Before drinking Mate for the very first time, mate gourd must be ‘cured’.
The curation process is meant to adapt the mate gourd, remove the interior skin, intensify the taste of the mate and prevent mold growing.
Which mate gourds should be cured?
Only mates made of wood or pumpkin (calabash). It is not necessary to cure any other type of mate gourds, only by washing them using hot water.
How to cure mate gourd made of wood (madera)
1 - Clean the mate gourd,
2 - Spread the gourd interior with butter or oil (this will seal the pores and increase the gourd lifetime) (optional)
3 - Fill the gourd with used *yerba mate, taken from another mate in use.
4 - Let it rest for about 24 hours.
5 - Empty the gourd and clean it.
How to cure mate gourd made of pumpkin (calabaza)
1 - Clean the mate gourd
2 - Fill the gourd with yerba mate
3 - Add hot water
4 - Let it rest for about 24 hours.
5 - Empty the gourd, then use a spoon to scrap the gourd interior, to remove the pumpkin soft inner tissues, which have already been softened. If there´s is a little stem in the center, don’t remove it.
6 - Dry the mate: wait until the gourd is dry. Some people like to leave the mate gourd in the sunlight for some hours.
Tip: It is common to repeat this process one or two more times, to improve the results.
