How to make mate tea at home. Mate Brewing Methods

Mate tea is one of the best tonic drinks, which in its properties is equal to caffeine. This tea is called Paraguayan due to its origin: the leaves and shoots of Paraguayan holly, which is grown in South America, are used to make tea. Mate tea has an amazing taste that borders on the bitterness of green tea and the sweetness of vanillin. It is also believed that Brazilian tea contains many beneficial vitamins and elements that have a positive effect on human immunity.

However, there are conflicting opinions about the dangers of such an exotic drink. Therefore, in order to enjoy the full range of taste of mate tea, you need to know how to properly brew and drink a Brazilian drink so that it brings only benefits. It is also important to note that mate tea is very often taken for weight loss purposes. So, in order to discover the mystery of mate tea, you need to learn more about the benefits and harms of this drink. This is what we will be talking about next.

Mate tea: good or bad?

Benefits of mate tea

To begin with, it is important to understand the composition of mate tea. Indeed, in one brewed leaflet there is a whole list of useful both chemical and biological elements. The chemical elements include: nicotinic acid (vitamin PP), tannin, rutin, beta-amirin, inositol, as well as isovaleric, isocaproic, resinous, isobutyric acid; potassium, sodium, magnesium, copper, sulfur, manganese, vanillin, chlorine and water. Useful vitamins include groups A, B, C, E, P. Thanks to this composition, according to experts, a number of useful properties of mate tea can be distinguished, such as:

• It has a tonic effect on the body and stimulates physical and mental work. Due to the sedative effect, the work of the nervous system improves, it helps to fight depression, insomnia, nervousness and anxiety. Improves brain function.
• It has a positive effect on the functioning of the entire digestive tract, as well as liver function, lowering cholesterol levels. With regular use, the digestive process improves and the gastric mucosa is restored.
• It cleanses the blood of toxins and poisons and has a positive effect on the functioning of the cardiovascular system. Thanks to the cleansing of blood vessels, blood pressure is normalized, which is especially useful for hypertensive patients.
• Strengthens the body's immune system, thereby increasing the body's resistance to harmful bacteria and viruses. It is useful to drink tea after a viral illness, which contributes to a faster recovery of health.

It is important to know! Another tea mate, perfectly helps to fight excess weight. This important feature of mate tea will be discussed below.

Is mate tea harmful?

According to some studies, there is a danger of drinking too hot a drink. Hot tea, getting into the stomach, can damage the walls of the esophagus, which may lead to the development of a cancerous tumor.

The second version is more significant, it lies in the presence of carcinogens in hot tea. Due to the frequent use of too hot a drink, the likelihood of developing cancer not only of the esophagus, but also of the bladder, as well as the lungs, is allowed. It should be noted that with prolonged use of tea, increased dryness of the skin and a decrease in sweating can be observed.

How should mate tea be brewed?

In order to properly brew mate, you need to purchase a special vessel for this, called a calabash, made from pumpkin. However, if this is not possible, then you can brew tea in an ordinary teapot. If you are brewing mate in a new calabash, then first you need to fill it up to half with crushed tea leaves and pour warm water. Let the tea stand for a few days and then pour it out. Calabaza will need to be well cleaned of plaque after tea.

Thus, the vessel will be saturated with a pleasant aroma of tea and will serve you for a long time. After this procedure, you can already brew tea for consumption. To brew mate tea, it is necessary to carefully pour 2/3 of mate tea on one side and slowly pour warm water up to half (no more than 80 degrees). After a few minutes, the tea leaves should swell well, and you can add warm water. After waiting another 2-3 minutes, you can start a pleasant tea party. Mate tea can be brewed up to eight times in a row. After the first brewing, do not leave the tea for a long time, otherwise it will be very bitter.

Delicious mate tea recipes

To enjoy mate tea, there are many recipes for its preparation. Here are just a few of them that diversify the taste and method of preparation.

1) Mate tea with citrus. Pour crushed pieces of peel of dried fruits, such as orange, lemon, tangerine or grapefruit, into calabash with mate leaves. This will add additional aroma and fruity notes to the taste.

