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.
- 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.
Have there been any studies on disease transmission in cultures that partake of drinks in this communal manner?
Yerba Mate is bitter, but there are different values and shades of bitterness. Taste between brands might vary quickly and in one brand, there might be various blends and varieties. For example, parent mentioned La Rubia. It's a fantastic product but it tastes too acidic for me. Colón (and Pajarito) is mellower in that regard.
For example, Colón offers a premium variety with superb taste. I don't use it because I drink Tereré and after two or three sips the flavor completely washes away. The regular variety is stronger and lasts longer.
When I have to explain yerba mate's taste to people, the most useful comparison is that the taste is somewhat similar to a more intense green tea.
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.
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.
I shudder to think of them doing that during covid...
Sharing mate is a ritual too culturally rooted to Argentinian society. It's hard to explain but it goes beyond drinking a hot beverage.
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!
Mate is traditionally drank with a metal straw, a small "cup" (the gourd) and a bottle with hot water, which we Argies always call a "termo" (after the thermos brand, much like many people call tissue paper "kleenex"). This bottle is used to constantly refill the gourd, since each "serving" of water only lasts a couple of sips. Note the yerba mate inside the gourd lasts many rounds of sipping until it also needs to be changed.
So to drink mate in Argentina, you need yerba, one straw, one gourd, and one termo per group of people, because we share the mate. But Uruguayans don't share their mate, even though they are heavy mate drinkers, so each carries their own mate and termo under their arm, everywhere. Hence, "they are born with a termo under their arm".
It's not really a joke, more like a friendly description of Uruguayans and mate.
Also still available for €0,89 per 0,5L where I live :-)
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.
―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
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.
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.
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
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.
Friends that drink it ask for people traveling to SA to bring them some. They are also very particular about how to choose it.
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.