Tuesday, September 1, 2015

Kids Preparing Yerba Mate Tea - Chicos Preparando Mate


Kids are showing how to prepare yerba mate tea. He has an Argentina jersey and looks like a gaucho. She is always sweet. Then, both are actually drinking mate. Congratulation!!

Estos chicos estan preparando un buen mate. El con la camiseta de Argentina y parece un gaucho. Ella siempre tan dulce. Despues, ambos toman mate. Felicidades!!!

Monday, April 13, 2015

Curing the Mate Gourd Step-By-Step

CURING THE MATE STEP-BY-STEP

STEP # 1


Fill the mate-gourd with a used and wet brew. Ideally, this is taken from a mate in use, if you have one, and, better yet, preferably bitter.

STEP # 2


Pour a shot of hot water and let it rest for one whole day.

STEP # 3


Remove the yerba.

STEP # 4


Rinse the calabash with warm water.

STEP # 5


Scrape the inner walls with a proper tool to take off the skin, which is soft by now, and almost loose by the maceration effect.

STEP # 6


Fill it with a new brew, then add boiling water and let it rest until the following day. With plenty of water, rinse again, and the operation is repeated from the beginning.
Now, you are ready to go. Drink mate four or five times a day for breakfast, midmorning, after lunch, after supper, and late in the evening. If going out on a trip, get yourself a ThermoBottle with hot water and carry the mate with you. If driving, train your copilot to serve or "cebar" mate while you enjoy the driving. In Argentina, most of us carry MATE EQUIPMENT in our car when traveling that consists of:
  • A stove furnace like a " Coleman" or similar
  • A stainless steel or aluminum kettle
  • A Thermo bottle
  • A package of Yerba Mate of your preference
  • A gourd or two (just in case)
  • A bombilla or two (just in case)
  • A bottle with plenty of fresh water to heat
  • A pot of sugar (if you like sweet mate - I don't - bitter is healthier!)
  • Matches
America has wonderful and beautiful rest areas on its highways all across the nation. Stop on a large trip, heat some water, and either drink some mates there or keep going—this will shorten the trip like you can not imagine!

Now, after this humble advice, enjoy, be healthy, and be happy.
Source: gauchogourmet.com

Sunday, April 12, 2015

How to Prepare Terere in Bowl or Cup

 http://zuryerbamate.blogspot.com


The picture shows the steps to prepare Terere in a bowl or cup. It is pretty similar to Mate; however, Terere is prepared with cold water or juice. It is a great drink for hot weather. It is extremly refreshing and gives you same energy as a Mate.

Monday, April 6, 2015

What is a Bombilla?



A bombilla is a filter and a straw at the same time. The filter is in the lower end and the straw is next to the filter. This particular item is used to separate the mate infusion from the stems and leaves. There are different kind of bombilla, such as coiled bombilla, bamboo bombilla, pick bombilla, spoon bombilla, fanned bombilla, double action bombilla, chambered bombilla and more.

Sunday, April 5, 2015

Yerba Mate Ceremony



"Tomando mate (drinking mate) is a symbol of hospitality. High-five yourself if you are offered to drink mate with locals as it is quite a privilege to take part in the ceremony.  The first step of the ceremony is the preparation of the gourd where typically the cebador/a (mate server) prepares mate for friends. Filling the gourd 2/3 full of yerba mate, then gently shaking it until yerba mate is on one side and inserting the filtered end of the bombilla into the bottom of the gourd before carefully pouring water in. The mate server tests the mate by drinking the first gourd-full or two to ensure that only a smooth running mate is shared. Then the gourd is refilled with hot water (not boiling) and passed counter-clockwise with the bombilla facing the recipient. Never touch the bombilla…ever. It is tempting but it messes everything up and is a surefire way to not be invited to drink mate again. Each person drinks the entire gourd, taking as much time as necessary until all liquid is gone before passing the gourd back to the cebador/a. The gourd is refilled with hot water and follows around the circle, continuing in this fashion until the mate is lavado (flat). When you have had enough mate, simply say gracias indicating that you’re are done as the gourd can be passed around 15-20 times before making a new infusion.
With all of the health benefits and stimulating effects, why doesn’t the whole world drink yerba mate? Probably because tastes like earth. Seriously…it does. I love it but it is definitely an acquired taste. It is similar in flavour to a very strong green tea with hints of dirt and grass. Most friends that I have invited to drink mate only tried it once then called it quits. You can buy flavoured mate that is less bitter as it is infused with mint or honey but I am a purest. I like the earthy taste.
Last spring I was in Patagonia sipping on mate staring at spectacular glaciers when a group of Argentinians approached me. They were in disbelief, as rare as a unicorn, a foreigner that actually enjoys mate. With big smiles and open arms they showered me in hugs and kisses, taking photos as proof of this bizarre phenomenon as I offered to share my mate with them. Breaking down barriers with an earthy beverage.
Why drink yerba mate?
  1. The mate gourds and thermoses make excellent accessories available in a wide array of colours, shapes and sizes
  2. Guachos drink heaps of mate and they are cool
  3. It is a good conversation starter as it is so mysterious
  4. It packs a serious punch – coffee high without the coffee crash
  5. Argentinians are beautiful…the yerba mate can’t hurt
  6. It is incredibly good for you and tastes healthy (and a touch earthy)
  7. It is a very social drink (though I am still trying to find friends in Vancouver to drink it with)"
Quote: finisterra

