# Yerba Mate

> Shade-grown yerba mate from Misiones, Argentina, flame-dried and aged: coarse, faintly smoky, bittersweet and caffeinated, the shared daily cup of the Rio de la Plata.

Price: 13.50 USD · in stock

## About
A gourd passed hand to hand, a single metal straw, hot water poured again and again through a long afternoon of talk. Yerba mate is the daily plant of the Rio de la Plata region, taken since long before European contact and still shared this way today, a source of caffeine taken slowly and in company.This loose-cut mate is coarse and green-flecked, stems, leaf fragments and fine dust all present, exactly as it should be. It is grown in Misiones, in Argentina's northeast, under the light shade of native canopy trees, a method local growers favor for a rounder, less astringent leaf. After harvest it is briefly flame-dried, which gives it a faint smokiness, then aged for several months before milling. Steeped, it turns deep olive green: vegetal, slightly bitter, closer to strong green tea than to anything herbal.DetailsLoose-cut yerba mate, caffeinatedShade-grown in Misiones, ArgentinaFlame-dried and aged several months before millingHow to useFor the traditional way, fill a gourd two-thirds with leaf, add cool water first to settle the dust, then top with hot but not boiling water and drink through a bombilla, refilling as it empties. Or simply steep a spoonful in a mug for four minutes.Bitter at first, and better for it.