Preparation of mate tea: how it works
Mate tea has been widely used in many South American countries for centuries. The trend has now also arrived in Europe. In addition to lemonade drinks, classic tea is also popular. We show how to prepare it correctly.
Mate tea: this is how traditional preparation works
In order to prepare the caffeinated mate tea in the traditional way, you need a mate mug, a so-called calabash, which is typically made from a pumpkin or wood, in addition to the tea leaves. A bombilla, a metal drinking straw with a strainer at one end, is also required.
- First fill half of the calabash with the mate leaves. The more leaves you add, the stronger the tea will be.
- Close the opening of the cup with your hand and shake the tea in it. This removes the fine dust that remains on your hand. You can dispose of these remains. Depending on your taste, you can also skip this step.
- Now add a little warm, non-boiling water to your mug. Let the leaves soak for two to three minutes. Now insert the bombilla into the calabash with the sieve facing down.
- Then fill the rest of the calabash with approx. 80 degrees warm water. 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 succession. In fact, the tea produced in this way becomes milder the later the infusion takes place.
Prepare mate tea - so it works even without calabash
Of course, you can also enjoy the 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 the mate tea in a cup and pour hot water at 70 to 80 degrees.
- Let the tea infuse for three to five minutes. Then the tea is ready.
- As with traditional preparation, the tea leaves can be infused several times. As in the calabash, the same applies here: the first infusion tastes the harshest.
Because of its rather high caffeine content, mate tea is consumed as a coffee substitute, among other things. In the next practical tip you will learn which other alternatives are available to you.