on the property of the ruralHundreds of people attended the MATEAR fair in which more than 50 yerba mate brands participated. At the same meeting, organized by the National Institute of Yerba Mate (INYM)the feeder contest was held, consecrating two people from Buenos Aires and one from Corrientes as the best in their discipline.
On a table in front of the stage, the necessary elements to start the competition were presented, consisting of thermoses, mates and light bulbs. In this aspect, the good quality yerba, the water between 75 and 80 degreeskeep the quiet bulb and leave one dry grass wallwere some of the steps that the contest participants had to follow.
During the development of the tournament, weed could not be added or removed at the time of assembly by the participant. All the contestants had the same amount of elements to demonstrate their skills: mate, yerba, thermos and water to prime at 78 degrees. In this sense, the evaluation was appreciated in the best technique to prepare a good mate.
The award-winning finalists were Horacio, from the town of Las Flores, Buenos Aires province, who took first place and, as the judges explained, “kept a neat mate throughout the fattening process, keeping the top of the mate dry.” Ramón, a native of the town of Virasoro, Corrientes province, obtained second place and finally, the other Buenos Aires native, Víctor de los Polvorines, from the Malvinas Argentinas party, took third place in the competition.
“We managed to share that feeling that is added to any round of mate, which is not simply serving, but priming, and which implies keeping that mate in adequate conditions so that the one who drinks it first and then the last one does so in equal conditions,” he explained. Mabel Salmoni, of the Yerba Mate Museumone of the organizers of the contest, to different media.
Diego Morlachetti is referent of the Argentine School of Teawhich, together with the Interamerican Open Universitythrew the Yerba Mate University Diploma. The expert highlighted how the priming task should be carried out: “It is very important to homogenize the components of yerba mate: stick, powder, fine crushed leaf and larger crushed leaf. Once in the mate, the yerba and the bombilla have been placed, it is important not to wet all the leaves. Always hydrate towards the bottom because in this way we will have a higher yield, a greater quantity of tasty barley”.
Finally, Morlachetti detailed: “There must always be a remnant of dry leaves in the upper part that will hydrate upwards. The temperature of the water is crucial, the recommended one is between 75 and 85 degrees (although there is no general consensus), this can vary depending on some factors. Bearing in mind, when the water is added, some degree of temperature is lost in the device.”
Image gallery
