7 ms·

Is there any Yerba Mate you can buy that doesn’t taste horrible though? I consider myself pretty adventurous, but I bought some the other day and was shocked at

by wincy 4y ago

Is there any Yerba Mate you can buy that doesn’t taste horrible though? I consider myself pretty adventurous, but I bought some the other day and was shocked at how such a gross beverage has become popular so quickly.

yakireev 4y ago
> Is there any Yerba Mate you can buy that doesn’t taste horrible though? The short answer is "no". That's what it tastes like. It's an acquired taste, like coffee or beer, and it takes more than one try to get hooked. Source: am hooked.
jmtucu 4y ago
Try the Union Suave, but the secret is how you prepare the mate. Try to find a video from an Argentinian guy doing it.
- elboru 4y ago
  This is it. I hated it too the first time I tried it. Then I watched a couple of videos and the experience was totally different.
petargyurov 4y ago
I had it once and I wasn't really a fan either, but then again I also don't really like tea in general. Like with a lot of things, some foods and drinks are "indoctrinated" to us as children. I imagine mate falls into this category. Could also argue coffee and alcohol taste horrible at first, but you learn to suss out the more complex flavours with habitual use. Of course you also learn to enjoy them because of the effects they have on your body.
nkozyra 4y ago
I don't think it tastes terrible at all, but I'm used to drinking matcha/sencha, kava and kratom. All are very earthy tasting, but not bad once you're used to this. I've never gotten much out of yerba versus tea, to be honest. It has so many magical benefits abscribed to it, but I think it boils down (no pun) to a lightly caffeinated drink and not much more.
seu 4y ago
Try adding some sugar. Traditionalists will pretend to be repulsed by it, but even in Argentina (where I come from), plenty of people add it to their mate.
- senectus1 4y ago
  heh, i went to Argentina for work once.. (it was just pre covid) and I was shocked and amazed at their consumption of this stuff... not only do they pour copious amounts of artificial sweeteners into the cups but they share the cup and straw around the office! I shudder to think of them doing that during covid...
  - sdfhbdf 4y ago
    When I was there last month, a lot of people said that not sharing mate anymore was one of the major cultural things that happened in Argentina because of Covid. Of course the country has other problems that it deals with but yeah looking around it seemed that almost all people carry their own. I’m not Argentinian though so I might not have reliable info just very recent
    - gbaygon 4y ago
      I'm Argentinian and we keep sharing mate as if nothing have happened. Off course there may be some people that started to drink their own mate but definitely not the majority, not even close. Sharing mate is a ritual too culturally rooted to Argentinian society. It's hard to explain but it goes beyond drinking a hot beverage.
      - sdfhbdf 4y ago
        Ok, that's nice to hear. I must have believed anecdata too much
  - the_af 4y ago
    Sharing the straw is definitely the way to go here in Argentina. Note: I'm Argentinian but I don't like mate and sharing a straw feels gross to me. Other Argentinians tell me there's something wrong with my genes. Mate is a social thing here. You're supposed to share and there's a ritual about how the round goes, who prepares the mate for the rest of the group, and how you signal that you don't want to drink anymore. Also curious: Uruguayans share our love of mate but for them it's an individual thing, they don't share their mates. So we say that Uruguayans are born with a mate thermos under their armpits, one for each of them!
mumumu 4y ago
It is hard to find yerba mate that doesn't taste stale outside of south of South America. Friends that drink it ask for people traveling to SA to bring them some. They are also very particular about how to choose it.
- alamortsubite 4y ago
  Like any tea, yerba has a long shelf life if stored properly. It's true it used to take some sleuthing and a bit of luck to track down a bag of yerba at a nearby supermarket in the U.S., and even if you managed to find some you were unlikely to have more than a couple brands to choose from (in a supermarket in Buenos Aires, there are typically dozens). But these days you can order just about any brand of yerba you like on Amazon for the same price or less than buying it in the store, and it will be FedExed to your door in only a few days. As I write this, I'm drinking a mate made with a very fresh bag of La Tranquera. Bárbaro!
- rodrigodlu 4y ago
  There's some brands in south Brazil that sell in a vacuum bag, like coffee, that I store for an entire year. This is how I'm "importing" the good stuff to Rio from south Brazil or Buenos Aires, Argentina sometimes. It's easier to find good brands in Auckland, NZ in specialized stores than here.
kamiheku 4y ago
Try Meta Mate 23 [0] if you can find it where you are. It's vacuum packed while fresh, so instead of the usual bitter road dust affair you get a vibrant-green mate with a mellow, grassy taste. Haven't bought anything else after I discovered this one. [0] https://metamate.cc/product/23/ https://metamate.cc/product/23/
nbk_2000 4y ago