2) Mate tea with a tonic effect. Ground coffee is added to the prepared mate to taste. This helps to activate the work of the body. However, you should be careful and not often use such a strong drink!

3) Mate tea with a relaxing effect. To do this, various useful herbs are added with mate leaves. For example, to calm the nervous system, mint and lemon balm are added; to relax the head, you can add chamomile flowers; to maintain the cardiovascular system, add linden leaves and valerian.

4) Mate tea is nutritious. Such tea can be given even to children or prepared for yourself instead of breakfast. It is necessary to boil the milk and cool it to a temperature of 70-80 degrees. Then pour mate leaves over it. Since milk has a fat content, mate will not be very bitter, and if you add a piece of honey, then it will not be possible to break away from such a drink!

Mate tea as a means of losing weight

As already mentioned, mate tea has a good effect on digestion and improves bowel function, which in turn helps to cleanse the body of unnecessary toxins and fats.

Mate tea perfectly satisfies the feeling of hunger and, thanks to its rich vitamin complex, does not allow the body to become depleted. Also, the drink will strengthen the natural protective functions of the body and help stabilize the metabolism in the body.

Mate tea also contains natural elements that help to naturally break down excess fat in the body. Many nutritionists recommend drinking mate tea as the main addition to a weight loss program.

Mate tea…

So, mate tea is not only an exquisite gourmet drink, but quite useful, and sometimes necessary for active life. Thanks to the rich composition of vitamins and nutrients, each leaf contains something that helps to enjoy an unusual taste and recharge your batteries for every day.

After trying various cooking recipes, you can choose the one that will bring you the most pleasure. So have a nice "matepitiya"!

The benefits, unusual properties and taste of mate tea are manifested in full force only when it is brewed in calabash - a container made from pumpkin.

The manufacturing process is very interesting - you need to clean the pumpkin from pulp, seeds and oil, dry it, tie the edges with metal, and decorate the outside, as fantasy tells, after which the vessel is set with leather or silver.

From the wide assortment designed for the tea ceremony, you can choose a large gourd container for tea drinking with friends or with a narrow neck for individual drinking.

Before the first use, calabash must be "revive". Dry crushed leaves and young shoots of Paraguayan holly, called mate or yerba grass, are poured into a pumpkin vessel by ½ or three quarters. The raw material is poured with hot water and infused for no more than a day, otherwise mold will appear, and the vessel will have to be thrown away. After the infusion is poured, and the calabash is ready for use. The preparatory procedure allows you to close and impregnate the pores in the vessel with the salts contained in the herb.

After drinking tea, the pumpkin bowl needs to be emptied and dried. With prolonged non-use, a little dry tea leaves should be poured into calabash.

Strictly following the traditions, it is necessary to drink mate correctly through the bombilla. This is such a device in the form of a curved metal (wooden) tube, on one end of which there is a mouthpiece, and on the other - a strainer that acts as a filter so that particles of tea leaves do not come across when drinking.

Classic cooking mate

The leaves of the Paraguayan holly should be brewed, adhering to a certain technology.

1. First, grass is poured into the container by 1/3, the vessel is covered with a hand and shaken.
2. The container is tilted so that the leaves are against one wall. After that, you need to pour a small amount of water into the calabash to just moisten the dry tea leaves.
3. At this stage, the bombilla is inserted into the already thick slurry of swollen leaves, and the vessel is filled completely with hot water, while it is important to close the upper opening of the drinking straw.
4. The drink is infused for 1-2 minutes, mate is ready to drink.

The herb can be brewed repeatedly 6 to 9 times.

Note: the optimum temperature for making mate is no more than 75-80 degrees. If you use boiling water, the drink will become bitter and its benefits will be lost. Moreover, such a hot liquid can harm the body, it is dangerous and unpleasant to drink it.

If you want to enjoy an unusual taste, drink tea slowly, in small sips, savoring every note. Make sure that the bombilla tube is always in the thickest, at the bottom of the vessel.

