BootsnAll Travel Community

does anyone on this website drink yerba mate? if you dont you may want to look into it.
hasta siempre

Yup. At least a few mornings a week. It's not all that uncommon here in Portland. It's my finals week replacement for coffee. Well, a 75% replacement. Sometimes you just can't beat a double macchiato.

quote:

Originally posted by pichilemu:
does anyone on this website drink yerba mate? if you dont you may want to look into it.
hasta siempre

why do you suggest it?
yerba mate is not very common unless you are Argentinian, Uruguayan, Chilean

I'm argentinian but not very big fan of mate


Gabriela

There's no difference being jacked up on Caffeine from Yerb Mate or Coffee-it's all about the buzzzzzzz.
Yerba Mate is heavily caffeinated-the sources that say otherwise are FOS.

I tried it once, but I dunno how 'authentic' the experience was in terms of quality, flavor, preparation etc

I might look into it again now that I'm off coffee. Any suggestions for brands? reputable sellers? what to look for?

quote:

Originally posted by mina olen:
I tried it once, but I dunno how 'authentic' the experience was in terms of quality, flavor, preparation etc

you should try my "mates", I'm pretty good preparing them


Gabriela

I'm a big fan - I spent some time in Argentina and Uruguay and folks are mad for it down there. My favorite is CBSe, which is really mild and herby and slightly less caffeinated than many others (only because it has more mint and other herbs in it or something).

If anyone's in NYC and is having trouble finding it, send me a PM and I'll tell you a few places.

I've had it, and it can be incredibly addictive. I had it with a metal sipper and a wooden bowl. It really is quite good that way.

I knew some argentinians who carried a kilo of the stuff in case they ran out in Mexico.

quote:

Originally posted by Tortuga_traveller:
I had it with a metal sipper and a wooden bowl.

the metal sipper is a Bombilla and the wooden bowl is a Mate, the beverage is also Mate

Gabriela

The Paraguayans I know love to have their yerba mate cold with ice. They call it terere with an accent on the last syllable. I have also seen Paraguayans burn the yerba with hot coals and then mix in some sugar and then sip hot milk through the bombilla. I tasted it and it is quite a bit like coffee. The terere takes a while to get used to, though.

Oh, Pajarito, is a very good brand that lots of Paraguayans like. They also mix their own.

ack! So these are the types of responses (in Argentina it's like this, or in Paraguay they do this) that I was hoping for on my thread here.

pichilemu,

i tried it in argentina with an argentinian friend, and then tried it there again with another friend... i brought some back to the US, added a lot of sugar, tried to like it, but it always tastes like grass to me... hmmm...