Depends upon which flavor you find objectionable. If you don't like the taste of very strong green tea, then yerba mate may not be for you. However there are several other factors that can lead to yerba mate tasting bad. First is the quality and freshness of the yerba. It should be 6 months or less since it was packaged (check date stamps). It should be made with 80-85* C water (too hot, and it will be super bitter). Whether the yerba has stems (palitos) or not (despalada) can make a difference, stems contribute a bitter taste to the drink. As has been mentioned, knowing how to load the mate and get it primed can also have an effect (ideally, you're going for a slightly nutty, green tea flavor, with a tiny bit of sweetness). It also needs to be a high quality brand, which can be very difficult to obtain outside of S.America. Some high quality brands are: - Taragui (Argentina) - La Merced (Argentina) - Union (Argentina) - Canarias (Uruguay) - Sara (Uruguay) For preparing mate cold (called tereré) - La Rubia (Paraguay) - Pajarito (Paraguay) ... and though highly controversial, you can add sweetner to it to make it less bitter, at least until you palette adapts. But be prepared to be chided with "si no es amargo, no es mate" if mate connoisseurs catch you doing this.
- edmonddantes80 4y ago
  I will add Rosamonte premium, best yerba ever (at least for me).
  - sombragris 4y ago
    Might not be the best ever but I can attest it's a fantastic product which I would recommend in a heartbeat.
- artur_makly 4y ago
  1. add some raw sugar ( 1 teaspoon per gourd ) 2. try the smoked 'Barbacua' flavor https://www.amazon.com/MERCED-Barbacua-Cosecha-Limitada-500gr/dp/B014KSCA14 https://www.amazon.com/MERCED-Barbacua-Cosecha-Limitada-500g... it rocked my world.
  - nbk_2000 4y ago
    If you love La Merced Barbacua, try to get a hold of some of the Barbacua from Sol y Lluvia, it's by far the best smoked yerba I've ever had!
Kaibeezy 4y ago
I remember trying the Guayaki brand canned version that was lightly sweetened and really liking that, but they don’t seem to offer it any longer. Odd. Definitely try various levels and types of sweetener, as others have suggested, and I’ll add: try it iced.
- hiidrew 4y ago
  used to love Guayaki until i realized it has 20-30 grams of sugar. i've found brands that have lower amount, can't remember the name off the top of my head though
- shostack 4y ago
  I got the loose leaf bagged stuff from that brand. How does it compare to other brands?
pastacacioepepe 4y ago
In some parts of Europe (especially Germany/Austria in my experience) you can find soda drinks such as "Club Mate". I like the taste as it's sweteened but not excessively.
- LargoLasskhyfv 4y ago
  I know that, but don't like it that much. What's acceptable though is Club Mate Granat. That is blended with some pomegrenade juice, and looks red. Recommended. Also still available for €0,89 per 0,5L where I live :-)
  - pantalaimon 4y ago
    I think Club Mate Granat is an atrocity that tastes nothing like Mate. But when it comes to mixing flavors, I think Mio Mio Ginger Mate is pretty great. Or Lux Mate with mint - but I’m afraid they closed down.
    - LargoLasskhyfv 4y ago
      Mio Mio Ginger Mate was acceptable, but not good. But they also had something Guarana Pomegrenade, which was better. While were at Ginger, ever tried Bundaberg? :-) Lux Mate Mint sounds interesting, but never had it, so far.
- flobosg 4y ago
  > Club-Mate has developed a following in computer hacker culture and tech start-ups, especially in Europe. ―https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Club-Mate#Hacker_culture https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Club-Mate#Hacker_culture I also like Tschunk, a caipirinha-like cocktail made with Club-Mate, rum, brown sugar, and limes: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Club-Mate#Tschunk https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Club-Mate#Tschunk
  - pastacacioepepe 4y ago
    Yeah you made me remember tschunk, I liked it!! Beside hacker culture it's also quite common in the clubbing scene. I also like to mix it with vodka, it's simple and works pretty well.
bhdn 4y ago
In addition to the other suggestions, consider alternating the source of the mate. Argentinian and Brazilian ones are quite distinct in flavor. Lowering water temperature may lighten it a bit as well.
elhesuu 4y ago
I also dislike when mate is too bitter, but that doesn't generally depend on the yerba itself, but rather on how you prepare mate. Try: - removing dust from yerba, by covering the top of your cup with a slightly humid cloth and shaking it for a few seconds (the dust should stick to it, but the leaves should not) - heating using water a tiny bit under 70 degrees hot (above this temperature the first mates will be too bitter, and the last too washy) - pouring water always in the same place, so that the leaves slowly get wet from bottom to top
varispeed 4y ago
If I find particularly bad tasting one, I'd add some Agava syrup and lime juice. Tastes great then.
rodrigodlu 4y ago
If you compare to coffee without sugar, It's definitely much easier. Like others are saying, it's an acquired taste. I have the same problem living now in southeast Brazil, because many people in south acquire this taste since childhood, like myself. When I offer to people in Sao Paulo or Rio de Janeiro they make a sad face as well. :) But my wife is liking now (she's natural from Rio). It took like a decade for her to really enjoy.
mmplxx 4y ago
It indeed tastes horribly to me too, but I just can't help drinking it around five times a day.
sharperguy 4y ago
It's probably 80% preparation and 20% acquired taste. Few people enjoy coffee when they first try it. Mate is also very easy to overextract and become extremely bitter if not prepared with caution and the correct technique.

