The Terere Method

Terere is delicious!  El terere is an especially popular Yerba Mate preparation method in Paraguay and Brazil. Terere is basically the Traditional Method, yet juice or cold water with ice cubes is used in place of the hot water.

Advantages

• A cool, refreshing hot weather drink that tastes so good!
• No need for heating up water.
• Can use juice for the most combinations of nutrients and flavor, while still extracting nutrients from the Yerba Mate
• Less steps than the Traditional Method.

Disadvantages

• Does not extract as many nutrients as hot water methods like the YerbaCup® or the Traditional Method. 

Easiest Explanation

1. Pour some yerba mate into your cured gourd.
2. Put straw (bombilla) into yerba mate.
3. Pour Juice or very cold water with an ice cube onto some of the yerba mate.
4. Drink

Flavors or Additives

Darcee writes, "I like to squeeze some limon into the prepared gourd. I throw the peel and limon guts in there too! Then I add honey and a few ice cubes. Fill it up with water and savor the moment." Ahhhh, Terere!

Some of the more popular juices to use are lime, orange, lemon, mango, peach, or grapefruit. Combinations of these juices as well as other juices help make Terere a unique, nutritional option for extracting the nutrients of the tea into your favorite juice.

Yerba Mate drinkers have experimented with an endless variety of juices, even beer and lime cola have their supporters. 

Detailed Explanation: El Terere

1) Fill cured gourd between a little more than half full to 2/3 full of yerba (and optional smaller dried additives such as herbs or small fruit peels). Tilt gourd until tea is along side of gourd, arriving near the top (shown in green).

2) Optional Step- Cover with hand, turn upside down, and shake vigorously to help prepare the yerba mate. This moves the smaller leaf particles to the top in order to prevent the straw (bombilla) from clogging. Turn it back over carefully on its side. Try to keep the yerba inclined along one side during the entire preparation and drinking process.

3) Insert filter end of straw at an angle into the deepest part of the yerba mate as the above image demonstrates.

4) Add an icecube or two.

Optional: Add larger additives like mint leaves, cinnamon sticks, honey, or lemon juice (to name a few) into the gourd as desired.

5) Pour Juice and/or cold water into the gourd. As you drink it, try to preserve the yerba by keeping the top level dry when filling the gourd with water. This also helps to protect the straw from getting clogged.

6) Drink! 

Note: Some people love the first sip because it is the most nutrient rich, while other avoid it due to its strong flavor. For those that dislike the first sip, they will discard it before swallowing.

7) Repeat step 5 until you have had enough.

El Terere Hint:

El terere drinkers tend to buy the largest gourd they can and just keep drinking juice out of it throughout the day.