When I first started drinking mate, I thought it was as easy as heating up water, adding the yerba (dried leaves), and sipping through the bombilla (metal straw/filter). While that is not far off, there are a few details worth keeping in mind to get the most out of your experience.
The good news is that there is no single "right" way to prepare mate. It depends on your taste, your climate, and your lifestyle. Here is how we like to do it.
The Basics: What You Need
To get started you will need a mate (the cup), a bombilla (metal straw with a built in filter), your yerba (loose leaf), a heat source, and ideally a thermos to keep your water at the right temperature. Our ThermoMaté is designed specifically for this, keeping your water hot throughout your entire mate session.
Hot Mate: The Classic Method
Heat your water to around 70 to 80°C. This is one of the most common mistakes beginners make: using boiling water at 100°C burns the leaves and ruins the taste, producing a bitter, unpleasant infusion. If you do not have a thermometer handy, a simple trick is to fill your ThermoMaté to 3/4 with hot water and top it off with cold or room temperature water for the remaining 1/4. This brings it to roughly the right temperature without any guesswork, whether you are at home or on the go.
Fill your mate cup halfway to 1/2 to 3/4 with yerba, cover the opening with your palm and shake gently to mix the leaves. Tilt the cup to create an incline, what is known as a montañita (little mountain). This small mound of yerba on one side of the cup is more than just tradition. As you pour hot water into the cavity it creates, small amounts of yerba gradually mix with the water, extending the infusion and making each sip more consistent. Insert your bombilla into the cavity, pour your hot water slowly, and sip.
- Heat water to 70 to 80°C in your ThermoMaté and grab your mate cup
- Add yerba to half or 1/2 to 3/4 of the cup
- Cover and shake to form the montañita
- Add a bit of water in the cavity and let it sit for a minute
- Insert the bombilla
- Pour slowly and enjoy
Summer and Tropical Climates: Tereré
When the heat hits, tereré is the answer. This is yerba mate prepared cold, and it is the traditional way of drinking mate in Paraguay. Fill your ThermoMaté with ice and cold water, prepare your yerba in the mate cup the same way, and sip through the bombilla. Add lemon and whichever herbs you enjoy for extra freshness. Mint and citrus are personal favourites.
Mate Cocido: The Tea Version
Prefer something simpler? Mate cocido is yerba mate brewed like a tea, steeped and filtered rather than sipped through a bombilla. We carry mate cocido teabags for exactly this purpose. Our ThermoLuz takes it a step further, combining a built in filter with a double walled design that keeps your brew hot, making it ideal for those who want the benefits of mate without the traditional setup.
Brazilian Style: Cold, Sweet, and Refreshing
In Brazil, particularly on the beaches, mate is often prepared as a cold sweetened drink using the toasted variety of yerba (erva mate tostada), which has a smoother, milder, and slightly nutty flavour compared to the traditional green variety. The brew is filtered, chilled, sweetened, and served over ice almost like an iced tea. It is a completely different experience and worth trying if you enjoy cold drinks with a lighter taste.
Photo by Nathana Rebouças on Unsplash
Mixing It Up: Herbs and Combinations
One of the best things about mate is how well it pairs with other herbs. Mint, chamomile, guaraná, and citrus peel are all popular additions depending on the flavour profile you are going for. A personal favourite is Greek mountain tea, added directly to the yerba before pouring the water. It has a calming effect that balances beautifully with the natural energy of the mate.
The Bottom Line
Mate is a drink with a culture built around it, but it does not have to be complicated. Start simple, find the style that suits you, and make it your own. Whether you prefer it hot, cold, or somewhere in between, the ritual of preparing and sharing mate is what makes it special.