Ingredients
- 60–70 gyerba mate, Uruguayan style: finely milled, dusty, with a high proportion of powder and no stems
- 500 mlwater at 75–80°C (165–175°F), held in a thermo
- Cold water, 2 tbsp, for the first wetting
Kit
- 1mate gourd (calabaza or wooden porongo), cured
- 1bombilla, a metal straw with a filtered spoon end
- 1vacuum thermos, carried under the arm as Uruguayans do
Directions
- Fill the gourd about three-quarters full with yerba, cover the mouth with your palm, invert and shake gently so the finest powder collects in your hand and the coarser leaf rises.
- Tip the gourd back upright at an angle so the yerba forms a slope with a hollow at the low side. Keep that slope: it lets you wet only part of the leaf at a time.
- Pour the 2 tbsp of cold water into the hollow and let it soak in for a minute. Cold water first protects the leaf from scalding, which would turn the first mates bitter.
- Insert the bombilla into the wet hollow, thumb over the top as you push it in, and then never stir or move it again.
- Pour hot water at 75–80°C (165–175°F), never boiling, down the side of the bombilla into the hollow, filling only the low side and leaving the dry mound untouched.
- Drink the whole gourd down until it gurgles emptily. That sound is not rude in Uruguay, it is the signal that you have finished your turn.
- Refill the same hollow and pass the gourd back to the cebador (the pourer), who serves each person in turn from the same bombilla.
- Work slowly across the mound over 15–20 refills. When the yerba tastes washed out and pale, it is lavado; tip it out and start again.
Technique
- Uruguayan yerba is milled finer and drunk stronger than the Argentine or Paraguayan styles, with more yerba to less water, and always without sugar.
- Water temperature is the one thing beginners get wrong. Boiling water burns the leaf, kills the flavour in three rounds and makes the whole gourd bitter.
- Never touch or stir the bombilla. Moving it clogs the filter with powder and the mate stops drawing.
Substitutions
- No gourd? A small wooden or glass mate cup works. A new calabash must be cured first: fill with used yerba and hot water, leave 24 hours, scrape clean, repeat twice.
- Terere is the same yerba drunk with iced water and citrus, standard in hot weather across the region.
Variations
- Mate cocido, yerba brewed like tea in a pot or bag and drunk from a cup with milk.
- Terere, ice-cold with lemon and mint, Paraguayan in origin.
- Mate dulce, sweetened with sugar in the gourd, common in Argentina but rare in Uruguay.
History
Guarani infusion of Ilex paraguariensis spread by Jesuit missions; Argentina declared it the national infusion by law in 2013.
Frequently asked questions
What is Mate?
Mate is a drink from Argentina: bitter yerba infusion sipped through a bombilla, endlessly shared. Guarani infusion of Ilex paraguariensis spread by Jesuit missions; Argentina declared it the national infusion by law in 2013.
How long does Mate take to make?
Mate takes 5 min of preparation and 0 min of cooking. The recipe makes 1 gourd, shared among 2–4 people. It is rated medium to make.
What can I substitute in Mate?
Yes, within limits. No gourd? A small wooden or glass mate cup works. A new calabash must be cured first: fill with used yerba and hot water, leave 24 hours, scrape clean, repeat twice. Terere is the same yerba drunk with iced water and citrus, standard in hot weather across the region.
What is the most important thing to get right in Mate?
Insert the bombilla into the wet hollow, thumb over the top as you push it in, and then never stir or move it again.
