What Is Terere 

Terere is delicious!  El terere is an especially popular Yerba Mate preparation method in Paraguay, Brazil, and northeastern Argentina. Terere is basically the yerba mate tea prepared with ice cubes, ice water, and fruit, fruit juice, sweeteners, or herbs.

Terere Yerba Mate Flavors or Additives

Darcee writes, "I like to squeeze some lemon into the prepared gourd. I throw the peel and lemon 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 in Terere 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.

Some of the more popular herbs to use in Terere are mint, lemongrass, or lemon verbena.  Of course, any herb you enjoy could be added.

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

Terere 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.

Terere Disadvantages

• Cold water does not extract as many nutrients as hot water methods, though the juice used does offer some additional nutrients.
• When prepared using a cup instead of a yerba mate gourd, even less nutrients are extracted.

How To Prepare Terere

Easiest Terere Explanation Using a Yerba Mate Gourd

Using a yerba mate gourd extracts more nutrients than the cup method because it compresses the yerba mate around the mate bombilla, which allows for greater nutrient extraction.

1. Pour some yerba mate into your cured yerba mate gourd (1/3 to 1/2 full).
2. Add ice cubes, fruit, sweeteners, herbs, and fill with juice or ice water.
3. Holding your thumb over the tip, put mate straw (yerba mate bombilla) into yerba mate.
4. Drink
5. Repeat adding more ice water or juice.

Detailed Explanation Using a Yerba Mate Gourd: El Terere

1) Fill cured yerba mate gourd between 1/3 to 1/2 full of yerba mate (and optional smaller dried additives such as herbs or small fruit peels). Tilt gourd until tea is alongside of yerba mate gourd, arriving near the top.

Optional Step- Cover top of yerba mate gourd 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 mate straw from clogging. Turn it back over carefully, trying to keep the yerba inclined along one side during the entire preparation and drinking process.

2) Add an ice cube or two.

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

3) Pour Juice and/or cold water into the gourd.

Note: Try to preserve the yerba mate at the top of the gourd by keeping the top level dry when filling the gourd with water. This also helps to protect the straw from getting clogged, by helping to prevent the yerba mate from floating upwards.

4) While covering tip of mate straw with thumb, insert filter end of yerba mate straw at an angle into the deepest part of the yerba mate.

5) Drink! 

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

7) Continue refilling the gourd with ice water or cold juice until you have had enough.

Easiest Terere Explanation Using a Cup (without mate gourd)

Using a regular cup, with a base that is not wider than the top, extracts fewer nutrients than the yerba mate gourd method.  This is because the yerba mate does not compress around the mate bombilla, which decreases the ability to extract as many nutrients.

NOTE: Find a drinking cup that is not wider at the top, like a mason jar, and it will result in a better extraction method.  Still, a yerba mate gourd is optimal for nutrient extraction.

1. Pour some yerba mate into a cup.
2. Pour Juice or very cold water with an ice cube onto some of the yerba mate.
3. Holding your thumb over the tip, put mate straw (yerba mate bombilla) into yerba mate.
4. Drink
5. Repeat adding more ice water or juice.

Detailed Terere Explanation Using a Cup: (without mate gourd)

1) Fill a regular cup between 1/3 to 1/2 full of yerba mate (and optional smaller dried additives such as herbs or small fruit peels). Tilt gourd until tea is alongside of cup, arriving near the top.

Optional Step- Cover top of cup with hand or plate, 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 mate straw (bombilla) from clogging. Turn it back over carefully, trying to keep the yerba inclined along one side during the entire preparation and drinking process.

2) Add an ice cube or two.

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

3) Pour Juice and/or cold water into the cup.

Note: Try to preserve the yerba mate at the top of the cup by keeping the top level dry when filling the cup with water. This also helps to protect the mate straw from getting clogged, by helping to prevent the yerba mate from floating upwards.

4) While covering tip of mate straw with thumb, insert filter end of yerba mate straw at an angle into the deepest part of the yerba mate.

5) Drink! 

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

7) Continue refilling the cup with ice water or cold juice until you have had enough.

El Terere Hints:

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

Visit our shop today and start enjoying all the benefits of yerba mate.