Yerba Mate Chai Latte Recipe

When the first batch of Firepot Chai was made in 2001, it was blended with 4 different base teas for 4 different experiences: Black Tea (original), Rooibos (caffeine-free), Yerba Mate (fortifying), and Cacao (dessert tea).  Yerba Mate Chai is now, after 20 years, making a comeback as an invigorating, slimming, and fortifying blend! We hope you love it as much as we do!

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Yerba Mate's taste profile is a little like eucalyptus with a faint smokiness characteristic of South America. It is refreshing and invigorating with a natural caffeine level that rivals a cup of coffee. In fact, in countries where it is popular, Southern Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Argentina, consumption of Yerba Mate exceeds that of coffee by a ratio of 6 to 1!  Traditionally, the yerba leaves are placed in the bottom of a dried and hollowed-out gourd or mate. The steeping process consists of 2 steps: first cold water is poured over the leaves followed by hot water as the infusion process begins.

Traditional accessories can transform the process of steeping and drinking yerba mate into a true cultural experience! In South American style, yerba mate was historically prepared using a hollowed-out, dried calabash gourd. The yerba leaves were placed at the bottom of the gourd. Then, instead of straining as with other loose leaf teas, Yerba mate leaves were left in the gourd. To siphon the tea from the leaf fragments while drinking, materos, or yerba mate aficionados, consumed the tea through a metal straw known as a bombilla. A bombilla was traditionally made from hollow bamboo canes and has a small sieve at the bottom. 

When making your yerba mate at home, whether you use the traditional gourd and bombilla or your favorite mug and strainer, take care to never allow the water to get hot enough to boil. Boiling water will add bitterness to the leaves and, if you are drinking from a traditional calabash gourd, can cause the gourd to crack.

Given the bright taste of Yerba Mate, it was a perfect pairing for our masala chai spice. In addition to organic, green Yerba Mate, our Firepot Yerba Mate Chai includes: freshly ground, organic spices that are blended in-house for extraordinary quality. The Firepot spice blend includes organic cinnamon, organic cardamom, organic coriander, organic ginger, organic black pepper, and organic cloves.  The warmth of chai spice plus the invigorating energy burst of yerba mate makes this a perfect way to start your day or to schedule an aromatic afternoon pick-me-up.

Here are steeping instructions for enjoying Yerba Mate Chai either hot or iced:

YERBA MATE CHAI LATTE RECIPE

You will need:

1 tsp Firepot Yerba Mate Chai 

½  cup of water

1/2 cup of milk

A spoonful of honey or sugar

to make:

DOWNLOAD THE RECIPE CARD HERE!