An Unexpected Chapter

What is tereré, you might ask? It’s South American iced tea made with yerba mate, and usually there is some lemonade added in. 

It’s delicious but unlikely to ever experience popularity in North America for one reason: You serve it in a gourd or a small glass with a specialty straw called a bombilla (Google images for a visual), and it’s a group activity with everyone drinking out of the same straw. You keep refilling it and you pass it around the table like teenagers with a joint. I can’t explain why South Americans are willing to share straws with people they would never make out with. I’ve participated in this activity as the daughter of Paraguayan immigrants, but I can’t explain it.

This type of refreshment would have been considered sketchy pre-COVID and downright alarming now. So I’m going to teach you how to bypass this and make tereré, sans shared straws.

What we’re going to do is make a tereré concentrate in a mason jar, or another container that seals. I use the pint-sized (16 oz) jars. I put in a quarter cup of loose yerba mate, a few torn mint leaves (5 to 10 leaves), and fill it with water. Seal it, shake it up, and then refrigerate from 3 hours to overnight. The concoction will look like nasty swamp water, and that’s fine, as it’s a concentrate.

Yum! Swamp water, anyone??

Once enough time has passed, you will pour the contents through a fine mesh strainer into a pitcher. Add 32 oz of lemonade (homemade or store bought) and mix it well.

That’s it. It’s so easy! It’s summery and delicious and has enough caffeine to keep you going for a few hours. You can also muddle some berries for additional fruitiness.

Cold Brew Lemon Tereré with Mint

You can buy yerba mate in grocery stores with well stocked tea aisles, health food stores, or on Amazon. I used loose leaf yerba mate here. If you can only find it in teabags, use 4 to 6 bags to make your concentrate.
Ingredients
¼ cup yerba mate
5 to 10 mint leaves torn
32 oz lemonade
Directions
Add yerba mate and mint leaves to a 16 oz mason jar, then fill with water. Seal and shake.
Refrigerate your tea mixture for 3 hours minimum and overnight maximum.
Pour the contents of the mason jar, through a fine mesh strainer, and into a pitcher. There will be fine pieces of yerba in the liquid. This is to be expected and is perfectly safe to drink. Top with the lemonade and mix well.