Yerba maté

Maté (yerba maté)

What it is

It is a holly, and its seed germinates so poorly that wild stands were the only source until Jesuit missions worked out how to raise it in the seventeenth century — the drink was called Jesuit tea for two centuries after. Most yerba is dried over a wood fire before ageing, which is where the smoke in the cup comes from, not from the plant.

In the kitchen

For kitchen work, infuse it cold: 15 g per litre, six hours, strained — hot water pulls a heavy green bitterness that reads as burnt in a cream or an ice cream. Toast it lightly first if you want the smoke forward in a game sauce.

Goes with

Venison Dark chocolate Orange Mint Cream Wild boar

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