Preparing Mate Tea: This is How it Works

Mate tea has been widely used in many South American countries for centuries. The trend has also arrived in Europe. In addition to lemonade drinks, classic tea is also popular. We show you how to prepare it properly.

Mate tea: This is how the traditional preparation succeeds

In order to prepare the caffeinated mate tea in the traditional way, in addition to the tea leaves, you also need a mate cup, a so-called calabash, which is typically made from a pumpkin or wood. A bombilla, a metal drinking straw with a strainer at one end, is also required.

• First, fill the gourd halfway with the mate leaves. The more leaves you add, the stronger the tea will be.
  Cover the opening of the mug with your hand and shake the tea in it. This will loosen the fine dust that is left on your hand. You can dispose of these remains. Depending on your taste, you can also skip this step.
• Now add a little slightly warm, not boiling, water to your mug. Let the leaves steep for two to three minutes. Now put the bombilla in the calabash with the sieve facing down.
• Then fill up the rest of the calabash with water at a temperature of around 80 degrees. Your first infusion is now ready to be enjoyed. The tea is drunk through the bombilla.
• Typically, an infusion contains only a few sips. However, the tea leaves can be infused several times in a row. In fact, the tea that is produced in this way becomes milder the later the infusion takes place.

Prepare mate tea – this is how it works without a gourd

Of course, you can also enjoy mate tea without the traditional tools such as calabash and bombilla. The preparation is similar to that of black and green tea.

• Simply put about a teaspoon of mate tea in a cup and pour over 70 to 80 degrees hot water.
• Then let the tea steep for three to five minutes. Then the tea is ready.
• As with the traditional preparation, the tea leaves can be infused several times. As in the gourd, the same applies here: The first infusion tastes like autumn.