In Argentina, yerba mate is sipped throughout the day. Yerba mate leaves are steeped repeatedly by adding water little by little to a hollowed gourd called a mate. A metal drinking straw with a filter at its tip, called a bombilla, keeps the leaves out of the drink. Do not boil the water; boiling water scorches the leaves and makes the drink bitter. If you do not have a gourd and bombilla, use a sturdy glass and a filtered straw.
Fill the cured gourd three-quarters full with yerba mate. Cover the opening with your palm, turn it upside down, and shake it several times. The finest powder will collect on your palm, helping keep the straw from clogging.
Lay the gourd on its side and tilt the yerba mate to one side, leaving a bank of dry leaves on one side and an empty space on the other. This slope lets each pour steep a fresh section of leaves.
Slowly pour lukewarm water, about 40°C / 104°F, into the empty space to wet the lower part of the leaves. Let it stand for 2 minutes; the swollen leaves will not clog the straw. Press the filtered end of the bombilla into the damp area until it reaches the bottom. Do not stir it again.
Heat the water to 70–80°C / 158–176°F. As it approaches a boil, bubbles gather at the bottom before rising to the surface; do not let it boil. Pour the water into the same space near the end of the bombilla and top it up as the drink is sipped. The first pours have the strongest flavor.
Refill the gourd through the same space each time it is empty. After about 10–15 rounds, the flavor weakens and the yerba should be replaced. The same gourd is passed around the table; anyone who likes can add sugar or orange peel.
Cure a new gourd before its first use: fill it with a handful of damp yerba and lukewarm water, let it stand for 24 hours, then scrape it clean and dry it. An uncured gourd can give the drink a raw wood flavor.
Kabağı doldurup yaprağı eğmek ilk seferde anlaşılmıyor ama denedikten sonra oturuyor. Boş tarafa su dökülüyor, yaprağın kuru kalan kısmı sonraki turlar için duruyormuş.
Suyu kaynatınca demleme acılaştı, tarifte yazan sıcaklığa uyunca yumuşak kaldı. Termometrem yok, kaynattıktan sonra beş dakika beklemek yetiyor; ilk turda acı gelirse ikinci turda su daha da soğumuş oluyor.
Bombillayı yerleştirdikten sonra oynatmamak gerekiyor, oynattım ve yaprak tozu bardağın içine doldu.
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