Friday, April 3, 2015

What is Terere?

Many people have heard of maté, a tea made with hot water and yerba maté leaves, commonly found in Argentina, Uruguay and southern Brazil. Coffee shops across the United States are beginning to offer yerba maté tea bags as it grows in popularity. However, in the small, landlocked country of Paraguay, where temperatures average 95 degrees in the summer and often rise up to 110, tereré reigns supreme as the nation’s drink of choice.
Pronounced te-re-RE, using the “e” from “bet” and with the r’s sounding more like soft d’s, the beverage is an iced tea version of hot maté. But the tea, a combination of ice-cold water and yerba maté leaves, is so much more than a beverage for the people of Paraguay. The drink embodies a sense of community and friendship. 
When tereré is drunk with fruit juice rather than water it is often called “tereré ruso” because it is commonly consumed by Slavic immigrants in parts of Argentina and Paraguay. Tereré purists snub their noses at this variation.
A Paraguayan is rarely found far from their “equipo de tereré,” or tereré gear, which consists of their “guampa” (a cup shaped like a cow’s horn), “bombilla” (filtered straw) and “termo” (thermos). In ”el campo” (the countryside), people tend to use a jar or pitcher rather than a termo.


Dry yerba maté leaves on their way to becoming tereré
SOURCE Leslie dela Vega
The serving of the tereré is crucial. The tea is often drunk while sitting in a circle, and the youngest person of the group is usually the server, called the cebador[a]. Everyone in the circle uses the same bombilla, but each person finishes a cupful of the tea, sharing the tools but not the liquid. Polite people beware! Saying “gracias” means you are done and would not like to be served again. So keep your thank-yous to yourself until you’re really finished. Another common foreigner faux pas is moving the bombilla. The bombilla is carefully placed to keep the tereré from being too bitter. Swirling it around will ruin the drink and earn you rolled eyes and exclamations of protest.
Some participants wait a few rounds for the terere to get more “lavado,” which means washed-out or flat. The taste of yerba maté is smoky and bitter, and the bitterness can be toned down after the first few drinks.
“Tereré rupa” is a snack, usually a starchy one, that one eats before beginning to drink their tereré for the day.
Tereré can – and is – also drunk individually. Paraguayans drink the tea year-round and throughout the day. In the morning, people often add “remedios yuyos” – medicinal herbs, leaves and roots – to the water. Some herbs target indigestion, others lower blood pressure, and some are just for flavor.


Tereré gear: “termo” (thermos), “guampa” (a cup shaped like a cow’s horn), and a “bombilla” (filtered straw)
SOURCE Leslie dela Vega
The naturally caffeinated tea leaves, found in the canopy of the Upper Paraná Atlantic rainforest, have many health benefis. Most notably, the leaves have a high antioxidant capacity, even more so than green tea. The tea has been associated with the prevention of cancer and, alternatively, with the cause of some types of cancer, although research has largely shown a positive outcome from drinking tereré.
In Asunción, the capital of Paraguay, the termos themselves are fashion statements. Each termo is often personalized with different colors, materials, embroidered designs, sports team logos and monograms of one’s name. You commonly see people whizzing by you with a personalized termo hanging off their moto.
If you are looking to jump on the tereré train, you can order the supplies online. Guayaki, a California based company, sells tereré bottled, to drink cold. However, this skips the social process of tereré, which is a majority of the fun in drinking the tea.
Another option? Book a flight down to Asunción and try it for yourself. You’ll be the only American not spinning the bombilla around and spitting out premature thank-yous like an amateur.
 SOURCE: Lorena O'''''Neil

Diego Maradona Drinking Yerba Mate

Here is Diego Maradona and his mom sharing a mate, when he played for FC Barcelona. He had been much better if he had kept drinking mate.