HOW TO PREPARE MATÉ?
1. HEAT WATER
IMPORTANT ! If you have chosen the traditional gourd (in squash), it is very important to cure it before its first use:
To cure your traditional calabash, you must:
1. Completely fill the gourd with boiling water.
2 . Leave the calabash filled with water for 1 to 2 hours (to soften the walls)
3. Drain the water then gently scrape the interior walls of the calabash using a spoon.
4. Once the walls are smooth, rinse the gourd well.
5. Finally, let the gourd dry on its side (never head down)
6. The gourd is dry, you can use it!
To prepare the mate you will need hot water to drink your mate , you can heat water using a hotplate, a kettle, in the microwave or by any other way.
It is important that you use hot water and not boiling water to avoid making the mate too bitter!
The ideal temperature is between 70-80°C
To do this, simply stop heating the water just before it comes to a boil.
By doing this the water will be perfect for drinking your mate.
2. POUR THE MATÉ AND SHAKE
Easy ! All you have to do is pour the mate into the calabash.
To drink your mate in the best conditions, we advise you to fill the calabash up to 3/4 full . This is how the Argentinians traditionally prepare it and this is the recommended dosage.
The more mate you put in the calabash, the more powerful your mate will be, it’s up to you to find your perfect balance.
Once the calabash is filled, cover it with your hand then turn it over and finally shake it several times to bring the mate dust to the top and mix the mate well.
Mixing your mate well will prevent you from sucking up tiny particles of mate through the filter straw.
3. TILTING THE CALABASH TO FORM A WELL
As in the illustration image!
Tilt the gourd so that the mate rests on one side.
Then slowly pour a tiny bit of water into the space created. This will allow your mate to moisten and maintain the shape of the well.
Remember that to avoid burning the mate and reducing its taste, the water should not boil.
Let it rest for 2 minutes before continuing the preparation (your mate will soak and therefore consolidate).
4. PLACE THE BOMBILLA
Once the small trickle of water has been poured (step 3), it is now time to insert the bombilla (the filter straw).
Place the bombilla in the empty space next to the pile of leaves, being careful not to undo the pile.
Once the bombilla is placed in the empty side of the gourd, it must not be moved thereafter.
Tip: Covering the top of the bombilla with your thumb when placing it will prevent mate leaves from passing through the filter.
5. POUR HOT WATER AND ENJOY THE MATÉ
It's time to fill the calabash with hot water.
Carefully pour enough water into the empty part of the mate , so that all the grass is in the water.
Then let the mate rest for a few seconds before drinking it.
No need to wait any longer but be careful not to burn yourself by trying to drink it too quickly.
The mate is now soaked and your mate is ready!
Reminder: It is important to use hot water (ideally between 70-80°C) and not boiling water so as not to alter the taste of the mate!
6. DRINK AND SHARE MATÉ!
Mate is drunk alone (obviously) but it is above all a drink for sharing.
So, you see that it’s not that complicated! 😇
Preparing mate is easy, it just takes a little help. Once you are a real Matero, don't hesitate to share mate with family, friends or at work with colleagues.
It's a gift ! We offer you €5 for each person to whom you recommend Mimate as part of our loyalty program .
→ Click here to sponsor a friend
HOW TO MAINTAIN THE CALABASH?
The traditional calabash is made in Argentina from a squash, so it is a 100% natural container.
This gourd needs to be cured with its first use in order to clean the walls still covered with small pieces of dried squash.
To cure your traditional calabash, you must:
1. Completely fill the gourd with boiling water.
2 . Leave the calabash filled with water for 1 to 2 hours (to soften the walls)
3. Drain the water then gently scrape the interior walls of the calabash using a spoon.
4. Once the walls are smooth, rinse the gourd well.
5. Finally, let the gourd dry on its side (never head down)
6. Your calabash is dry, you can use it.
If you have an aluminum or wooden gourd, no need to cure it!
It all depends on the model of calabash you have.
Traditional calabash:
- To keep your traditional calabash for a long time and in good condition, you must empty it and rinse it with hot water, each time you finish drinking your mate.
- ALWAYS let it air dry, head up or on its side (to avoid mold)
Aluminum calabash:
- This calabash does not need any special maintenance to keep it in perfect condition. Just make sure to clean it by hand and not put it in the dishwasher .
Calabash Wood:
- As with the aluminum calabash, no special maintenance other than washing it by hand and not putting it in the dishwasher so as not to damage it.
Do not panic ! The traditional calabash is a 100% vegetable container and it is completely normal for the walls to become covered with black marks over the course of its use.
In fact, by drinking your infusion from the calabash, the walls become covered with mate. Which explains the presence of black traces (it is in fact dried mate)
Good news ! The more you drink mate in your traditional calabash, the better it will be because the walls are lined with mate and thus retain the taste of mate.
Finally, if you find rather whitish traces with a slight fluff (like moss) these are small molds:
In this case, don’t throw away your gourd! Simply fill the calabash with hot water then gently clean it with a spoon to remove small molds.
Then let it dry and off you go!
PREPARATION OF TRADITIONAL MATÉ IN VIDEO
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
You can re-infuse the mate as long as it still tastes good. This varies depending on the volume of the calabash used and the quantity of mate in the calabash, but you can normally infuse around 1 liter of hot water for the same mate, which is equivalent to around ten infusions.
Making a well in your calabash serves to keep the mate longer over time, the infusion will be done gradually in this way and then there is also the aesthetic side, it is always nicer to have a beautiful mate.
If you can't yet make a nice well, that's normal! It takes a little practice before you succeed in making a beautiful mate, with a well that holds.
Some tips:
1. Above all, moisten the grass well before inserting the bombilla.
2. Let the mate leaves absorb the lukewarm water for a good minute. This step helps ensure that the well retains its shape afterwards.
3. Pour the water delicately, and at the level of the bombilla (for this, a mate thermos can be useful).
4. If necessary, lightly push the mate leaves with the bombilla to reconstitute the “small mountain” of mate leaves.
Again, failing to make the well at first isn't a big deal. The most important thing is to enjoy the mate you drink. Perfect mate preparation will come naturally with practice.
It's possible but we don't recommend keeping the same one from one day to the next.
The taste of mate is often surprising the first time but it's completely normal and you get used to it quickly (who hasn't made a face when drinking their first coffee or drinking wine for the first time?)
If you want to sweeten your mate, you can add honey, agave syrup or any other type of “healthy” sweetener.
Then you can gradually remove the additions of honey or syrup to keep only the mate (like sugar with coffee).
A well-used bombilla prevents bits of mate from slipping through.
How to use your bombilla correctly? It is very simple !
1. Close the top of the bombilla tightly with your thumb when inserting it into the mate (see step 4)
2. Once inserted, do not move the bombilla at all.