I first tried Yerba Mate (pronounced mah-tay) on a trip to Uruguay, where it is everywhere and is an integral part of local culture. It is very closely tied to national identity, with the bag of yerba mate saying "El mate de mi pais," the mate of my country.  People of all ages carry around gourds and a  bombilla, along with a thermos of hot water. It is the national drink of Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay, but is drunk throughout South America. Due to something in it (not caffeine), it gives you a really good boost of energy.

I was taught by Uruguayan friends the proper way to prepare and drink mate. Mate refers to both the herb, yerba mate, as well as the entire drinking setup including gourd and bombilla. The bombilla is a metal straw with a straining mechanism at the bottom. The gourd is nearly filled with the yerba, which is a generous amount. This way, it can last all day without having to refill. The straw is placed in and hot water is poured in the gourd about halfway. Since the gourd is already filled with yerba, it's a small amount of water that is drunk in one sip through the straw. The gourd is sipped dry and refilled after every sip. This way the water stays hot, they tell  me. The yerba is pushed to the side and top to keep it fresh, but if the drink starts to get weak, new yerba from the top is moved to the bottom where the water is.

If you want to know how to drink yerba mate, just look at the locals

The dry yerba maté herb smells similar to green tea, but a bit more earthy. Using the bombilla, on the first sip I got a lot of leafy bits coming through.  On the second sip there were less, as the mate got more packed down.  The subsequent sips have less and less leaves, I think because I drank all the ones that were small enough to pass through already!

Despite the scalding of the hot water and metal straw if you're not used to it, the drink is actually very refreshing. It tastes like a very strong green tea and leaves a cool sensation in your mouth as an aftertaste. It can range from sweet to bitter, varying slightly with each sip and depending on how recently the gourd has been packed. Not to mention, it does give you a good boost of energy. My Uruguayan friends insisted that it doesn't have caffeine, just something similar. Must be a special yerba mate caffeiene - works for me.

Even though my tongue was painfully burned the first time I tried it, I actually liked it. If you've been drinking it for a long time, I'm told, you can widthstand hotter and hotter water. I had no warning though, and got the hottest variety on first sip. It actually does taste better with hotter water, and you can control the heat by where you pour the water. You can achieve maximum heat by pouring directly on the straw, which will stay hot for quite a while and heat the water while you drink.

How to prepare yerba mate if you don't have a gourd

I liked it, but really didn't think I would drink it enough to justify buying the traditional drinking gourd. I brought home a huge bag (standard size, since people usually drink so much and you fill the gourd completely every time) of Canarias yerba mate, which is a common brand made in Brazil. Having a 1 KG bag, I experimented with other ways of drinking the yerba mate. It's nearly impossible to drink like regular loose-leaf tea unless you filter it somehow because the leaf pieces are so small you will end up drinking them all. I have a tea thermos with built-in filter that I got in China so I decided to give it a try. It strained out the leaves just fine, but I learned quickly that there is a reason for the traditional way of drinking mate: it gets bitter very fast if left to steep for more than a minute.

If you're ever in the southern cone of South America, especially in Uruguay or Argentina, I really recommend trying yerba mate. The locals will share it with friends, drinking out of the same straw, so don't be shy. It's a great part of the culture that you shouldn't miss.

*First and third images under Creative Commons License. All other images property of NewAtlasBev.com

Here is everything you need to get started drinking yerba mate in the traditional way:

Sambazon Acai Juice

Sambazon Acai is one of the first companies to bring acai berry fruit juice to the United States. The Açai berry, is one of those fruits that still has near mythical status, despite the fact that it's been widely available in the states for several years. Acai is pronounced ah-sigh-ee and is also known as the purple berry because of it's deep purple color. It's extremely high in antioxidants, healthy omega fatty acids, fiber, and protein, and supposedly has many other health properties.

This exotic drink has been made by Brazilians for who knows how many hundreds of years. Even though the acai berry is Brazilian, acai juice is not one of the most common preparations, which is what makes this such an exotic drink. The fruit grows on the açai palm tree that is only found in Brazil, where it is made into a variety of juice blends, smoothies, ice creams and other delicious treats. In some regions of the Amazon, the berry makes up nearly half of the locals diet.

I decided to try and review Sambazon's organic original blend açai juice. It's basically only made of  "120 acai berries per bottle," some blue agave for sweetener, and lime juice. When I first opened up the bottle, there was a slightly off-putting brown around the rim, clearly from juice that had evaporated. Not to be deterred by a little dried juice, I took a sip. It smelled delicious and tastes just as good. This is a very difficult flavor to place for me. It's unlike any other fruit I have tried before. The description on the back of the bottle describes it as "berry-cocoa" but I honestly can't taste any cocoa in it. The closest thing I can think of is blueberries, but Sambazon acai juice is not sour or bitter in any way. It's actually very refreshing, smooth, and creamy.

I can't get over the creaminess, which is so strange for a fruit juice, and especially by looking at the color you would never guess it. It's quickly becoming one of my new favorite fruits. The healthiness is just a bonus. The only complaint I have is that it doesn't come in a bigger bottle. The standard serving is only 10 oz, or 350mL.

Note: There are a lot of acai scams on the internet and other reviews of acai berry because of it's health properties, but you can get it from Amazon here: Sambazon Organic Acai Juice 10.5 fl oz, (pack of 6)