiny bit of sweetness). It also needs to be a high quality brand, which can be very difficult to obtain outside of S.America. Some high quality brands are:

- Taragui (Argentina) - La Merced (Argentina) - Union (Argentina) - Canarias (Uruguay) - Sara (Uruguay)

For preparing mate cold (called tereré) - La Rubia (Paraguay) - Pajarito (Paraguay)

... and though highly controversial, you can add sweetner to it to make it less bitter, at least until you palette adapts. But be prepared to be chided with "si no es amargo, no es mate" if mate connoisseurs catch you doing this.

Re: Yerba Mate – A Long but Current History (2021)

#14

Post by i-petko »

Anyone else had terrible teeth pigmentation when consuming yerba mate tea? I had tried using it for some time, but had to go to the dentist because my teeth where turning brown. After realizing that introducing the tea was the only change I made before the issue started, I stopped consuming and the issue was indeed solved.

Re: Yerba Mate – A Long but Current History (2021)

#16

Post by Kaibeezy »

wincy wrote: post #2

Is there any Yerba Mate you can buy that doesn’t taste horrible though? I consider myself pretty adventurous, but I bought some the other day and was shocked at how such a gross beverage has become popular so quickly.

I remember trying the Guayaki brand canned version that was lightly sweetened and really liking that, but they don’t seem to offer it any longer. Odd. Definitely try various levels and types of sweetener, as others have suggested, and I’ll add: try it iced.

Re: Yerba Mate – A Long but Current History (2021)

#17

Post by bhdn »

outime wrote: post #12
gusfrehse wrote: post #8

Hah wait until you find about chimarrão

It's literally mentioned in the document a bunch of times.

May refer to the demeaning origins of the name. Wikipedia:

   In Brazil, traditionally prepared mate is known as chimarrão, although the word mate and the expression "mate amargo" (bitter mate) are also used in Argentina and Uruguay. The Spanish cimarrón means "rough", "brute", or "barbarian", but is most widely understood to mean "feral", and is used in almost all of Latin America for domesticated animals that have become wild. The word was then used by the people who colonized the region of the Río de la Plata to describe the natives' rough and sour drink, drunk with no other ingredient to sweeten the taste.

Re: Yerba Mate – A Long but Current History (2021)

#18

Post by elboru »

jmtucu wrote: post #4
wincy wrote: post #2

Is there any Yerba Mate you can buy that doesn’t taste horrible though? I consider myself pretty adventurous, but I bought some the other day and was shocked at how such a gross beverage has become popular so quickly.

Try the Union Suave, but the secret is how you prepare the mate. Try to find a video from an Argentinian guy doing it.

This is it. I hated it too the first time I tried it. Then I watched a couple of videos and the experience was totally different.

Re: Yerba Mate – A Long but Current History (2021)

#19

Post by pastacacioepepe »

wincy wrote: post #2

Is there any Yerba Mate you can buy that doesn’t taste horrible though? I consider myself pretty adventurous, but I bought some the other day and was shocked at how such a gross beverage has become popular so quickly.

In some parts of Europe (especially Germany/Austria in my experience) you can find soda drinks such as "Club Mate". I like the taste as it's sweteened but not excessively.

Re: Yerba Mate – A Long but Current History (2021)

#20

Post by bhdn »

wincy wrote: post #2

Is there any Yerba Mate you can buy that doesn’t taste horrible though? I consider myself pretty adventurous, but I bought some the other day and was shocked at how such a gross beverage has become popular so quickly.

In addition to the other suggestions, consider alternating the source of the mate. Argentinian and Brazilian ones are quite distinct in flavor. Lowering water temperature may lighten it a bit as well.
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