Yerba Mate: Change Up Your Coffee Routine With Friends

It’s said that Yerba Mate has the strength of coffee, the benefits of tea, and is a great drink for a meet up with your best pals… So, we’re definitely in! What exactly is Yerba Mate? It's similar to tea and is prepared by steeping leaves in hot water and has been a way to get friends together throughout South America for a long time. Recently, the trend has come to the States and people can be found drinking it from San Francisco to Miami, and of course, posting their fashionable “gourds” on every social platform from Facebook to Vine.

So, if you’re ready for something new, put down the coffee mug and call up your friends to come over for a fresh cup of yerba mate. Here’s what you’ll need and how to do it:

What You Need:

1.      Bag of Yerba Mate (Find it at your local health food store, South American grocery shop, or online)

2.      Hot Water

3.      A “Gourd” or rounded cup

4.      A “Bombilla” or metal straw

How To Make It:

1.      Fill your cup with about 50% yerba mate.

2.      Cover the top with your hand and turn it upside down to shake out the sediment and powder.

3.      Place the cup on its side and tap it a few times to let the larger stems come to the top.

4.      Insert the bombilla and move everything to the side – add cold water in the empty space just before it gets to the top.                Wait for it to be absorbed.

5.      Pour hot (not boiling) water in.

6.      Drink from your bombilla and enjoy.

When you’re finished, just add more hot water and repeat step six.