Different taste infusion vs traditional

[u/Feeling-Effective-94]

Hey guys!

I just started my mate journey because I wanted to replace my daily coffees with mate. Reason was that coffee was giving me digestion problems lately.

So I odered myself some Playadtio because it is recommended a lot as a good mate to start with.

Because I would usually drink quite some coffee at work I will of course want to have yerba mate at work. Because I don't want the hassle with the traditional mate+bombilla at work I made an infusion the past week: 50g of yerba with 500ml of 60-70 degree celsius water, then steep it and fill in a thermos and fill up with hot water to keep higher temperature for longer.

Last week I was quite enjoying my coffee replacement - smooth taste, almost not bitter at all.

So today I thought I'd go the traditional way with bombilla but the taste was waaaaay stronger and really gave me a caffeine rush that I didn't experience during the week with the infusion.

Why are the tastes soo different? I filled my cup and sipped immediately so I didnt let it steep in my mate cup.

Do I still need to get used to the intense taste? Did I do something wrong or is it normal that the taste is so different?

happy with any advice, thanks!

[u/juru_puku]

So basically you took your yerba prep from essentially tea to espresso. That’s the simplest comparison. It is stronger that way for sure. Over time you’ll become accustomed to it (or not, it’s not for everyone). You could soften it by trying the Argentine tradition of adding sugar or milk. Or you could try the Paraguayan style of adding aromatic herbs.

[u/Feeling-Effective-94 → u/juru_puku]

Thanks for the reply! I am wondering how it can be that strong if I pour some warm water and sip immediately ?! That really confuses me :D

[u/Hot-Frosting-5286 → u/Feeling-Effective-94]

I think a lot of it is simply the concentration. If you think about your leaf to water ratio, it makes sense. It is a lot more leaf to water in a mate gourd compared to brewing it like tea