Mate Rojo Selección Especial

First look

Nose

The aroma of Mate Rojo Selección Especial is absolutely mesmerizing, which should not come as a surprise if you already had a traditional version of this yerba mate. This time it’s aged for a whopping 24 months, creating an extremely fragrant and rich nose, full of intricate and delicious notes. Mate Rojo Selección Especial smells a little sweeter than woodsy, with notes of caramel, vanilla, honey, dry fruits and maple syrup coming out slightly more forwardly, while earthy, cedary and tobacco notes take a back seat and are not as pronounced as in the Mate Rojo Tradicional. Aging also seem to almost eliminate any bitter vegetative and grassy smells from this yerba mate, allowing those candy-like sweet notes to shine brighter and create an absolutely heavenly aroma.

Cut

After drinking through almost a full bag of Mate Rojo Selección Especial and shaking it vigorously each time to distribute it evenly, I can state that the cut of this yerba mate is quite different to that of a traditional version. Mate Rojo Tradicional was a very exemplary con palo cut with a nice balance between leaves, stems and powder, quite dusty, but this special selection is on a dustier side — at times it reminds me of Uruguayan P.U.1 cut more than an Argentine con palo cut. It still contains a healthy amount of stems, but even those stems are quite fine without any large pieces that stand out. Leaves, on the other hand, are varied in size, ranging from small, almost powder-sized particles to larger and coarser chunks. My anecdotal theory is that due to a longer aging leaves and stems tend to naturally break down into smaller pieces creating this dustier and fluffier than regular con palo cut.

The color of Mate Rojo Selección Especial is pretty uniform with some rare inclusions of toasted brown leaves but without any lifeless looking pale bits, and overall is pleasant to look at — most likely a standard drying method was used, and extensive aging rounded out any unevenness in the color of the cut of this yerba mate.

Preparation

Dustier cut may present some challenges to a beginner matero while preparing Mate Rojo Selección Especial traditionally. It is a good idea to use a spoon bombilla​ for this mate, and to make sure that it won’t cause any clogging issues while drinking it, do yourself a favor and mold the proper mountain after doing a first pour of room temperature water. I find that this yerba mate soaks that first pour completely which makes it very malleable, allowing you to create a beautiful and sturdy mountain that will not fall off even after several refills. Keep in mind that it is still a con palo yerba mate, so you can rely on the stems to aid in filtration, once you properly shake the gourd upside down.

As with traditional version of Mate Rojo, this yerba mate does not play well with colder water — anything below 70° C / 160° F will make this mate weaker, bleaker and simpler in taste, which does not do a justice to such an exquisite special selection yerba. Unlike Mate Rojo Tradicional, this yerba mate is not ruined by water that is on a hotter side. I still find the taste of Mate Rojo Selección Especial balanced and delicious with 80° C - 85° C / 175° F - 185° F water, although it changes its effect and lowers its durability. Therefore, my preferred water temperature for this yerba mate is the same as for traditional one — 70° C to 75° C / 160° F to 165° F will yield in a mate that has both the best flavors and longest durability.

Most convenient way to get ideal water temperature is to use an electric kettle​ or a stovetop kettle​ with temperature control. If you prefer traditional kettle you can use a infrared thermometer​ or a food thermometer​ .

Taste

First sips of Mate Rojo Selección Especial, just as the traditional version, may overpower even an experienced mate aficionado. I get significant bitterness and earthiness, as well as some salty notes in first few sips of this mate. As I go on with next few refills, my palate starts to get accustomed to the flavor overload and I start to dissect what I’m tasting. The notes of oversteeped black tea are replaced with smoother, milkier, maltier notes — unlike the nose of Mate Rojo Selección Especial, I still don’t taste almost any sweet flavors. Although smoother, this mate still tastes “dark”, as I get notes of rye bread, wood, leather and chocolate.

The more refills this mate takes, the more it evolves into something sweeter. This again comes to no surprise, as Mate Rojo Tradicional behaved in a very similar way. Although this time it is not just a fruity sweetness, but more like a pastry or some other baked treat. After about 10 refills, the dominant notes are chocolate milk, cookie dough and churros. I also get notes of cornflakes, sweet fruit bread, panettone and something that reminds me of a croissant filled with fruit jelly. Two years of aging and dusty cut truly create a very interesting combination of flavors with a solid medium body.

Finish

If you missed those abundant tart fruity notes that are found in the taste of Mate Rojo Tradicional, but not much in this special selection, don’t worry — they reemerge in the aftertaste of this mate. The finish of Mate Rojo Selección Especial is pleasantly bold and astringent. Notes of dry fruits, raisins, baked apples are not hiding anymore, and leading all of them is the strong and bitter-sweet flavor of cherry pit. It is not the most drinkable mate — the aftertaste packs enough flavors to ponder and explore after each sip.

The similarities between Mate Rojo Selección Especial and traditional version can be found here as well, as both of these mates have a distinctive and long-lasting finish. However, it’s remarkable to me how they still are unique and to some extent even opposite to each other — more prominent buttery doughy sweet notes in the taste turn into fruity notes in the aftertaste of this special selection mate and vice versa in a traditional Mate Rojo.

Durability

Unless you prepare Mate Rojo Selección Especial with water that is hotter than 80° C / 175° F , you should expect this mate to last for quite some time — on average, I was able to get from 28 to 30 refills, which makes it a solid long mate. It’s definitely an improvement from Mate Rojo Tradicional, which despite still being considered by me as a long mate, was not nearly as stable and constant as this special selection version. At hotter temperatures, Mate Rojo Selección Especial was much less durable, just like the traditional Mate Rojo, but still had relatively more refills, about 20.

As I mentioned earlier, this mate exhibited an interesting evolution of taste throughout the duration of drinking, and those flavor shifts were very smooth and fluid, making it very engaging and fascinating. Transition to lavado was also gradual, and I enjoyed sipping on Mate Rojo Selección Especial for few more refills even after it became almost completely washed out.

The last thing you want while drinking mate is to constantly re-heat your water or add more ice to it. No matter if it's hot mate or cold tereré, use a vacuum bottle​ or a very popular in South America mate thermos​ with spout.

Effect

Even when it comes to effect, Mate Rojo Selección Especial invites comparison with its traditional version. Mate Rojo Tradicional was one of those rarer relaxing mates, and this special selection is not an exclusion — the relaxation this mate provides is more calming and stabilizing than sedative, and I found that it was as effective at calming my body as it was at soothing my mind. Sure, it won’t magically eliminate all grogginess if you haven’t had enough sleep, but don’t be afraid to sip on Mate Rojo Selección Especial in the morning, especially ahead of a big and stressful day.

One more note, again on the temperature — if you still want to drink this mate with water that is hotter than 80° C / 175° F , be aware that it might lose those relaxing properties. I personally did not experience any calming effects when I brewed Mate Rojo Selección Especial with such hot water. It still did not display energizing effect, as I found it to be pretty neutral rather than relaxing at this temperature.

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What are your thoughts on Mate Rojo Selección Especial? Comment below!