Yerba mate tea offers a smoky flavour and contains naturally occurring caffeine. As it becomes more popular, it’s a good time to learn more about this unique South American tea.

South American Yerba Mate Tea Near Me

Looking to find quality yerba mate tea in Australia? Tea Tonic’s Coconut Tea contains Yerba mate green & roasted (Ilex Paraguariensis), which contributes to its distinctive flavour and character

Yerba mate History

Yerba mate is a tea popularly enjoyed in South America. Its dark green, leathery leaves come from a shrub-like, flowering plant of the holly genus, which grows in certain rainforest areas of South America.

For centuries, yerba mate was cultivated and consumed as a tea by indigenous Tupi and Guaraní communities of what is present-day Paraguay. During European colonisation, the settlers adopted drinking yerba mate tea as a pastime, and its popularity soon spread to other regions of South America (Bolivia, Southern Chile, Southern Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay), and even across the oceans to places like Lebanon and Syria.

“Yerba mate” is a combination of two words—one Spanish and one Quechua (a family of indigenous languages spoken in the Andes region of South America). “Yerba” is a variant of the Spanish word “hierba”, meaning herb. “Mate” (or maté) is a Quechua word for gourd or calabash, which is the cup-like vessel used to drink the infusion.

Yerba Mate - How Does it Taste?

Yerba mate tea on its own has a bitter flavour. It’s also a little bit grassy, smoky and some say, woody. It can depend on the particular leaves used, their origin, and also whether or not the tea has been mixed with other ingredients that may impact the flavour.

Like tea from the camellia sinensis plant, at the beginning of the brew, the taste of yerba mate is strong, and grows milder as more water is gradually added. Yerba mate infusions are traditionally shared amongst a group of people, with the first person to drink the brew having to withstand the most bitter flavour.

Yerba Mate Characteristics

When brewed as a tea, yerba mate offers a range of characteristics. It contains:

Caffeine

Yerba mate contains naturally occurring caffeine. The amount varies depending on how it is brewed. Here’s a comparison of caffeine content per 240 ml cup of brewed beverage:

• Coffee: 95-120 mg caffeine
• Black tea: 40-70 mg caffeine
• Yerba mate: 70-85 mg caffeine

Theobromine

Yerba mate contains theobromine, a compound also found in cacao.

Why Do People Drink Yerba mate?

Drinking yerba mate tea, in its many forms, has always been a communal experience for people in numerous South American cultures that brought people together, to talk, slow down, and enjoy its distinctive character and flavour.

How is Yerba Mate Shared and Enjoyed?

There are different traditions when it comes to drinking yerba mate, and these vary according to location. Yerba mate is customarily shared by a group of people, with the same drinking vessel and straw being passed around a circle. A “cebador” (server) pours the tea, tops the brew up with hot water as the tea drinking progresses, and replenishes yerba mate leaves when the tea loses its flavour.

Whilst communal yerba mate drinking continues in many cultures, these days, many people enjoy yerba mate solo.

Trivia: What’s the name for a Yerba Mate drinker? In Portuguese and Spanish, a yerba mate enthusiast is referred to as a matera (the feminine form) or matero (the masculine).

How is it Brewed?

Traditionally, yerba mate tea is brewed by placing the leaves into a hollowed out vessel (the vessel varies, depending on region), and adding hot water. Once brewed, the tea is sipped through a straw with a filter on one end, (a “bombilla” or “bomba”). This filter acts as a strainer and ensures that the drinker doesn’t consume the leaf particles.

Yerba Mate Accessories

The Vessel: Drinking vessels for yerba mate, based on region, include:

• A bullhorn (guampa), is commonly used in Paraguay to serve “Tereré”, (a cold version of yerba mate). To make Tereré, citrus juices, botanicals and herbs are often added to enhance the flavour.
• Leather, or hollowed-out calabash or wood is used in Argentina and Uruguay to serve traditional “Mate”.
• A “cuia” gourd is used in Brazil to serve “Chimarrão”— the Brazilian version of yerba mate.

Today, stainless steel cups are commonly used to drink mate; it is said that the large, wide-open gourd creates the best flavour. This is because their slightly porous internal surface cures over time, and absorbs mate oils with every use. This creates a richer and deeper flavour. In addition, a gourd is more comfortable to hold, as it doesn’t conduct heat in the same way glass and metal do. Finally, the gourd’s rounded shape allows you to pack the yerba in the right part of the vessel, and pour at the correct angle, which helps to control the strength of the infusion, and extends the life of the brew.

Various materials have been used as bombillas (drinking straws) used for yerba mate consumption, including cane, bamboo, bronze, plated brass, silver, and stainless steel.

In addition, a thermos flask is often on hand at a yerba mate ceremony, to ensure a steady supply of hot water. Some people also use a thermometer to perfect the temperature of their mate, and scales to measure out the right dose of leaves.

How to Brew Yerba Mate

There are many different ways to brew yerba mate, here are the basic steps:

1. Fill a gourd halfway with yerba mate leaves, then tip the gourd slightly so that the leaves are sloped and rest on one side.
2. Place your hand over the top of the gourd, then turn the gourd upside down. Shake gently. This will move the finer yerba mate dust to the top and prevent the straw getting blocked. Turn back the correct way.
3. Moisten the yerba mate leaves with cold water and allow them to absorb the moisture for 30 seconds (this protects the leaves from burning). Then insert the bombilla (straw) into the moistened leaves.
4. Slowly add hot water (70–80°C, never boiling). Do not stir the leaves with the bombilla! Just allow the flavour to slowly leach out into the water.
5. For safety, allow the tea to cool a little before you sip it (preferably, sip at temperatures below 60°C.) In saying that, traditionally, yerba tea is served hotter than this!
6. Refill the hot water on the same side of the gourd, until the flavour has faded, then add more leaves when required.

Brewing Without a Gourd

If you don’t have a yerba mate gourd, you can make it in a teapot or with a french press.

1. Measure out 1-2 tablespoons of yerba mate leaves per cup of water, into your teapot or french press. Add a small amount of cool water to dampen the leaves.
2. Slowly pour in 70–80°C water (not boiling).
3. Steep for 3-5 minutes.
4. For teapots, use a tea strainer to strain the brew into a cup or mug, or drink from a filtered straw. For the French press filter, just press it and pour into a mug.
5. Top up with hot water if you want to enjoy extra rounds of the tea.

Is Yerba Mate Safe?

Yerba mate is generally considered to be safe, you may want to keep the following in mind:

• Yerba mate contains caffeine, so if you drink it at high strength or in large volumes, you may experience the typical effects associated with caffeine sensitivity. So if you’re caffeine sensitive, go light on the yerba mate!
• Excessive intake of yerba mate (over 1–2 litres daily) has been linked in some studies to an increased risk of esophageal cancer, however it’s believed that the high temperature the tea is traditionally served at, rather than the ingredients themselves, causes the damage. To be safe, with any tea, it’s recommended that you drink it at temperatures below 60°C.
• Yerba Mate may not be suitable for everyone, particularly those taking certain medications, including stimulants, diabetes medications and blood thinners. If you’re taking medications, speak with your chosen health professional before you take up regular yerba mate drinking.