Yerba Mate Review: Ximango Tradicional

Producto de: Brazil

Olor: Very fresh and grassy. Reminiscent of unsmoked yaupon. It's also very green in color, which also leads me to believe it's unsmoked.

Polvo: A lot. Like, really a lot. It looks like matcha tea. I have a fairly open bombilla, and it's getting clogged. Initial sips have been gritty with the powder.

Sabor: As expected, it's very fresh and grassy, but it's not powerfully astringent like green yaupon. The flavor is actually surprisingly mellow and pleasant. It has a very green tea taste.

Resultado: 4 de 5. I really like the flavor of this Brazilian "Erva Mate." It's fresh, but mellow, and really pleasant. I only mark it down because it's so darned dusty. Because of the mild flavor, this is a mate that I would actually consider using as an 'first taste' for anyone that enjoys teas.

Update: Turns out Ximango is actually a chimarrão, which is a unique Brazilian take on mate. It's technically a yerba mate (comes from ilex paraguariensis), but is intentionally powdery like matcha.

From what I can read, you still drink it with the standard mate/bombilla setup, but I haven't quite mastered it, yet. I always end up with dry powder in the bottom of my gourd.