#eatArgentina
Tadadada!
Alright, so as you can probably guess from this for today's video we are in our kitchen
in Buenos Aires and we are going to be teaching you how to make Yerba Mate.
So, one thing we've noticed here in the supermarkets is that they have entire aisles dedicated
to Mate.
There must be like fifty varieties out there at least.
Seriously, it was like a daunting task.
Yeah, how do we choose?
Which one is the right one?
Um, but if you've never heard of Mate before it is kind of like a green tea.
It is basically a green leaf that they kind of like smash together.
Um, and you use it to make tea but not in a tea cup.
We're going to be using these little things.
These little mugs.
Um, and normally they are made out of gourd.
So that is kind of like a hollowed out pumpkin or something like that.
But these are a bit more modern.
I've got my matryoshka here.
Show them my Monsieur Mustache.
My Mr. Mustache.
So this one is Sam's.
Yeah, I'm excited to try that.
Yeah, so you can get some that are made out of wood, there is metal ones, there is a whole
bunch to choose from.
But anyways, let's start making this thing.
So let's open this.
This is our first time making it.
Oh la lah.
It is kind of funny.
This is our first time making it and yet we're teaching you how it is done.
Ha, ha.
Can we be trusted?
That is how we roll.
That is the question.
What is it they say?
If you want to learn how to do something teach someone else how to do it.
And there you go.
We are, so we're going to want to fill it up about 2/3's of the way.
Oh, and first you should probably have a look inside the bag.
Look at that.
So you can see how the leaves have been kind of crushed.
You get a really good view from there.
It is kind of like a loose leaf.
Alright, fill it up two thirds of the way.
Two thirds.
That would appear to be two thirds.
There you go.
And they say that you should put your palm over it and kind of shake it to help the.
Oh crap, it is going everywhere.
Shake it up baby.
To help the smaller leaves, or like the powder, settle near the top so it doesn't get stuck
in your straw.
But my hand is too little so it is flying everywhere.
Look at that powder.
Anyways, so then we're going to take our little straw.
This is called bombila and just stick it right in there at an angle.
And then we're going to grab our water which I boiled earlier.
You don't want to use boiling hot water so we've had this sitting for a few minutes.
Yes, they say the key is 75 degrees.
75 degrees.
So that is what we're going for.
So, well, I didn't really check the temperature guys, but let's just go with that.
There we go.
Filler up.
Filler up buttercup.
There we are.
Have a look at that.
It is still bubbling.
Oh, did we do it wrong.
Oh!
So ready for the first sip.
I didn't add any sugar to mine because I don't normally have sugar with my tea.
Oh natural.
Let's have a sip of this.
Mmmm.
Yes.
It's been a while since I had this.
I never really enjoyed it as a kid when I was living in Argentina.
I always thought it was gross and bitter.
Haha.
So it is interesting trying it as an adult.
How many years later.
Have your taste buds matured a little bit?
Would you say?
Yeah, I'm used to drinking green tea now so I do like this.
It is a little bit bitter and it kind of has a grassy flavor.
Can you taste those herbs?
Yeah, I mean it tastes green.
Like grass.
Like I'm eating grass in a field.
Like a horse.
Hahaha.
Yeah, so it is actually nice.
I am enjoying it.
Um, and as you can see the water level has kind of gone down so you just grab some more
hot water and keep refilling this.
And the cool thing about this is you can fill it up upwards to 10 to 20 times before you
need to replace the Mate.
Yeah, so you can just.
And it is a very social drink.
Like if you see people drinking this on the streets of Buenos Aires you'll notice they'll
be passing around the same gourd and the same straw.
Yes.
You just share.
Saliva doesn't matter.
Just pass it along.
There you go.
Alright, it is time for me to make my Mate tea now.
The Mister Mustache gourd is waiting.
And unlike yours, I'm going to make mine, with sugar.
Okay, show us how it is done.
Showtime.
So once again, two thirds of the way full.
There is a lot that you can get in there.
Mmmhmmm.
And of course some sugar.
I' going to give it a generous amount.
What is a generous amount, Sam?
I'd say about 2/3rds of a tablespoon.
That is a lot of sugar.
That is not even a teaspoon.
That is like a tablespoon.
It is.
And time for the water infusion.
So, now we wait for the magic to happen.
Yeah, the difference here being I'm going to be stirring mine so that I can mix that
sugar in.
Mixing, mixing, mixing.
I don't know if locals would approve.
Alright, let's try the sweetened version of that Mate here.
Mmmmm.
Wow.
Yeah, that is uh that is really nice.
If you like something sweet then you're going to want to add sugar to it.
Because, what I find though is when you add too much sugar, kind of like what I did, you
kind of mask that strong taste of the mate.
So I prefer mine oh natural without sugar.
But if you enjoy your tea or coffee sweet then you'll want to add some to yours.
So, the question is tea or mate?
Which do you prefer?
Well, when you're in South America, especially in Argentina you're going to want to prefer
mate.
Because this is like the national drink here.
Yeah, we've seen people drinking this during demonstrations, during their lunch breaks,
while they're hanging out at the park.
Yes.
Everywhere.
It is an everyday part of life and if you come to Argentina - especially Buenos Aires
- you're going to want to try it.
And all the other items that we used are super easy to pickup at a supermarket.
And they are also really cheap.
Yeah, you can also go get them at the different fairs.
You can get them at the Sunday San Telmo Market or the Recoleta Sunday Fair.
And you're going to pay a bit more, you're going to pay a touristy prices but you'll
get something that is a bit more like artesanal.
Yeah.
Blooper Alert!
So here it is.
We're going to have our first sip of mate.
I didn't add any sugar to mine because I normally don't have sugar.
Sugah.
I don't have sugar.
Hahahaha.
Where is the sugar?
My gosh.
I can't speak English Okay.