by wincy 4y ago

yakireev 4y ago

> Is there any Yerba Mate you can buy that doesn’t taste horrible though? The short answer is "no". That's what it tastes like. It's an acquired taste, like coffee or beer, and it takes more than one try to get hooked. Source: am hooked.

jmtucu 4y ago

Try the Union Suave, but the secret is how you prepare the mate. Try to find a video from an Argentinian guy doing it.

elboru 4y ago
This is it. I hated it too the first time I tried it. Then I watched a couple of videos and the experience was totally different.

petargyurov 4y ago

I had it once and I wasn't really a fan either, but then again I also don't really like tea in general. Like with a lot of things, some foods and drinks are "indoctrinated" to us as children. I imagine mate falls into this category. Could also argue coffee and alcohol taste horrible at first, but you learn to suss out the more complex flavours with habitual use. Of course you also learn to enjoy them because of the effects they have on your body.

nkozyra 4y ago

I don't think it tastes terrible at all, but I'm used to drinking matcha/sencha, kava and kratom. All are very earthy tasting, but not bad once you're used to this. I've never gotten much out of yerba versus tea, to be honest. It has so many magical benefits abscribed to it, but I think it boils down (no pun) to a lightly caffeinated drink and not much more.

seu 4y ago

Try adding some sugar. Traditionalists will pretend to be repulsed by it, but even in Argentina (where I come from), plenty of people add it to their mate.

