How to make yerba mate in a gourd: step by step

Short answer: Fill the gourd two thirds full with yerba mate, shake out the fine particles and tilt the leaves to one side. Pour a little cold water into the hollow, insert the bombilla and top up with water at 70 to 80 °C, not boiling. Drink the mate through the bombilla and keep refilling in the same spot, often six or seven times, until the flavour is gone.

Last updated: 5 November 2026 · Written by Florian Fermin

Making yerba mate looks complicated the first time you see it, but after two or three tries you'll have the hang of it. In this article we go step by step through the traditional preparation, with what often goes wrong and how to fix it. What yerba mate is and how much caffeine it contains, you can read in yerba mate: what is it and how do you make it? At GOYU we sell yerba mate and gourds ourselves, so we use our own products as examples.

What do you need to make yerba mate?

• Yerba mate: dried, ground leaves of Ilex paraguariensis. Our yerba mate tea leaves come in a 250 gram bag and are traditionally ground, so they contain fine particles.
• A gourd: the cup that holds the leaves. Which types there are, you can read in gourd and bombilla: which should you choose?
• A bombilla: a metal straw with a filter at the bottom.
• Hot water at 70 to 80 °C: a kettle with a temperature setting is handy. In South America people often keep the water warm in a thermos, so they can keep topping up.

Don't have anything yet? Then the yerba mate tea set with gourd and bombilla is the easiest option: two 250 gram bags of yerba mate with a gourd and a bombilla.

How do you make yerba mate in a gourd?

You fill the gourd two thirds full, make a slope of yerba, moisten it with cold water first and then top up with hot water. That is also how it is described on our packaging. Step by step:

1. Fill the gourd about two thirds full with yerba. Less is fine, but then your mate loses its flavour sooner.
2. Shake out the fine particles. Put your hand flat over the opening, turn the gourd upside down and shake briefly. Wipe off the powder that sticks to your hand. Those are the particles that would otherwise clog your bombilla.
3. Make a slope. Hold the gourd at an angle and shake the yerba to one side. Then slowly turn it upright: on one side there is now a mound of yerba, on the other a hollow.
4. Pour a little cold water into the hollow. Just enough to wet the bottom of the yerba. The top of the mound stays dry. Wait a few minutes until the water has been absorbed.
5. Insert the bombilla. Put your thumb over the mouthpiece and push the filter into the hollow at an angle, all the way to the bottom. After that, don't move the bombilla again.
6. Top up with water at 70 to 80 °C. Pour slowly into the hollow, next to the bombilla, to just below the rim. Keep the dry top dry for as long as possible.
7. Drink the gourd empty through the bombilla and then refill, always in the same spot.

What water temperature do you use for yerba mate?

Use water at 70 to 80 °C. Boiling water makes yerba mate bitter. If you don't have a kettle with a temperature setting, let the water cool for a few minutes after boiling before you pour.

Also watch how hot you drink it. The World Health Organization advises against drinking beverages scalding hot and considers anything above about 65 °C very hot (WHO/IARC, 2016). So let your mate stand for a moment after pouring before you take the first sip. Through a metal bombilla, the first sip can feel hotter than you expect.

How many times can you refill yerba mate?

Often six or seven times, until the flavour is gone (Gawron-Gzella et al., 2021). The first sips are the strongest and most bitter; after that the taste gets milder. If your mate tastes flat and watery, the leaves are spent. Throw them away and start again, or push the dry top into the hollow for a few more rounds.

Every refill is a new cup, and so also new caffeine. A cup of yerba mate of about 150 ml contains around 80 mg of caffeine (Gawron-Gzella et al., 2021). According to the European Food Safety Authority EFSA, up to 400 mg of caffeine a day from all sources combined gives no reason for concern in healthy adults, and up to 200 mg at once (EFSA, 2015). A whole gourd with many refills adds up.

Which mistakes are easy to make when preparing yerba mate?

Can you make yerba mate without a gourd?

Yes. Make yerba mate in a teapot or French press with water at 70 to 80 °C and let it steep for 3 to 5 minutes, as with the traditional preparation (Gawron-Gzella et al., 2021). Then pour it through a strainer into your cup. Start with one or two tablespoons of yerba per cup and taste: mate gets strong quickly. With a French press you can also refill the leaves a second time.

How do you make tereré, cold yerba mate?

Tereré is yerba mate with cold water, the way many people drink it in Paraguay. You prepare it the same way as hot mate:

1. Fill the gourd or a glass two thirds full with yerba and make a slope.
2. Insert the bombilla into the hollow.
3. Top up with cold water, possibly with a slice of lemon, some mint or a splash of orange juice.
4. Drink and refill with cold water.

Keep in mind that a lot of caffeine can end up in your glass when you brew cold. In a Brazilian laboratory study, tereré released about 2.5 times as much caffeine as the strongest hot preparation in that study (Meinhart et al., 2010). That study was done without participants: it says something about what is in your glass, not about what it does to you.

Summary in 3 points

• Fill the gourd two thirds full, shake out the fine particles, make a slope and moisten the bottom with cold water first.
• Top up with water at 70 to 80 °C, always in the same spot, and leave the bombilla where it is.
• You can often refill six or seven times; count the caffeine of every round.

Frequently asked questions

How much yerba do you put in a gourd?

Traditionally you fill the gourd about two thirds full. If you use less, your mate is spent sooner. If you make yerba mate in a teapot, start with one or two tablespoons per cup.

Do you have to wet yerba mate with cold water first?

That is the traditional way and it is also what it says on our packaging. You only wet the bottom in the hollow, wait a few minutes and only then top up with water at 70 to 80 °C.

How long can you leave yerba mate in the gourd?

Finish your session and throw the wet leaves away afterwards. Don't leave them in the gourd all day or overnight: it will start to smell musty. Rinse the gourd and bombilla and let them dry open.

What is the difference between mate and tereré?

Mate is drunk hot, with water at 70 to 80 °C. Tereré is the same yerba with cold water, often with lemon, mint or orange juice. Otherwise the preparation in the gourd is the same.

Sources

1. Gawron-Gzella A, Chanaj-Kaczmarek J, Cielecka-Piontek J (2021). Yerba Mate: A Long but Current History. Nutrients 13(11):3706. Review of origin, preparation, composition and safety. doi.org/10.3390/nu13113706
2. Meinhart AD et al. (2010). Methylxanthines and phenolics content extracted during the consumption of mate (Ilex paraguariensis St. Hil) beverages. J Agric Food Chem 58(4):2188-2193. Laboratory study without participants. doi.org/10.1021/jf903781w
3. EFSA Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies (2015). Scientific Opinion on the safety of caffeine. EFSA Journal 13(5):4102. doi.org/10.2903/j.efsa.2015.4102
4. WHO/IARC (2016). Press release no. 244 on coffee, maté and very hot beverages, 15 June 2016. iarc.who.int
5. Packaging text and product information GOYU Yerba Mate Tea Leaves, Yerba Mate Tea Set and Calabash set with bombilla, accessed 5 November 2026.

Want to see how it compares with matcha first? Read yerba mate or matcha. You'll find all our yerba mate on the page buy yerba mate.

This article is for information only and is not medical advice. If you are pregnant, breastfeeding, taking medication or have a medical condition, talk to your GP or pharmacist first.