A few days ago, I’ve hit a big milestone on this website – I published my 50th yerba mate review on Yerba Mate Lab.

It’s been a long time coming and I don’t plan on stopping any time soon.

There are still hundreds of brands and variations I have yet to try, and we’re only scratching the surface. I’ve barely made a dent on the current collection I have on my shelf, which is holding about 20 bags of yerba right now.

There’s a lot to get to.

But although some may call me crazy, I live to try (and review) every single yerba mate brand out there that I can get my hands on.

With that said, I’d like to share with you a couple of things I’ve learned along the way.

1. It’s true… No two brands are the same.

When I first started drinking yerba mate, I always wondered why there were so many different brands. I naively thought they all had to taste the same. But that’s far from the truth.

After reviewing 50 brands, I have never had two brands that tasted the exact same.

Some taste similar, but there’s always a noticeable difference.

And I don’t think that will ever change.

Every brand has their own recipe, own process, own way of blending their leaves, stems, and powder together to give their mate its unique taste. The only way two brands can taste the same is if they used yerba from the same factory – just packaged in a different bag.

Each part of the process from the harvesting, drying, milling, to the aging, and blending have an impact on taste.

Unless let’s say, Cruz De Malta went to the Rosamonte factory and stole their method, no two brands will ever be the same – and this is what makes yerba mate such a beauty.

Which leads me to my next point.

2. I’m never going to stop drinking yerba mate.

There’s a reason I’m making it my goal to review every yerba mate brand in the world – I’m never going to stop drinking it.

Thinking about it to myself, it seems unbelievable.

But like many people in the world who haven’t stopped drinking coffee even into their old age, what’s makes yerba mate any different? If anything, it’s better.

Yerba mate has been there for me throughout it all.

It’s become habit, second nature, a part of my routine, and a part of my life to drink it every day. And I don’t see any reason – other than health-related issues – to stop. It’s natural, healthy, and helps me get things done.

3. Your tastebuds change.

Yerba mate is an acquired taste.

We all know this.

Our first sip of yerba mate is typically the worst sip we’ll ever take in our lifetime. Because as we continue to drink it, our tastebuds adapt. We start coming to terms with it. We embrace it. And eventually, we come to love it.

What was super bitter at one point in time becomes super delicious.

In addition, our palate becomes more skillful in detecting the subtle nuances in flavor between each brand. It takes some time to get to this point, but that’s the journey us materos embark on to get to the promised land of flavor.

It took me about 1 year of drinking to get to the point where I can point out exact tasting notes. I remember my girlfriend would think I’m crazy for being able to say this brand tastes like fruits while another tastes like flowers. I also remember when I first started, I would read reviews and it’d say the same thing and I thought that guy must be crazy!

But he wasn’t. He was just more experienced.

Despite taking a while to become this experienced, I can now say, it was completely worth it.

4. Everything is subjective.

There’s no objectivity in the yerba mate world.

Everything is subjective.

You might like this brand, but I might hate it. I might like that brand, but you might hate it. I might taste this, you might taste that. You might like preparing it this way, but I like preparing it another way. You might feel jittery, while I might not.

Everything varies from person to person.

And you’ll quickly realize this once you start drinking with other people.

It’s for this exact reason why yerba mate is so great. It’s a catalyst for exchanging different experiences that bring us slightly closer together.

5. The ritual never gets old.

After years of drinking yerba mate almost every day, you’d think having to boil water, prepare your gourd, and constantly refill it would get old by now.

But it doesn’t.

For me at least.

I drink it every morning and it’s still one of the things I look forward to upon waking up.

There’s nothing like heating up water while you carefully prepare your gourd’s mountain of yerba. To then carefully inserting the bombilla. And once ready, nourishing the leaves with hot water for you to take a nutritious sip to get the day started.

This daily ritual of preparation makes each day feel less hectic and more stable.

Final Words

50 yerba mate brands in and I’ve still got a long way to go.

I’ve learned a lot in this journey and likewise, there’s still a lot to learn.

Again, the goal is to review every yerba mate brand I can get my hands on and to share my experiences with materos across the world. And I urge you to do the same. Whenever you read a review here, leave a comment sharing your experience for everyone else to see.

P.S. If you enjoyed this post, you might also want to check out our store for gourds and bombillas!