senectus1 4y ago
heh, i went to Argentina for work once.. (it was just pre covid) and I was shocked and amazed at their consumption of this stuff... not only do they pour copious amounts of artificial sweeteners into the cups but they share the cup and straw around the office! I shudder to think of them doing that during covid...
- sdfhbdf 4y ago
  When I was there last month, a lot of people said that not sharing mate anymore was one of the major cultural things that happened in Argentina because of Covid. Of course the country has other problems that it deals with but yeah looking around it seemed that almost all people carry their own. I’m not Argentinian though so I might not have reliable info just very recent
  - gbaygon 4y ago
    I'm Argentinian and we keep sharing mate as if nothing have happened. Off course there may be some people that started to drink their own mate but definitely not the majority, not even close. Sharing mate is a ritual too culturally rooted to Argentinian society. It's hard to explain but it goes beyond drinking a hot beverage.
    - sdfhbdf 4y ago
      Ok, that's nice to hear. I must have believed anecdata too much
- the_af 4y ago
  Sharing the straw is definitely the way to go here in Argentina. Note: I'm Argentinian but I don't like mate and sharing a straw feels gross to me. Other Argentinians tell me there's something wrong with my genes. Mate is a social thing here. You're supposed to share and there's a ritual about how the round goes, who prepares the mate for the rest of the group, and how you signal that you don't want to drink anymore. Also curious: Uruguayans share our love of mate but for them it's an individual thing, they don't share their mates. So we say that Uruguayans are born with a mate thermos under their armpits, one for each of them!

mumumu 4y ago

It is hard to find yerba mate that doesn't taste stale outside of south of South America. Friends that drink it ask for people traveling to SA to bring them some. They are also very particular about how to choose it.

alamortsubite 4y ago
Like any tea, yerba has a long shelf life if stored properly. It's true it used to take some sleuthing and a bit of luck to track down a bag of yerba at a nearby supermarket in the U.S., and even if you managed to find some you were unlikely to have more than a couple brands to choose from (in a supermarket in Buenos Aires, there are typically dozens). But these days you can order just about any brand of yerba you like on Amazon for the same price or less than buying it in the store, and it will be FedExed to your door in only a few days. As I write this, I'm drinking a mate made with a very fresh bag of La Tranquera. Bárbaro!
rodrigodlu 4y ago
There's some brands in south Brazil that sell in a vacuum bag, like coffee, that I store for an entire year. This is how I'm "importing" the good stuff to Rio from south Brazil or Buenos Aires, Argentina sometimes. It's easier to find good brands in Auckland, NZ in specialized stores than here.

kamiheku 4y ago

Try Meta Mate 23 [0] if you can find it where you are. It's vacuum packed while fresh, so instead of the usual bitter road dust affair you get a vibrant-green mate with a mellow, grassy taste. Haven't bought anything else after I discovered this one. [0] https://metamate.cc/product/23/ https://metamate.cc/product/23/

nbk_2000 4y ago

Depends upon which flavor you find objectionable. If you don't like the taste of very strong green tea, then yerba mate may not be for you. However there are several other factors that can lead to yerba mate tasting bad. First is the quality and freshness of the yerba. It should be 6 months or less since it was packaged (check date stamps). It should be made with 80-85* C water (too hot, and it will be super bitter). Whether the yerba has stems (palitos) or not (despalada) can make a difference, stems contribute a bitter taste to the drink. As has been mentioned, knowing how to load the mate and get it primed can also have an effect (ideally, you're going for a slightly nutty, green tea flavor, with a tiny bit of sweetness). It also needs to be a high quality brand, which can be very difficult to obtain outside of S.America. Some high quality brands are: - Taragui (Argentina) - La Merced (Argentina) - Union (Argentina) - Canarias (Uruguay) - Sara (Uruguay) For preparing mate cold (called tereré) - La Rubia (Paraguay) - Pajarito (Paraguay) ... and though highly controversial, you can add sweetner to it to make it less bitter, at least until you palette adapts. But be prepared to be chided with "si no es amargo, no es mate" if mate connoisseurs catch you doing this.

edmonddantes80 4y ago
I will add Rosamonte premium, best yerba ever (at least for me).
- sombragris 4y ago
  Might not be the best ever but I can attest it's a fantastic product which I would recommend in a heartbeat.
artur_makly 4y ago
1. add some raw sugar ( 1 teaspoon per gourd ) 2. try the smoked 'Barbacua' flavor https://www.amazon.com/MERCED-Barbacua-Cosecha-Limitada-500gr/dp/B014KSCA14 https://www.amazon.com/MERCED-Barbacua-Cosecha-Limitada-500g... it rocked my world.
- nbk_2000 4y ago
  If you love La Merced Barbacua, try to get a hold of some of the Barbacua from Sol y Lluvia, it's by far the best smoked yerba I've ever had!

