Good day for some Yerba...

I am working from home today, so I need to have some Yerba to keep the old brain firing on all 8 cylinders...

My Work Collection

These are photos of my work collection. DISCLAIMER: I am by no means an expert on this subject, I only claim to be a gringo hobbyist who is passionate about Yerba Mate. I just find it fascinating & thus the need to blog about it.

The Gourd: These are natural gourds that have been painted & decorated. I generally cycle through them daily while at my desk so each gourd has enough time to properly dry before it's next use. Except the largest one as it holds way to much Yerba, even for me! I have used it with friends though. It is the "party gourd" i suppose... :)

The Bombillas (straws): I tend to favor the bombillas that are made from the better materials like stainless steel, or even the alpaca blend whereas some of the cheaper metals tarnish easily and are probably not good to put in your mouth. I have a bamboo one which is fascinating because it was likely the material that was first used by Guarani Indians from a gourd, being all natural materials. It has cracked on me though so i just keep it around as a part of my collection.

The Guampas (horns): These i use for tereré, which is served ice child & is very refreshing while outside or exercising during hot weather.

My home collection

These are my home collection. All of these items are special to me... The gourd & top bombilla were a gift from my wife & kids. The mate from Argentina was a gift from some dear friends who are from there. The lower bombilla is good stainless steel with a great design, which can be seen in it's 2nd photo. I usually use these on weekends when i get to be with my family or friends.

Yerba Yerba unsmoked

Brand: Yerba Yerba
Details: Organic, Unsmoked, leaf only
Country of Origin: Harvested in Argentina, Packaged in USA

This was a great experience! I rationed this half pound bag to myself and was sad to run out. It is unique flavour as it is unsmoked. Although the flavour was great, i found that it washed out quickly. I highly reccommend it though, as it is a gourmet experience that should be had if possible. Overall rating: 5 stars

Compañera

Brand: Compañera
Country of Origin: Paraguay

I found Compañera to have a very average flavor. It also has a horrible logo, which is the real reason anyone drinks yerba at all right? ;) I am such a nerd. It met my needs for certain, but the flavor did not last very long for some reason, which is a nuisance really so it affects my overall rating of this product.

Overall Rating ... 2 stars

Terere

Terere

Another nice way to drink yerba is as Tereré. This is best when sweetened with stevia or some other way. Fill a thermos with ice water & maybe add mint or lemon peels to the yerba if you like to make a refreshing drink. This is especially refreshing on hot summer days. I use this guampa which, if nothing else makes me look cool at the office.

Brand: Colon
Country of Origin: Paraguay

This is the worst yerba I have ever tried. don't get me wrong, I like it better than no yerba of course, but I mostly used it to cure my gourds since I loath using up my favorite brands for that task...

overall rating ... 1 star

Mista lova lova mmmmmm

Brand: Romance

Country of Origin: Argentina

Nothing says "I love you baby" like a bag of Yerba. I have not tried this brand yet, but it is on my to do list & would like to share it with my special someone at some point...

Cruz De Malta

Product: Cruz De Malta

Country of Origin: Argentina

This was the next type of Yerba I tried. I met a great friend from Argentina who showed me the proper way to drink it, & he put a grapefruit peel in with it as well as sugar. This is a great way to drink it. Cruz De Malta has a nice smoky flavour, & large leaves which is nice because it doesn't clog the bombilla as easily.

On a side note, I also love the logo for this company & would like a T-shirt or cap with this emblem on it.

This is a desirable product, which I would purchase again & again, & I usually do when it is in stock.

Overall Rating: 4 stars

AMANDA

Product: Amanda

Country of Origin: Argentina

Website: http://www.yerbamanda.com.ar

The first type of yerba I ever tried was Amanda. I had never tried it before, but the words "Yerba Mate" always stood out to me, so I just grabbed a kilo off the shelf to start experimenting with. After googling a bit, I found some instructions, but had no bombilla or proper mate's to drink from so I used a smaller mason jar. I probably oversteeped it & ended up making more of a mate cocido, and a few hours after drinking it I found I could smell the haunting smoky flavour of the yerba on my skin...

From there I messed around with tea balls & strainers until I got my first bombilla on ebay.

I recently found a nice amanda set which I purchased which looked like this:

Even with only half a kilo, the ceramic gourd & stainless bombilla was an excellent value. Overall, I really enjoy Amanda yerba & will buy it again when I see it somewhere. The flavour in this kit was slightly different from the first bag I tried for some reason... but still good.

Overall rating: 3 Stars