Do not worry if there are no special devices for brewing mate. After all, there are less exotic ways of preparing a drink, specially adapted for residents of European countries, using classic tea utensils.

The process of brewing in a French press is similar to making coffee, you just need to keep the proportions - 50 g of dry leaves for 500 ml of water and leave for 1 minute. The drink is poured into cups through a strainer. Re-brewing up to 2-3 times is allowed.

Several gourmet recipes

The prepared tea must be drunk immediately, otherwise it will start to taste bitter, and all subsequent tea leaves too.

Cold summer mate or terere

As in the classic recipe, mate grass is poured into the calabash, but poured with chilled water. To taste, you can add a few tablespoons of juice (lemon or orange) and ice cubes, mint if desired.

A relaxing effect of tea with mate can be obtained by adding a little lemon balm, dried chamomile, mint, valerian or linden flowers when brewing yerba, and for a tonic, pour ground coffee into the finished drink from Paraguayan holly. But such a tandem requires special care and extremely rare use.

Mate with milk or Cocido (Cocido)

The benefits of such a drink can be appreciated during the winter cold - it warms and improves immunity. To prepare it, you need to boil 0.5 liters of milk and cool at room temperature to 70-80 degrees, pour about 50 g of grass into it. Sweeten to taste with honey or sugar. Ready tea is poured into cups through a strainer.

If you want to try something completely exotic, you can brew yerba with citrus peel: lemon, orange, grapefruit or tangerine.

Drinking mate correctly is a real ritual for the inhabitants of South American countries, which they have been studying for many years, honing their skills. The main thing is not to rush, calm down, only in this way you can feel unusually strong.

It can easily become the most favorite drink, to which you want to return both in summer and in winter. For residents of South American countries - Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, etc., an infusion of Paraguayan holly shoots is tea, but for us this name is rather arbitrary. Rather, a delicious and fragrant tonic drink.

How is mate tea made?

Under natural conditions, reaching 15, and on specialized plantations 2 meters, grows a branchy shrub Paraguayan holly. Every year it produces new shoots 30-50 cm long, which are cut along with the leaves. These shoots undergo a drying process at very high temperatures, completely changing their structure. After that, the branches are crushed on a crushing machine, producing a heterogeneous powder.

Mate has been used by the local population, as is known, since the time of the Inca Empire, and in Russia this outlandish tea was known only a couple of decades ago.

How to prepare mate tea?

The process of matepitiya is simple, but fascinating. All you need is a calabash and a bombilla. Calabash used to be a semicircular low gourd vessel, and now calabash is a ceramic, glass or porcelain container. There are also clay ones, here they are closest to the authentic matepiya. But initially, calabash was made from a gourd, the top of which was cut off, the inner pulp was removed, and the base was thoroughly dried in the sun, later they began to dry in an oven. Matepiya is a ritual, so decorated dishes were an integral part of the ceremony. The dried form of a pumpkin was decorated with painted drawings, set in leather or silver, and inscriptions were cut out.

To make mate, a sevador (the person who brews mate) pours the ground mixture into the calabash about 1/4 full. Then the vessel is tilted to one side in order to pour out all the tea leaves and free up part of the bottom, where heated water is poured. You only need a little bit of liquid, just to soak the entire tea leaves. After a couple of minutes, the swollen mixture is shaken, a bombilla tube is inserted into the calabash, and filled to the top with water. Bombilla was created specifically for mate, so the flask-shaped strainer, located on one edge, does not let in tea leaves particles, filtering the drink well. It rests on the very bottom, in the thick, and it is from there that slightly tart tea is sipped.

Water is very important for mate. To get the full taste of tea, it must be soft, preferably filtered. The water temperature is 75-85 degrees. Do not use boiling water, otherwise the drink will give off unpleasant bitterness.

Expert opinion
It is important to properly withstand the two-stage process of brewing yerba mate: first, the tea swells, and then it is completely filled with water. One serving of tea leaves can be used up to 7-9 times, just adding warm water as the drink is consumed.

How to brew mate in a teapot?

