ARIEL Yerba Mate

Yerba mate is South America's daily ritual in a cup. Made from the leaves of a South American holly, it's a naturally caffeinated herbal infusion with a green, grassy, faintly smoky character all its own, quite unlike tea. Traditionally it's shared from a gourd, passed around a table, and it's as much a social habit as a drink. Ours is simply whole-leaf yerba mate, nothing added.

Tasting Notes

The cup brews a clear golden green and tastes properly herbal: vegetal and grassy up front, with an earthy, faintly smoky depth and the gentle bitter edge that mate drinkers come for. There's a fresh, almost green-hay note behind it and a brisk, clean finish. It's bracing rather than soft, and it takes sweetening well if you prefer it rounder.

The Gourd and Bombilla

Traditionally, mate is prepared in a calabash gourd with a bombilla, the metal straw that filters the leaf. Fill the gourd about two-thirds with dry leaves, settle the bombilla in, and wet the leaves first with cool water so they swell. Then top up with hot water, not boiling, and drink without stirring. Refill as you go; the same leaves last through many rounds.

Brewing

For a cup or pot, use 2.5 g and water at 70–80 °C, well below boiling. Keep the temperature down; hotter water pulls out more bitterness.

Additional Information

• Ingredients: Whole leaf yerba mate
• Formats:  100 g loose leaf, 1 kg loose leaf
• Caffeine: Contains caffeine, naturally present in yerba mate
• Certifications: Kosher
• Foundation: Humaniterra Foundation