Description
Leafy Melody – Full Moon Harvest July 2023
A premium product from Meta Mate, you will not find Mate tea of a higher quality in the UK. Artisanally produced by the Gehm family in Sede Nova, Southern Brazil (where they call it chimarrão), this is Craft Mate as it should be.
Over 3 generations, the Gehm family have mastered the art of Yerba Mate production. They harvest the leaves under the full moon from wild, forest-grown Yerba Mate trees. Harvesting in this way does not damage the trees and maintains the biodiversity that monoculture crops are so rapidly destroying in many areas of South America.
Mate producers take pride in their individual techniques, resulting in each Mate having its own characteristic flavour. The Gehm family have a slightly larger infrastructure than many other small producers, but they maintain traditional methods. The sapeco (the process of exposing freshly harvested Yerba Mate leaves to flames) is done manually in a metal drum, and the drying process takes places in a barbacua that can hold several hundred kilos of Mate. The Gehm family produce a soft tasting Mate by firing up the barbacua before placing the Mate in to dry. This is a leafy cut Mate, which results in a subtle smokey flavour.
If you’re looking for a high-quality Mate tea which supports small artisanal farmers and their traditional methods, then this is the product for you.
The sapeco process
The smoke from the fire travels through the tunnel to dry the Mate in the wooden structure pictured in the background
The hot barbacua where the Mate is dried
Preparation:
We recommend preparing this Craft Mate in the traditional manner, using a gourd and bombilla. For instructions on how to do this, click here.
Alternatively, you can prepare this Mate using a French Press or tea strainer. If using a French Press, add 2 tablespoons of Mate to 1l of hot (no more than 85°C) water. Let sit for 5 minutes before pushing down the plunger.