If you do not have the necessary attributes, but have yerba mate, do not despair, but brew the mixture in a European way. Pour 5 tablespoons of mate into a teapot per 1 liter of water and fill with water. After 4-5 minutes, pour the infusion into cups using a strainer to filter from tea leaves.

If you want to slightly change the taste of classic mate, make a cold cocktail: pour 3 tablespoons of tea leaves into a teapot, fill with water at room temperature. After 10 minutes, pour into glasses with prepared mint leaves, vanilla pods, honey or fruit juice. Tonic, tasty, unusual.

We advise everyone to buy mate tea:

• who wants to try something new and unusual;
• who needs to fully concentrate for a while, become collected and active;
• who needs to increase the body's immune resistance.

Everything for mate-drinking - yerba mate, calabash and bombilla - is offered in the online store of the Russian Tea Company. All our products are original and high quality, because they come directly from the manufacturer. Buy mate tea from us and enjoy a tonic refreshing drink in a warm friendly company or family circle.

In our country, the mate drink is not so famous and popular. And even more so, it is not consumed daily, but more often as a prophylactic tea. Its leaves are collected from the Paraguayan holly, which grows in South America, in Argentina. The assembly and drying process is traditional. But to taste, it is more like something in between green tea and coffee. So why is it interesting and is it worth using it? Let's try to discover the secrets of mate tea.

Undeniable benefit or serious harm?

A dried leaf of mate tea contains a whole biochemical laboratory: vitamins, organic acids, macro- and microelements and a number of other useful substances. Therefore, even experts agree on the benefits of tea:

• Soothes: the nervous system stabilizes, it is easier to get out of a depressive state. And if the load on the psyche is great, then tea will be a good help for its recovery.
• Tones: improves physical and psychological health, brain function.
• It has a positive effect on the functioning of the digestive system: the activity of the digestive tract improves, cholesterol levels decrease, the liver works “one hundred percent”.
• "Helps" the cardiovascular system to work, cleansing the vessels and restoring the normal blood pressure.
• Strengthens the immune system, creates an immune barrier, protecting against bacteria and viruses. Therefore, it is good to take tea after an illness, so the body will recover and get stronger faster.
• Removes poisons and toxins, and we feel fresher and more energetic.
• It affects the release of endorphins (hormones of joy), and this, in turn, has a positive effect on the level of sexuality.
• It contains mateine, which is similar in structure to caffeine (hence the taste of coffee), so it tones, invigorates and increases efficiency.

But you need to brew and drink mate tea correctly, only then you will feel a certain effect from the drink.

The harm of mate tea is more associated with its hot use. It is believed that hot tea contains carcinogens. There are also allergens, albeit in small quantities. In addition, getting into the stomach, hot mate can damage the walls of the esophagus. This can lead to the formation of cancer cells. As a side effect - dry mouth, dry skin and low sweating. So avoid taking too hot a drink and in too large quantities. And during pregnancy and lactation, it should generally be abandoned.

Proper tea brewing is an art

Tea is drunk not from ordinary mugs, but from a specially prepared and beautifully decorated vessel - calabash - through a special bombing tube. Drinking from such a vessel is already half the pleasure, because the master probably approached his work creatively.

The vessel is created from gourd, clay and wood. And bombing - from reed and silver (now from metal alloys)

Making the right drink is not an easy task. Before use, calabash is prepared in a certain way:

• Half or 2/3 of the volume of mate is poured into the vessel, hot water is added to the calabash rim and left for a day. So the vessel absorbs the “spirit of mate”.
• Then the tea is poured out, and the vessel is cleaned of pieces of softened pumpkin and dried.
• The procedure is repeated, pouring mate half or less, depending on what intensity the drink is needed. The water should not be hot (60-65%) and wet the tea leaves well.
• The moistened tea leaves are inserted into the middle of the vessel, slightly at an angle. You don’t need to touch it anymore, especially to get it out of the vessel. The layers of the drink will mix and the taste of the tea will be lost. Getting bombed is considered bad form.
• Now it's time to brew tea: water is still added to the calabash. If it is hot, the tea will become bitter. You can take a sample of the first mate. It is desirable to drink the entire drink so that the tube begins to “wheeze”.
• One serving of mate can be brewed up to 10 times. They say that the real taste can be felt after 3-4 brewing.

