Mate tea By the way, what kind of mate?Tea is male, coffee is male or middle, milk is middle, and mate is female. The fact is that according to the legend of the Guarani Indians (who were the first to use the leaves and shoots of the Yerba Mate bush 9 thousand years ago), it is believed that mate is a beautiful girl whom the god Viracocha turned into an evergreen tree so that people could live long and happily on earth, using this life-giving drink. The healing properties of mate not only relieve stress, depression and fatigue, but also give strength, improve mood, stimulate the brain, and have a positive effect on the immune system. By the way, not only adults but also children can drink mate, because mate contains vitamins (A, C, E, B1, B2) and substances necessary for maintaining life, such as potassium, calcium, iron, sodium, manganese, magnesium, silicon, phosphates, mateine, etc. For example, my child, who had colds about once a month since birth, tried mate from my gourd at the age of 2 and periodically drank it, despite the fact that winter with its flu epidemic was not over yet, nevertheless, he is now 2.5 and has not been sick since then. In addition, mate does not cause addiction, anxiety or sleep disorders, but on the contrary, relieves nervous excitement and promotes the accumulation of energy, increases mental and physical activity, performance and endurance. Mate, in turn, prevents the accumulation of lactic acid and relieves fatigue after exercise. Moreover, mate is recommended for those who want to lose weight, since its use reduces the feeling of hunger, thereby distracting you from excessive food consumption. In order to preserve all the healing properties of this drink, first of all, it is necessary to observe the mate ceremony, i.e. properly brew and drink mate not from a cup, but from specially designed utensils - calabash and bombigya. So, a few words about the utensils.
Calabashes can be made of wood, bone,glass, ceramic, plastic, metal, but the best of them are considered to be pumpkin, because they provide the optimal temperature regime for brewing and preserve the taste characteristics of mate. Bombija is a slightly curved tube, at the top of which there is a mouthpiece, and at the bottom there is a special filter. They are also made of all kinds of materials, but for a pumpkin calabash, a bamboo bombija is best suited. How to brew mate Real mate is golden-green, dry and consists of stems, leaves and light dust. Before brewing mate, you need to prepare the calabash. To do this, fill it to the top with mate tea and pour boiling water over it. After 24 hours, the calabash is cleaned with a silver spoon heated over an open fire, and then thoroughly rinsed. So, to properly prepare mate, it is recommended to pour 2/3 of the Yerba Mate tea into the calabash. But, based on my own experience, I will note that 2-3 teaspoons will be enough for the first time. Next, tilt the calabash so that the tea leaves fall to one wall, and a void forms near the other. Place a bombija on the bottom of the calabash against the empty wall, covering the upper hole with your thumb so that the grass does not leak out. Gradually add cold or hot water in small portions. There should be a little water, so that the tea leaves are slightly moistened.
After this, add lukewarm water to the calabash.70-80°C, because if you brew mate with boiling water, then the taste properties are quickly lost and the drink begins to taste bitter. After pouring hot water, you can start drinking mate in a few minutes. You should not over-infuse it, because mate also becomes bitter from long infusion. Drink mate slowly, sipping it through a bombizha. It is almost impossible to burn yourself, because cold water poured at the beginning of preparation protects against this. Mate can be drunk by adding milk, sugar, jam, honey, and sometimes even rum (but this is for amateurs and certainly not for children). Read more and with pictures here. After the gourd is completely empty, hot water is added to it again. The number of toppings depends on the quality of the mate used, but on average it is 2-3 brews. Please note that the pumpkin calabash requires special care: after each mate, it must be cleaned, washed and dried well. It must be stored in a clean and dry place. All legends say that mate is a reward for kindness, hospitality and nobility, sent to make human life easier and more joyful. Use the gifts of nature and be healthy.
