Everything you ever heard or read about curing mate gourds is a LIE.

Well, maybe not everything. But a majority of it.

Because the truth is: you don’t have to cure a yerba mate gourd.

What?!

That’s right.

Curing mate gourds is a waste of time and yerba.

Although I put out a guide on how to cure yerba mate gourds a long time ago, a part of me always thought it was unnecessary.

The more I pondered it, the more I wondered why anyone ever did it. Obviously, aside from tradition and cultural reasons.

So if you’re still thinking about curing your mate gourd, hold it right there…

You’re about to learn why you don’t have to.

Do You Have To Cure A Mate Gourd?

When it comes to curing mate gourds, we’re referring to calabash gourds only.

Wooden gourds, on the other hand, should always be cured as their extra prone to cracking.

Now, to understand why you don’t have to cure a mate gourd, you need to know why people do it in the first place.

The reasons are:

1. To remove loose inner tissue
2. Prevent mold
3. Prevent cracks/leaks
4. And improve the flavor of the mate

All sound like good reasons right?

But here’s the thing…

You don’t need to cure your gourd in order to achieve the above.

Why?

Because Yerba Mate Gourds Cure By Itself

You see: as you use your gourd, it naturally cures on its own.

Obviously not at the same rate as actually curing it, but it happens as it gets used and dried. And you’ll see this happen in real-time when the inside of your gourd starts to turn a greenish tint after two-three uses.

Does it make any sense now to waste yerba and a few days of your time just to ‘cure’ your gourd?

Probably not.

But what about all the reasons from before? Doesn’t it help with all of that?

Let’s see one-by-one…

Curing Mate Gourds To Remove Inner Tissue

Curing helps you remove the inner tissue of calabash gourds.

As the hot water soaks inside and weakens the tissue, you can easily take a spoon and start scraping it off.

But do you really have to?

Although people say the loose tissue in a gourd can make your mate taste bitter, I didn’t find this to be true. I’ve tried mate with a cured gourd and an uncured gourd before, and there’s barely a difference.

With that said, this doesn’t mean removing the inner tissue is pointless.

You still want to clear your gourd of any loose particles.

But what is pointless is going through the curing process to do just that, when you can easily achieve the same result by cleaning it after every use.

Why waste yerba to remove the inner tissue, when you can drink the yerba and remove the loose material at the same time?

Curing Mate Gourds To Prevent Mold

Curing a gourd does nothing to prevent mold.

Anyone telling you it does is either lying or has no idea what they’re talking about.

How you prevent mold from growing in your gourd has nothing to do with curing, but how you clean and store it.

Mold grows when your gourd is wet/moist and stored in a warm, humid environment.

If you want to prevent it, forget curing. That does nothing. People’s gourds still get moldy despite it.

Instead, clean your gourd after every use, store it in a cool dry setting (preferably under sunlight), and it’ll always be mold-free.

Curing Mate Gourds To Prevent Cracks/Leaks

This is another common misconception.

Like preventing mold, curing does nothing to prevent cracks or leaks in your gourd.

People claim curing will seal the pores inside your gourd and this prevents cracking.

But what’s the difference from that, and simply using your gourd to drink?

Nothing, except the yerba stays in your gourd for 24 hours when curing. Now you might think that’s what makes all the difference, but it doesn’t. Why? Because the pores seal (or fill up with water) within an hour. So does it make any sense to leave it in there for so long?

If your gourd cracks, it’s not because you didn’t cure it. It’s either because you dropped it, used water that’s too hot, or the gourd is low-quality.

I have several calabash gourds that I’ve never cured before and to this day, it still hasn’t cracked.

Curing Mate Gourds To Improve Flavor

The last thing people cure mate gourds for is to improve its flavor.

We’ve kind of touched on this before when we talked about removing the inner tissue as they can taste bitter.

But let’s dive deeper.

People claim curing your gourd imparts the yerba’s flavor to the gourd because it sits there for so long.

However, that’s simply not true.

Again, I’ve tried an uncured mate gourd before, and there’s barely a difference in taste.

And if it were true, my uncured mate should taste better and better the more I drink it. But it doesn’t. When I drink the same brand, it always tastes the same.

Final Words

As much as you’ll hear people tell you to cure your gourd! it’s completely unnecessary.

The only reason you’d cure a calabash is to remove the inner tissue. But even then, you still don’t need to cure it to do that.

Just use your gourd normally, and at the end of each session scrape the inside.

However, if you want to cure your gourd just to be safe, don’t do the typical method of letting yerba sit in there for a day or two. A better way is to add hot (not boiling) water to the gourd, wait 20 minutes, scrape, and let it dry before using.

Now although I don’t believe in curing mate gourds because of the false claims, if you’re doing it for tradition, then by all means go for it.

P.S. If you enjoyed this post, then you might also enjoy our special silicone-capped bombilla because it doesn’t burn your lips.