Kaibeezy 4y ago

I remember trying the Guayaki brand canned version that was lightly sweetened and really liking that, but they don’t seem to offer it any longer. Odd. Definitely try various levels and types of sweetener, as others have suggested, and I’ll add: try it iced.

hiidrew 4y ago
used to love Guayaki until i realized it has 20-30 grams of sugar. i've found brands that have lower amount, can't remember the name off the top of my head though
shostack 4y ago
I got the loose leaf bagged stuff from that brand. How does it compare to other brands?

pastacacioepepe 4y ago

In some parts of Europe (especially Germany/Austria in my experience) you can find soda drinks such as "Club Mate". I like the taste as it's sweteened but not excessively.

LargoLasskhyfv 4y ago
I know that, but don't like it that much. What's acceptable though is Club Mate Granat. That is blended with some pomegrenade juice, and looks red. Recommended. Also still available for €0,89 per 0,5L where I live :-)
- pantalaimon 4y ago
  I think Club Mate Granat is an atrocity that tastes nothing like Mate. But when it comes to mixing flavors, I think Mio Mio Ginger Mate is pretty great. Or Lux Mate with mint - but I’m afraid they closed down.
  - LargoLasskhyfv 4y ago
    Mio Mio Ginger Mate was acceptable, but not good. But they also had something Guarana Pomegrenade, which was better. While were at Ginger, ever tried Bundaberg? :-) Lux Mate Mint sounds interesting, but never had it, so far.
flobosg 4y ago
> Club-Mate has developed a following in computer hacker culture and tech start-ups, especially in Europe. ―https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Club-Mate#Hacker_culture https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Club-Mate#Hacker_culture I also like Tschunk, a caipirinha-like cocktail made with Club-Mate, rum, brown sugar, and limes: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Club-Mate#Tschunk https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Club-Mate#Tschunk
- pastacacioepepe 4y ago
  Yeah you made me remember tschunk, I liked it!! Beside hacker culture it's also quite common in the clubbing scene. I also like to mix it with vodka, it's simple and works pretty well.

bhdn 4y ago

In addition to the other suggestions, consider alternating the source of the mate. Argentinian and Brazilian ones are quite distinct in flavor. Lowering water temperature may lighten it a bit as well.

elhesuu 4y ago

I also dislike when mate is too bitter, but that doesn't generally depend on the yerba itself, but rather on how you prepare mate. Try: - removing dust from yerba, by covering the top of your cup with a slightly humid cloth and shaking it for a few seconds (the dust should stick to it, but the leaves should not) - heating using water a tiny bit under 70 degrees hot (above this temperature the first mates will be too bitter, and the last too washy) - pouring water always in the same place, so that the leaves slowly get wet from bottom to top

varispeed 4y ago

If I find particularly bad tasting one, I'd add some Agava syrup and lime juice. Tastes great then.

rodrigodlu 4y ago

If you compare to coffee without sugar, It's definitely much easier. Like others are saying, it's an acquired taste. I have the same problem living now in southeast Brazil, because many people in south acquire this taste since childhood, like myself. When I offer to people in Sao Paulo or Rio de Janeiro they make a sad face as well. :) But my wife is liking now (she's natural from Rio). It took like a decade for her to really enjoy.

mmplxx 4y ago

It indeed tastes horribly to me too, but I just can't help drinking it around five times a day.

sharperguy 4y ago

It's probably 80% preparation and 20% acquired taste. Few people enjoy coffee when they first try it. Mate is also very easy to overextract and become extremely bitter if not prepared with caution and the correct technique.