Sorry this is such a long post, but any help would be greatly appreciated!
So, I've been drinking Yerba Mate with a Gourd and Bombilla for a few weeks now. My local vendor does 2 non branded types and 2 branded types (Pajorito and Amanda). The non branded stuff comes in small bags just like tea, 100-250g at a time, whereas the branded, as anyone who drinks them will know comes in 1kg sized bags which is great due to the sheer amount used in traditional mate brewing.
My problem is that the non branded stuff has large cut pieces, like the typical square like shaped pieces of mate mixed with white wood like twigs, but the branded stuff is very fine dust and powder mixed with larger cut pieces and the twigs... So loads of it gets into the bombilla and it's disgusting to drink
But the non branded is beautiful simply because none ends up in my mouth! So, is it my bombilla or the way I'm brewing the mate that is the issue?
P.s. I brew mate by filling a gourd 2/3rds with water, inserting straw, pouring mate on top and slowly stirring only the top of the straw (the bottom stays firmly on the bottom with no moving) kind of mixing a little mate into the water at a time, then I smooth it out and add more mate and continue until it's time to drink, then I top up with water to the top of the gourd and enjoy with topping up traditionally. I have also done it the traditional way described online by filling the gourd with the mate first, but the issue persists with both styles.
Photo: http://m.flickr.com/photos/robsbitsofte ... /lightbox/
That's off my mobile, when I'm on a computer I'll update with a desktop link! Branded is on the bottom
Thanks'
