Mate cocido: Yerba Mate in tea-bags

Did you know that you can also drink tea of Yerba Mate? Yes, we know that the best characteristic of Yerba Mate is to drink it from the Mate gourd, but as you may also know, there are people who think that sharing the same bombilla can be a little filthy. So, in this new chapter on how to drink Yerba Mate we bring you a solution for these people.

Mate cocido is not the same as Mate. As we mentioned before, drinking mate in Argentina and some other Latin American countries is almost an ordinary ceremony usually celebrated by a group of people, where the infusion of Yerba Mate is shared and passed hand by hand using the same Mate gourd and bombilla where one of the drinkers is the one who serves it. But Mate Cocido is a different way to enjoy Yerba Mate.

The history of this beverage is related to The Jesuits that in the first decades of the 17^th century improved the techniques of cultivation of the Yerba Mate and tried to export it. Spain tried to compete with the tea sold by England and named it the “Tea of the Jesuits”.

It is made with boiled Yerba Mate and it can be prepared and served as tea. You can make it yourself, boiling Yerba Mate and then strain it, or you can buy it on tea bags. It tastes pretty similar to a regular mate, but is a little bit milder and has the same stimulating and nutritional properties. One of the differences is that in the grinding the typical dust and sticks of the Yerba Mate are removed, sorting and processing only the leaves.

As it happens with normal tea, you can also drink it sweetened and with milk. And if you’re feeling adventurous, add some lemon juice and ice and you have an Iced Mate Cocido. The best things to have it with are the same as Mate. Salty or sweet bizcochitos or toasted bread are definitely everyone’s favorite.

Don’t forget you can buy Mate Cocido from anywhere in the world here at www.pampadirect.com