What are the types of Yerba Mate?

You have familiarised yourself with what Yerba Mate is and have made your choice on the type of Yerba Mate Gourd you want, but still don’t know which type of Yerba to go for? or indeed what are the available types of Yerba Mate? This is what we will try and shed some light on in this blog post.

The flavour, texture and look of Yerba Mate can differ wildly between countries and even regions within the same country. For example in Southern Brazil, the Yerba isn’t dried as much and has a vivid, very rich green colour whilst also being almost all powdery.

Contrast this with Argentinian Yerba Mate, where the Yerba is dried for months on end and has many stems mixed in with the powder and you will begin to get a sense of just how different this infusions can end up. See the images to the right to see how different the Yerba looks between Argentina and its neighbour Brazil.

Yerba Mate can be mild, strong, sweet, bitter or fruit flavoured.

Physics and Chemistry come into play here. The more powder, the more intense the flavour. Con Palos Yerba Mate is a milder type of Yerba Mate and contains small, chopped up stems, so the infusion is not as strong or bitter.

The stems serve to Γò¼├┤Γö£├ºΓö£ΓöÉdiluteΓò¼├┤Γö£├ºΓö£├╗ the Yerba. This blend is more popular in Argentina and Paraguay. Our Native Leaf Original is a “con palos” Yerba that has a beautifully balanced flavour ideal for those who are not fond of the bitter taste of other Yerba Mate brands.

Sin Palos Yerba is ideal for those that enjoy intense flavour. Again, Physics and Chemistry lead this type of Yerba to brew a much stronger Yerba Mate infusion because it is more concentrated. This type of Yerba is popular in Uruguay and Southern Brazil. If you are after a more bitter taste or a stronger pick-me-up, then this type of Yerba Mate is for you.

A popular way of drinking Yerba Mate in Argentina and Paraguay, this simply means sweetening the Yerba Mate. This can be achieved by adding sugar or sweetener to the gourd directly over the Yerba Mate.

Flavoured Yerba Mate is quite popular. Though one has to be careful about how exactly the flavour is added. Many of the large commercial brands do it by adding or spraying the Yerba with chemically synthesised flavours.

If this is not something that bothers you, then many flavours are available. Lemon and orange being amongst the most popular, but there is also grapefruit, honey, citrus, herbal, mint, eucalyptus, peach, guarana… even coffee! Flavoured yerba mate is especially nice when sweetened.

Many of the larger Yerba Mate brands offer “specialist” blends of Yerba where they claim some super health benefit beyond what Yerba is usually famous for, such as claiming that a particular blend is anti-acidic or good for the liver or that it lowers cholesterol and list goes on.

I am personally sceptical of such claims and stick to good old traditional Argentine Yerba.