How to brew yerba mate: step by step

• A gourd — traditionally a calabash, but ceramic, wood or steel all work. See the gourds.
• A bombilla — a metal straw with a filter tip that keeps the leaf in the cup. See the bombillas.
• Yerba mate — start with a milder variety such as Taragüi Tradicional or Mañanita.
• Water at 70–80 °C — never boiling. Without a thermometer: boil it and let it stand for 5–7 minutes.
• A thermos — keeps the water at one temperature for the whole session. See the thermoses.

A new calabash gourd is cured before first use — this removes the soft inner layer and protects against mould. Ceramic, wood and steel cups need none of this: rinse and brew straight away.

1. Fill the gourd with used, damp yerba mate.
2. Add lukewarm water until the leaf is fully wet.
3. Leave it for 24 hours somewhere warm.
4. Empty it and gently scrape the soft layer from the inside with a spoon.
5. Rinse and let it dry completely, opening facing down.

1. Fill the gourd two-thirds with dry yerba mate. No more than that — the leaf needs room to swell.
2. Cover the opening with your palm and turn the gourd upside down, shaking gently. The finest dust ends up on top — less bitterness and less clogging.
3. Tilt the gourd so the yerba forms a mound on one side, leaving one wall bare.
4. Pour a little lukewarm water down the bare side and let it soak in for 1–2 minutes. This step protects the leaf from scalding.
5. Insert the bombilla into the bare side, filter down to the bottom. Then do not move it again — stirring clogs the filter.
6. Top up with water at 70–80 °C in the same spot as the bombilla, without wetting the whole mound.
7. Drink it dry, then refill. One serving lasts 8–10 infusions, getting milder each time.

• Boiling water. It scalds the leaf and turns mate bitter. 70–80 °C is the limit.
• Moving the bombilla. Every stir pulls fines into the filter — and then it will not draw.
• Overfilling the gourd. Above two-thirds the leaf has no room to swell and water spills over the rim.
• Pouring over the whole mound. Wet one spot only — the rest of the leaf stays dry for the next infusions.
• Not drying the gourd. Empty the leaf after a session and let the gourd dry, or mould will follow.

The same ritual, with ice-cold water. In Paraguay tereré is drunk all summer — and it is the best way to introduce mate to someone who finds the hot version too bitter.

Prepare it exactly like hot mate, but pour ice water with lemon or orange juice instead. The flavoured varieties work especially well, such as Taragüi Cítricos or Maracuyá.

A weekday morning is not the moment for a gourd. That is where Matemi soluble mate comes in: a spoon of 100% yerba mate extract dissolves in hot or cold water in five seconds — the same natural energy, no gear and nothing to wash.

For more on what yerba mate is and what the science says, read our beginner's guide.

How many times can one serving be refilled?
8–10 times. When the taste turns watery (the mate is “lavado”), discard the leaf.

Why is my mate bitter?
Usually the water is too hot, or the whole mound got wet at once. Try cooler water and pour in one spot only.

How much yerba should I use?
Two-thirds of the gourd's volume — roughly 40–50 g for a standard gourd.

Does any bombilla work?
Finely milled yerba needs a finer filter. The most universal is the Bombilla Un Mate PRO.