Fall Cuppa Guide. . .Part 2

  On my last post, I shared about the amazing and unconventional Japanese green tea "Hojicha".  At the end of the post I noted that due to it being very low in caffeine it makes for a great relaxing nighttime cuppa.  I do hope you have had the opportunity to experience a properly brewed cup of this delightful elixir and highly recommended Fall drink.
  This brings me to the rousing "yang" of Hojicha's gentle "Yin", another spectacular brew that is touted to have the stimulation of coffee, the health benefits of green tea and the euphoria of chocolate all wrapped up in one cup, I am talking about a South American herbal drink called:

Yerba Mate'

  Herbal "Yerba Mate" comes from the leaves of the Holly tree which grows in the South American rainforest.  The leaves are cultivated and enjoyed as a stimulating, healthy and social beverage in many parts of the world, traditionally drunk from an elaborately decorated gourd through a metal siphon straw.
  Brewing the leaves green gives the tea a pleasant vegetal, green tea-ish essence.  Personally, I prefer a tea brewed from Yerba leaves that have been pan toasted (yes, similar to the Japanese Hojicha) imparting a robust, nutty, toasty, slightly caramelized flavor to the tea.
   For some, a cup of coffee can be somewhat upsetting to the stomach.  That is where the Yerba Mate' comes in, due to it being a tea that is very low in acid, you still get the stimulation, very similar to a cup of coffee, but without the stomach upset.

Best Brewing Method:
  When brewing a cup of Yerba Mate', the brewing method I recommend is the same regardless of whether you are preparing the green Yerba, or the pan toasted Yerba. 

Note the Yerba Mate' gourd?

• 1 teaspoon Yerba Mate' per cup
• 1 tea pot or tea strainer
• Fresh filtered water (if you like the taste of your tap water, then it is fine.  If your tap water tastes unpleasant then your cup of tea will also have an unpleasant taste, use filtered)

  Heat your fresh water to a rolling boil and take immediately off heat.  Take an empty coffee/tea mug and carefully pour the hot water into the empty mug (DO NOT add tea yet).  Let the mug sit for one minute after which it will have cooled from 212 degrees (boiling) to right about 180 degrees, the perfect temperature for steeping your tea.  Carefully pour the water over your tea leaves and let steep for 3 to 4 minutes.  After time, remove the leaves from the cup and SAVE THEM!  Yerba can be effectively re-steeped several times, so you can really make your tea budget stretch with this knowledge.  Now, if you like, add a splash of milk and lightly sweeten to taste and enjoy your satisfying and invigorating cuppa!  Once you start sipping and get those mental synapses firing, who knows what you might achieve.  

 

Until next time, I part with a quote from Sir Bernard-Paul Heroux: 

"There is no trouble so great or grave that cannot be much diminished by a nice cup of tea."

Wishing you all the very best, Barista Dave!