mate (yerba) how to make

They have mate in Latvia?

In Argentina you just add as much as you want and use boiling water, volumes of each are up to personal taste...

Erm, where's teh Mate from btw?

Hmm_Messiah wrote: »

I drink mate sometimes when in Latvia and have the gourd and leaves etc at home but came some one tell me how to make

I got instructions but they didn't translate well and looked it up on line and the procedure seemed way off what i had experienced, and measurements etc

how many (teasponns0 to a gourd, how long do you wait, do you have to treat the gourd occasionally
and something about how you moved the "straw" ( am tired can't remember the name for it) to move the leave etc ??

Any help much appreciated

Drinking mate is not an easy procedure. In fact unless you have someone to help you it is likely you will not do it correctly and will end up ruining it the experience.

Its hard to explain over the internet, you need to ask someone to show you, preferable someone from Argentina or Uruguay who has been doing this all their life and were taught but their parents etc.

Preparing mate before your frist drink is when you level the tea and turn the mate sideways while you add the water is almost impossible to explain but is the most important part of the process. If you dont do it correctly the mate will taste watery.

The way you do it anyway is you fill 3/4 of the mate with the tea and then pour water while you bring the leaves to the front of the mate, adding water slowly. This process is called "cebar". Also, the mate (that's the recipient) needs to be cured prior to first use for over 1 day.

Its hard to explain, my family has been drinking mate forever although I never quite got into the habit of doing it myself (I am the only one in my family - this includes, grandparents, aunts, uncles, brothers, parents, cousins, etc) so I am well used to it.

Good luck though, maybe youtube might have some information about it? look for "como cebar mate" to learn how to do it and "como curar mate" if you want to learn how to cure the mate itself before starting...

Best yerba is probably targagui, there is a butcher (yes a butcher) who sells them in pearse street besides tesco. You can also buy it online.