Mate viajero

How to serve the best mate

When we buy a mate, what we want the most is to serve it for the first time. We want to serve the best mate in the world. We believe that doing so, is extremely simple. What can go wrong in three simple steps?

Many things, to be honest. There are as many ways of serving as mates in the world. But don’t worry, you are in the right place to get rid of all your doubts and become the expert server for all your groups. To serve the mate is an action that, although it seems simple, is full of tricks and techniques that allow the result to be the best. They are the ones who will allow the “mateada” to be enjoyed from start to finish.

The key element to be able to enjoy mate is to have it well cured, especially if it is a gourd one. Why? Because it is the container that absorbs the flavor of the yerba, guaranteeing greater durability for future “mateadas”. If you want to know a little more about the importance of curing mate and why, we invite you to read our blog “How and why we cure our mate”.

Now yes, let’s get on with it. The first thing to do is to place yerba mate in the container, leaving about a quarter of its capacity free. Then the ideal is to incline the mate slightly to one of the sides so that the yerba is distributed and the desired mountain is formed. If that alone doesn’t work, help yourself with the bombilla.

La yerba en el mate

Remember that the mountain is key so that the initial flavor lasts as long as possible.

On the opposite side of the mountain there will be a hole in which we will later place the water. But first, we recommend you to moisten the yerba in the hole with just a splash of cold or warm water (never hot because the yerba would burn). Wait a couple of minutes for it to swell before you can move on to the next step.

After this time it remains to place the bombilla on the moistened yerba, making sure that it touches the inner wall of the mate. Some people recommend covering the mouth of the bombilla with your thumb during this process, to prevent it from clogging.

With the mountain armed and the bombilla in place, we are ready to serve. The water (whose temperature oscillates between 80º and 90º) is poured on the grass where the bombilla is. It is essential that you do not touch the dry yerba since it is the reserve that is kept for when the other diminishes its flavor.

When this happens, the primer changes the position of the bombilla and then resumes the round. This is also called “turning the mate.” It consists of moving one end of the mountain to the other side of the mate, keeping its shape. This is done using the bombilla as the main tool. The result? Bran new mate, and the taste intact.

Now yes! The mate is yours. Don’t forget that practice makes the server. Enjoy drinking mate without losing its original flavor.

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