Yerba Mate Mulled Drink (Yerbowy Grzaniec) – A Treat for Fans of Warming Non-Alcoholic Brews!

The autumn and winter season is a time when temperatures often drop below freezing, and our bodies invariably crave a warm, comforting drink. In Poland, mulled wine or beer are quite popular choices. We, however, took a completely different path and created a recipe for a non-alcoholic Yerba Mate Mulled Drink based on roasted yerba mate (Mate Tostado), which boosts your energy and keeps you thoroughly warm!

Roasted yerba mate must strictly serve as the base because, thanks to the roasting process, it can be processed at high temperatures without losing any of its properties or its unique, nougat-nutty flavor profile.

The preparation process itself is not particularly demanding in terms of technical skill or culinary expertise, nor does it require a significant time investment. The drink should be ready in about 50–60 minutes.

Interestingly, we have had the opportunity to serve this beverage multiple times as a free tasting at various events, and most people didn't realize that the drink was made from roasted yerba, nor that it tasted so good—deceptively reminiscent of its wine- or beer-based counterparts!

Yield: approximately 1.5 liters of drink:

Ingredients:

50g roasted yerba mate

1.5l water

2 tablespoons mixed spice or gingerbread spice mix

2 oranges

100 ml raspberry syrup (or another syrup of your choice)

Method of preparation:

1. Pour about 1.5 l of water into a pot and turn on the stove/induction hob.

2. Add about 50g of your favorite roasted yerba mate to the heating water and stir well. We recommend our top pick, Erva Mate Parana Tostado. The amount of leaves can be reduced if you prefer a milder infusion.

3. Once the water begins to boil, reduce the heat to low and add 2 heaping tablespoons of mixed spice, gingerbread spice, or any warming spice blend you currently have on hand.

4. Let the infusion simmer over low heat for about 30–40 minutes. You can add peeled and sliced oranges about 15 minutes before the end of cooking.

5. After the 30–40 minutes have passed, turn off the heat and stir in about 100 ml of raspberry syrup (or another favorite syrup).

6. Stir everything thoroughly, then strain through a fine sieve to remove the spices and tea leaves.

7. Done! You can now enjoy an aromatic Yerba Mate Mulled Drink.

Additional Note:

This is a base recipe, meaning you can freely modify it to suit your tastes and preferences. You can use any roasted yerba mate—and you'll find plenty in our store! The same goes for the warming spices: feel free to use any mix containing cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice, pepper, cloves, or chili. You can also add fresh ginger, whole cloves, or substitute the oranges with other fruits like grapefruit or lime.

If you want to prepare a smaller or larger batch of the Yerba Mate Mulled Drink, simply scale the proportions accordingly. Doubling the ingredients yields about 3 liters of finished warming drink, while cutting them in half produces around 750 ml, and so on.

Be sure to try our recipe and let us know how it turned out and, most importantly, how you liked it! If you have any suggestions for modifications or improvements, feel free to drop us a line!

Enjoy!