You can brew and drink mate tea throughout the day, just do not leave it for a long time, otherwise bitterness will appear. With even brewing, one calabash with mate can be drunk for half a day. And if you drink gradually, then the tea will be slightly tart and have a mild taste.

There are many recipes with different additives. For example, you can add sugar to taste, put lemon or honey. And now the drink is prepared correctly, using all the techniques that have been developed since ancient times, for centuries, and you can drink it with a company or alone.

There is a hot and cold way to brew Argentinean tea.

Mate tea and weight loss

Having a positive effect on the functioning of the intestines, the drink cleanses it of toxins, harmful substances and fats, which are naturally broken down. The rich vitamin complex satisfies the feeling of hunger. Strengthening the body's defenses stabilizes the metabolism. Nutritionists advise to use the drink in the program for weight loss.

Each leaf of tea helps to save us energy for the whole day and gives us a lot of useful substances. You can find your own cooking recipe that will give you the opportunity to enjoy its taste to the fullest. Perhaps it will become one of your favorite exotic drinks!

Probably, there is not a single person who would not know about this unusual drink. And this is not surprising, because mate tea is an integral part of the culture and traditions of many South American countries. The drink is known for its tonic properties, since it contains mateine. Outwardly, it resembles green tea, but in terms of its taste and aroma, mate (or mate) is a very special drink.

What is mate tea

Mate tea, or, as it is also called, Paraguayan tea, has nothing to do with the traditional drink from the leaves of tea bushes. For the manufacture of mate, dried and ground leaves and young shoots of the Paraguayan holly (yerba mate) are used.

This evergreen plant, or rather a tree, is found wild in Paraguay, Uruguay, Brazil and Argentina. For the production of the drink, it is grown on special plantations.

Paraguayan holly (lat. Ílex paraguariénsis)

Mate tea is often referred to as a group of ethnic teas. This category includes beverages from different nations that are similar in structure, method of brewing and use to tea. There are a lot of such drinks in the world, but five are the most widespread: cudin, rooibos, honeybush, lapacho and mate.

The taste of mate is unusual. It has both a slight bitterness, a sweetish aftertaste and a rich herbal aroma. Properly prepared drink has a transparent infusion of light green color.

Origin story

The exact time of the appearance of mate tea today is difficult to establish. However, there is evidence that the Indians living on the territory of modern Paraguay, this tonic drink was known not only before the arrival of Europeans, but even long before our era.

After the Spanish conquistadors conquered the Inca empire, they went to conquer Paraguay. It is to this period that the first surviving mention of this drink in history belongs.

The Indians called mate "the divine elixir of life" and drank, passing the calabash to each other like a pipe of peace. At first, the conquistadors were surprised by the reverent attitude of the indigenous population to this tea. However, the Spaniards soon appreciated the drink for its ability to cure scurvy and fever.

How mate is made

Real Paraguayan tea should have a golden green color and consist of three components:

1. Stems, which contain all the main useful substances.
2. Leaves that give the drink a characteristic taste and astringency.
3. Light dust, which indicates that the raw material was dried correctly.

Unlike traditional tea, for the production of which the upper buds and young tender leaves are plucked from the tea bush, the entire shoot is cut from the tree to produce mate. Harvesting is carried out from early spring to late autumn. After that, the raw material goes through the following processing:

• fast drying;
• additional drying;
• coarse grinding;
• excerpt;
• fine grinding;
• package.

Preparation of Paraguayan holly leaves

Depending on the processing method, several types of drink are distinguished:

1. Green. It is made according to traditional technology.
2. Fried. During its production, a roasting step is added.
3. Gold. Produced in Argentina and considered especially valuable. In the process of its manufacture, the raw materials are processed with smoke over fires, and then in clay ovens, for which special wood is used to kindle.

Today, not only traditional mate is produced, but also packaged (green and with various additives) and even instant. They say that it was developed specifically for the Argentina national football team: it is convenient to take such a drink with you on trips.

