What Is Yerba Mate, and How Do You Drink It?
Yerba mate is a caffeinated drink made from the dried leaves of a South American holly, sipped hot through a metal straw from a shared cup. It is prepared by packing yerba into a gourd called a mate, adding water that is hot but not boiling, and drinking through a filtered straw called a bombilla. In Argentina it is less a beverage than a daily social ritual, passed hand to hand.
What it actually is
The plant is Ilex paraguariensis, a holly native to the subtropical northeast of Argentina, Paraguay and southern Brazil. Its leaves are dried, aged and ground into the loose green yerba you steep. The Instituto Nacional de la Yerba Mate, the Argentine body that regulates the crop from its base in Misiones, sets standards for how it is produced. Mate is naturally caffeinated, which is why it is drunk in the morning and through the afternoon as a lift, much as others drink coffee or tea.
The kit
Three things: the mate (the cup, traditionally a hollowed gourd but also wood, metal or glass), the bombilla (a metal straw with a filter at the bottom), and the yerba itself. You also want a kettle or thermos of hot water. That is the whole setup.
How to prepare it
Fill the mate about two-thirds to three-quarters with yerba. Cover the top with your hand, turn it upside down and shake gently, then tilt it back so the yerba settles at an angle, leaving a hollow on one side. Pour a little cool or warm water into that hollow first and let it soak in, which protects the leaves. Insert the bombilla into the wet side and do not stir it afterward. Then pour hot water, 70 to 80 degrees Celsius, into the same spot and sip. Refill the same spot each round; the first few are strongest.
The ritual, and its manners
Mate is usually shared. One person, the cebador, keeps the mate filled and passes it to each drinker in turn, who finishes the whole cup before handing it back to be refilled. A few quiet rules make it work: do not move the bombilla around, do not hold the mate too long while you talk, and say gracias only when you have had enough and want to leave the round. Saying thank you earlier signals you are finished. It is a small social choreography, and following it is how you show you know the drink.
A note on flavor
Good mate tastes grassy and vegetal, with a clean bitterness that some people smooth with sugar, cold water (tereré) or herbs. If yours is harsh, the water was probably too hot. Among our own blends, yerba even turns up paired with smoke in the pantry, but the drink itself needs nothing but leaves, water and a little patience.
Common questions
A drink made from the dried, ground leaves of Ilex paraguariensis, a South American holly. It is steeped in hot water and sipped through a metal straw.
The cup is the mate and the filtered metal straw is the bombilla. Confusingly, the drink itself is also called mate.
Hot but not boiling, roughly 70 to 80 degrees Celsius. Boiling water scorches the leaves and turns the drink harsh and bitter.
Yes. It contains caffeine and is a stimulating drink, generally milder per serving than a strong coffee but clearly present.
Sharing is the point. One person, the cebador, fills and refills the same mate and passes it around the group. Declining a turn is fine; just say gracias when you are done.
Sources
The Salt Guide
We are recording the salts on the American shelf one jar at a time — label, panel, price paid, crystal on white. Browse the guide →