Natura Tradicional

First look

Nose

The aroma of Natura Tradicional upon opening a bag is extremely fragrant. It is not an exaggeration — this yerba mate is one of the most, if not the most fragrant ones I ever had. The smell is very rich and dense, hitting you with strong notes of wood, cedar and sawdust, as well as raisins, prunes and dry apricots. Natura Tradicional smells very sweet, almost candy-like, as if it was artificially sweetened with fruity flavorings — a great example of what you can achieve with a long natural aging. Overall, I was pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed the aroma of this yerba mate.

Cut

Natura Tradicional is a traditional Argentine yerba mate, that has the most common cut for that region — con palo. In this particular case, this yerba mate is a very good illustration of a proper and balanced con palo cut. The grind is very even with no overly coarse stems or leaves, and the balance between them looks perfect to the eye. Natura Tradicional has also a fair amount of powder, which in my opinion is as important as leaves and stems, and creates the fluffy look and feel of the yerba mate.

Color-wise, Natura Tradicional has that pleasant aged olive green hue that is not too pale to make it look boring but also is not as saturated as unaged Brazilian ervas. I wasn’t able to find any extensive information on the production of this particular yerba mate, but to me, it looks like it was aged for at least a year. Speaking of production, the rare inclusions of darker leaf pieces indicate a standard drying method that involves a quick scorching of yerba with fire.

Preparation

As with most of Argentine con palo yerba mates, preparing Natura Tradicional is pretty easy and straightforward. Dustier cut makes a more moldable mountain of yerba that won’t fall off even after five refills. I would still suggest using a spoon bombilla with Natura Tradicional, as it will make it easier to maintain the mountain and will help with filtering out the small leaf and dust particles.

When it comes to water temperature, this yerba mate is very forgiving and allows you to enjoy it with pretty much any water from 60°C to 85°C / 140°F to 185°F . However, in my personal experience I found that Natura Tradicional is best enjoyed at a higher temperature, about 80°C - 85°C / 175°F - 185°F . In my opinion, the higher temperature makes flavors of this mate pop a bit more, and surprisingly it does not become more bitter or strong with such hot water. This is especially good news for those materos who like scalding hot beverages but feel like they cannot enjoy their mate at their preferred temperature — Natura Tradicional is one of those rare yerba mates that not only doesn’t punish you for brewing it with a very hot water, but actually encourages you to do so.

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

After experiencing the rich aroma of Natura Tradicional, I was excited to get a taste of this mate. And luckily, it did not disappoint — sweet fruity notes translated very well into the taste. In particular, the sweetness here is almost on par with Playadito Con Palo and Liebig Original. I get notes of raisins and prunes, even some hints of berries. Fruity notes remind me of pears and apples with almost unnoticeable tartness. Woodsy and cedary notes are also still here, as well as some new ones — I get some grainy and malty hints that I usually get in Uruguayan yerbas, but they fit here like a glove. And finally, I notice a faint nutty note, something similar to salted peanuts or a peanut butter, which adds the final layer, rounding up those sweet and fragrant notes with a touch of savory.

One more word regarding the bitterness in Natura Tradicional — there is almost none. Sure, this mate still is inherently earthy and slightly bitter, but it is much less apparent in its taste, even with super hot water. More than average amount of powder does not seem to add to the bitterness at all, instead making this mate more syrupy and medium-bodied and expands the taste with a few “foreign” notes to otherwise a perfectly executed Argentine mate.

Finish

The finish of Natura Tradicional is not that much different to the taste of this mate. Sweetness is lingering for quite a while after a sip, and bitterness is still missing in the aftertaste of Natura Tradicional. While taste has more defined fruity notes, the finish allows to distinguish some of the berry notes — I get hints of raspberries and blackberries, especially that seed part of them, as well as some cherry pit. Overall, if you don’t count the lingering sweetness, the aftertaste of this mate is quite short and makes Natura Tradicional very drinkable and allows you to sip it at a high cadence.

Durability

No matter the temperature of water, Natura Tradicional yielded in a consistent mate with a moderate durability — I was able to get from 20 to 22 refills from this yerba mate. There was not that much evolution of taste to speak of, as the flavors presented themselves right from the first refill, and were also quite consistent throughout the whole duration of drinking. However, I noticed that when I reached that 20-22 refills mark, the flavors disappear pretty suddenly, and the difference between those back-to-back pre-lavado and post-lavado refills is very drastic. Lavado itself though is still pleasant with residual sweetness that can be enjoyed for a few more refills even after most of the flavors are 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

When I had Natura Tradicional in the morning, I never felt like it was potent enough to wake me up when I did not have enough sleep. I even noticed quite the opposite — a slight relaxing effect that made me want to lie down or go back to sleep, even after I had a good sleep. This mate is still however not that sedative to categorize it as relaxing, and most of the days it felt neutral to me no matter the time of day. I really enjoyed sipping on Natura Tradicional starting from late morning throughout the day as it still gave me that boost of creativity and clarity of mind that we all love yerba mate for, as well as sipping on it in the evening while reading a nice book and enjoying an improved comprehension provided by this yerba mate.

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What are your thoughts on Natura Tradicional? Comment below!