Oooh that fresh smell of coffee lingering in the air as you brace yourself to take the first sip. The world revolves around getting its morning fix of coffee before setting out on the day. But have you ever heard of an herbal tea called mate?

It’s been about two to three years since I more or less gave up on coffee; I’ll still occasionally have the cup every once in a while. However, about a year and a half ago, I took up mate as my preferred caffeine fix for the day and have stuck with it to this day. As an avid soccer fanatic, I used to see players, primarily those from South America, stroll up into stadiums with a thermos and unique cup to drink this mate tea from. I thought the drink and social experience associated with the drink would be cool to try.

Before getting into the juicy details, let’s take a brief look at the history of this drink. Yerba Mate is a tea that originated in South America, primarily in Brazil and Uruguay, and has been consumed for over 500 years. Over time, it has become a staple drink consumed all over South America due to its health benefits and social nature of the drinking affair.

The biggest difference between mate and traditional tea is that the mate comes in dry leaf form as such:

These dry leaves are directly soaked in the cup and remain in the drinking cup, unlike traditional tea pouches.

What particularly drew me to mate is the variety of health benefits associated with the drink. There are three main compounds in yerba mate that provide these health benefits:

1. Polyphenols

   Commonly talked about with wine, polyphenols are organic compounds that are naturally found in plants. This compound is known to provide brain and immune-boosting effects, most notably in protecting the brain from memory loss and dementia and powerful antioxidant effects to alleviate pain and inflammation. Drinking a bit of mate every once in a while can, therefore, yield great brain-boosting benefits and promote relaxation!

2. Xanthines

   A purine alkaloid found in plants, xanthines are compounds, such as caffeine, that provide mate with its bitter taste and stimulant effects. Similar to coffee, mate contains a host of xanthine compounds that aid in reducing anxiety and improving cognitive performance and productivity. Unlike coffee however, mate has less of these compounds than coffee, yet it gives just as much stimulation, if not more, as coffee!

3. Saponins

   The frothy, foamy bubbles that appear upon adding hot water to dry mate leaves can be attributed to saponin compounds. Saponins aid in reducing cholesterol, have anti-cancer properties, and improve memory function and brain cells’ development. This compound provide super-hero like effects to add on top of the numerous benefits of polyphenols and xanthines already present!

On a personal level, I have definitely felt a tremendous benefit to my health in terms of how my stomach and body feel after switching over to mate! My energy levels are boosted for the rest of the day and I don’t have any afternoon crashes.

Now enough about all the history and health benefits of mate - how do you get started and prepare this hot drink?

Preparing Mate

1. You’ll need your choice of dry yerba mate leaves, a gourd and bombilla (i.e. cup and straw), and a thermos. In terms of recommendations, I would suggest trying the following:

   • Cruz De Malta 1/2 Kilo Yerba Mate

   • Yerba Mate Natural Gourd/Tea Cup Set (Original Traditional Mate Cup - 8 Ounces) | Includes Bombilla (Yerba Mate Straw) & Cleaning Brush | Black Stainless Steel | Double-Walled | Easy to Clean

   • Stanley Classic Legendary Vacuum Insulated Bottle 1.5qt, Nightfall

2. Warm water to about 140–158ºF (60–70ºC) and store it in the thermos. You can experiment with different temperatures but mate is not meant for treating with water above 180ºF (80ºC) since it will burn the leaves and lose all of their health benefits.

3. Fill the mate gourd about half to two-thirds full with dry yerba mate leaves.

4. Placing your palm over the gourd with mate leaves, turn it over and give it a couple of shakes. This will bring all the smaller particles up to the top to avoid clogging your bombilla straw.

5. Tilt your gourd about 45 degrees after shaking it to maintain a mountain of mate in one half of the gourd. The other half should be nearly empty and will be treated as your water hole.

6. Pour some room temperature water into your water hole to cure the yerba mate dry leaves. This will prepare it for the warm water and avoid scalding the leaves.

7. Place your bombilla into the gourd by following the natural outline and shape of the gourd on your water hole side. Dig under the mountain of mate and set the bombilla in place.

8. Pour your warm water into the water hole and taste. This is your first drink and will be lukewarm due to the room temperature water. You can adjust the mate, water, and add a sweetener for tasting if desired.

You can follow the steps above and/or alongside this video to show a visual demonstration.

Most folks in South America will have a lead “cebador’ who will prepare the mate and then pass it around in a social setting for others to drink. It’s a great way to get to know the mate cebador as part of this sharing ritual. You can pass the drink around for others to try, but be aware if you’re the one holding onto the empty gourd for too long! People will tell you “No es un micrófono”, or that the gourd is not a microphone, to signal to ask for a refill or pass it along.

All in all, preparing mate is truly the experience and has a host of health benefits that make it a great drink of choice to try out. Hopefully you give it a try, and if you do, salud a todos los cebadores!