Compound

Holly leaves have a rich composition, and the mate drink, in terms of the presence of trace elements and vitamins in it, is comparable to green tea, and even surpasses it. If green tea contains 144 active substances, then Paraguayan tea contains 196 useful components. The composition of mate tea includes:

• a group of alkaloids including caffeine, theobromine and theophylline;
• vitamins A, C, E, P and group B (B1, B2, B5, B6);
• choline, flavonoids, amino acids and saponins;
• trace elements - magnesium, iron, sodium, sulfur, manganese, potassium, copper.

The caffeine contained in the drink is called mateine. A number of experts believe that it is identical to caffeine in chemical composition, but differs from it in properties. Due to the presence of this potent substance, tea from Paraguay has a tonic effect, and mate extract is used to create a range of energy and tonic drinks.

In South America, two types of this tea are distinguished. One of the drinks has a strong stimulating effect because it contains high concentrations of mateine. The second type of tea has a much milder tonic effect on the body.

Beneficial features

Tea has a positive effect on the nervous system and improves memory. It stimulates mental and physical activity, but its beneficial properties do not end there:

1. The drink removes toxins from the body and helps fight stress.
2. Due to the large amount of vitamins, it strengthens the immune system.
3. The drink is a powerful adaptogen, antioxidant and immunomodulator.
4. It perfectly tones because it contains mateine, but at the same time its action does not lead to insomnia.
5. Tea stimulates the gastrointestinal tract, speeds up the metabolism and helps cleanse the blood vessels.
6. Studying the beneficial properties of mate tea, scientists have found that it is a strong anti-aging agent.

Mate tea and its unique properties should be looked at by everyone who wants to lose weight. The benefits of mate are that it is a natural stimulant, promotes the burning of excess calories and the breakdown of fats. The drink itself is low in calories, besides, it can significantly reduce appetite, while providing the body with all the necessary vitamins and minerals.

Harm and contraindications

With all its beneficial properties, mate tea also has contraindications, which include:

• increased acidity of the stomach;
• kidney disease;
• pregnancy at any time;
• lactation period;
• age up to 14 years;
• tendency to deposit salts in the body.

Do not drink mate tea too hot. The use of too hot a drink is recognized as presumably carcinogenic to the human body. It is also not recommended to drink it in unlimited quantities.

How to brew mate tea

It is customary to drink Paraguayan tea from a special vessel - calabash, in which it is brewed. Traditionally, these vessels are made from gourds. It was from these fruits that in ancient times the Indians began to make the first containers for this drink.

Today, calabash can be made from a variety of materials, but the original "pumpkin" vessels are still widespread and very popular. However, the recipe for making this drink has not changed much. Consider how to brew mate:

1. The calabash is filled with tea leaves about 2/3 of the volume.
2. The hole of the calabash is closed with the palm of your hand, shaken several times, and then the tea leaves are slightly moistened with water.
3. Water for making mate must be purified and soft.
4. Bombilla is placed inside the swollen tea leaves, tilting the calabash at an angle of 45 degrees.
5. The bombilla is inserted once, it is not taken out, and the drink is never interfered with.
6. Then the calabash is completely filled with hot water.
7. The water temperature should be no higher than 75-80 degrees.
8. Mate tea is infused for 1 minute, and then drunk.
9. One brew can be brewed up to 7-9 times.

Mate culture

Mate drink is drunk either through a reed, or with the help of a special metal tube called a bombilla. At one end there is a strainer, which serves as a kind of filter that prevents tea leaves from entering the mouth.

Mate tea should be drunk after it has cooled slightly, but it should be consumed immediately after brewing. If he stands longer, then his infusion will acquire a bitter taste. As soon as the tea is drunk, and the liquid in the calabash is over, it can immediately be brewed again.

It is not customary to add sugar to this drink, but you can shade its taste with lemon juice. Also, many drink mate with milk, cream or fruit extracts. However, true connoisseurs are skeptical about such options for their favorite drink, preferring to drink it in its pure form.