Yerba Mate

 I'll admit I have been procrastinating writing about yerba mate. Part of the reason is that it covers so much of South America. It is also served up a couple of different ways, and I did not want to buy a special cup and straw to emulate the social way that mate is drunk. COVID has been an issue with social drinkers as the tradition is to put the dry leaves into the special gourd cup, add water, stir with a metal straw that has a filter on the end, and pass it around to all your friends to drink out of. Since we aren't supposed to get within 2 meters of each other, sharing a straw is definitely out! Here's a video about drinking mate with friends.

Countries that love their yerba mate are Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay. I also found mention of yerba mate being served as iced tea with lemon juice, so that is the method of brewing/serving that I did instead. I thought for sure I had taken some pictures of the loose leaves that I bought out of a bulk bin before the whole pandemic thing started, but I cannot find them now. Hunting for those pictures is showing me that I have an excessive number of pictures of tea. Oh, well, I don't have any children or pets to photograph, so why not? The finished tea pics are on my phone rather than my camera, and I can still find those. 

I do remember that this was actually the second time I brewed tea for this post. The first glass of this that I brewed sat in the refrigerator so long it oxidized and changed color. I still wasn't thrilled about drinking cold tea when I made the second cup, but I went through with trying it so I wouldn't have to brew a third cup. 

As I recall with brewing yerba mate, it can turn bitter easily. I started by adding some room temperature water, then some warmer water. I steeped for 5 minutes (I think), and strained the leaves out. Then I refrigerated it and added some lemon juice. As you can see, I had a dried up lemon, so I went with my usual source of lemon juice, a plastic bottle. 

Notice that I get the high class lemon juice that does NOT come in a plastic bottle shaped like a lemon. 

I do remember trying a swig and thinking that it had absolutely no flavor. Geez, do I have COVID? Obviously not since this was last summer, and I would have known by now if I had had it then. My main conclusion was that I probably had not used warm enough water for any flavor to develop. Maybe the leaves from the bulk bin were really old. After all, I made this in June of 2020, so the bulk bins had been covered for about 3 months at that point. If you think back 2 years ago I had some bagged tea that was yerba mate with lemon, and that had some flavor. It was actually quite good as I recall. So this one is going to be a win for the bagged tea instead of the loose stuff from the grocery store bulk bin. 

Brazil occupies half of the land mass of the South American continent. The equator runs through the northern part of the country, and it comprises a large portion of the eastern part of the continent. It is the 5th largest country in the world. They also share a border with every country in South America except Chile and Ecuador. Brazil is known for rainforests and the Amazon river, beautiful beaches, and is one of the world's major economies. Most of the population lives in the east, but the capital Brasilia also draws migrants looking for jobs even though it is further inland. In fact, 86% of the population lives in urban areas, and about 70% of the population is age 44 or under. Brazil is also known for Carnival, a pre-lent celebration of indulgence and competition for the best costumes, dancers, etc. I looked up Carnival for 2021, and found sources that it is being postponed until March, July, or just plain cancelled. Some of that may depend on which city you are looking at, and I can't say that I have the patience to pick that apart right now. 

Argentina covers most of the southern portion of the continent as the world's 8th largest country. The country is made of of plains, deserts, tundra, forests, tall mountains, and rivers. There is a large coastline, and they have claimed a portion of Antarctica as well as several south Atlantic islands. Over 91% of the population is urban. 

Uruguay is on the southeast coast of South America and is the second smallest country on that continent sandwiched between Brazil and Argentina. While they are smaller than most South American countries, they have a low population density that has afforded the country opportunities for economic development. They are described as having a relatively large middle class, but that has eroded over time with changes in government. 95% of the population lives in rural areas, and while over 60% of the country is age 44 and under, many younger people are said to have left the country for better opportunities. 

Paraguay is a smaller, landlocked country also between Argentina and Brazil. It is known for having an authoritarian government. 53% of the population is age 29 or under, and about 60% of the population lives in urban areas.