Unión Original

First look

Nose

When I opened a bag of Unión Original I was really surprised by the aroma of this yerba mate. Yes, you can definitely say that it is an Argentine yerba mate by its smell, but it also has something herbal to it, as if it was blended with baldo and a bit of mint. Aside from the herbal camphor notes, I can also smell notes of sawdust, cedar and birchwood. The aroma of Unión Original is everything but suave — it is sweet, rich and thick, floral, dry fruity and a little spicy. I also don’t get those typical con palo hay notes that are usually found in Argentine yerba mate. Overall, the initial impression left by Unión Original was very pleasant, and this yerba mate continued to surprise me each time I opened a bag of it.

Cut

Unión Original has the most commonly found cut in Argentina, which is a con palo cut. It is not a typical con palo cut though, as I immediately notice the shortage of stems, which was indirectly implied by the lack of hay notes in the nose of this yerba mate. I always vigorously shake the bag of yerba mate before pouring it into the gourd to evenly distribute all the components of the cut, so it took me by a surprise to find out that Unión Original has such low stem count for a con palo yerba mate. Powder content is on the other hand very abundant, which again is not typical for Argentine con palo yerba mate but is something to be expected from the thick and rich aroma. Finally, the leaves are ground unevenly and roughly but not too coarsely, ranging from small particles to medium-sized pieces.

The color of the cut of Unión Original is not super saturated but also is not pale and has a pleasant olive hue. Upon a closer look you can see some noticeable differences in leaf colors — some are pretty green and fresh looking, some are darker and toasty brownish, and I can see a fair amount of almost black burnt leaves, which indicates a standard method of processing that includes quick scorching yerba mate with fire that yields in such uneven color of this yerba mate.

Preparation

Preparing Unión Original is a pretty standard procedure. Despite a relatively low stem count, con palo cut is still the easiest to make and causes the least problems in the gourd. Higher amount of powder helps with building and maintaining the mountain of yerba and acts as a binding agent as soon as it soaks up the water. If you want to eliminate any struggle while preparing Unión Original I would suggest using a spoon bombilla that has a better filtration than spring bombilla or slotted bombilla and is more convenient for molding the mountain.

When it comes to temperature, I found that this yerba mate gives you 2 options depending on what you prioritize more in your mate: durability or taste. If you want a longer mate, water from 60°C to 65°C / 140°F to 150°F will give you the most refills from Unión Original while sacrificing a bit in taste, making it more mild and little less interesting, but still balanced and delicious. If you’re determined to get the best taste Unión Original has to offer, in my experience you should go with water that is around 70°C - 75°C / 160°F - 165°F , which is what I tend to prefer with this yerba mate. At this temperature Unión Original won’t be drastically shorter but will gain a little bit more body and complexity in its flavors. Hotter water, from 80°C to 85°C / 175°F to 185°F in my experience will yield in a mate that is too bitter and short and therefore not recommended.

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

The rich and fragrant aroma of this yerba mate promised a similarly complex taste profile. And again, Unión Original did not disappoint — first sip of this mate was decently bitter and packed with flavors. Subsequent refills did not make Unión Original less bitter nor watered down. I have to say this again — Unión Original may have suave printed on its bag, but flavor-wise it’s everything but suave, so much so that I would consider it an advanced mate that is not suitable for beginners. For a seasoned matero who is accustomed to strong bitterness though, it offers interesting and unusual flavors.

As in its nose, I can certainly taste some herbal notes in Unión Original, even though it is not an herbal compuesta. This mate tastes the way that mowed down grass that’s been sitting in the sun and rain smells. I get camphor notes of baldo, some medicinal herbal notes, olive oil and worm root. Interestingly enough, I don’t get almost any sweetness from Unión Original, nor do I taste any notes of dry fruits that I picked up on in the nose of this yerba mate. It doesn’t offer a particularly rich flavor profile, but it is definitely bold and intense, akin to oversteeped tea. I also don’t get any smoky leathery papery notes in the taste of Unión Original, so don’t expect it to have a masculine Rosamonte- or Taragüi-like flavor. This is a medium-bodied mate that offers a lot of green, bold, herbal and vegetative notes that are interesting and uncommon for a non-compuesta con palo Argentine yerba mate.

Finish

Bold, strong and bitter flavors transfer pretty well into the aftertaste of Unión Original. Especially bitterness, which lingers for quite a while after a sip, making me want to accompany my mate session with a glass of still water. In that sense, Unión Original is not a drinkable mate, and is meant to be leisurely sipped in a slow cadence, like a nice robusta cigar. I wasn’t able to pick up any new flavor notes in the finish of this mate, so expect it to have the same herbal and vegetative aftertaste.

Durability

As I mentioned earlier, Unión Original exhibits different durability depending on the temperature of water that you’re using. With water around 60°C - 65°C / 140°F - 150°F I got up to 30 refills from this mate, which is impressively long for a classic Argentine con palo yerba mate. At higher temperatures you’ll start to sacrifice durability for flavor — at the hottest drinkable temperature ( 85°C / 185°F ) for example Unión Original only lasts about 14 refills which is drastically shorter, in addition to overly strong and concentrated flavors. At my personal sweet spot in the range of 70°C to 75°C / 160°F to 165°F , I reliably got around 24 refills which is in a higher range of moderate durability. Overall, considering that a lot of people prefer their mate on a colder and more gentle side, I will classify Unión Original as a long mate.

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

While this mate was not suave in terms of flavors, the effects of Unión Original were quite mild and soft, justifying its name. I never felt jitters from this mate and safely drank it both in the mornings and in the evenings. Don’t expect Unión Original to wake you up like a big strong cup of coffee in the morning, but also don’t rely on it to sedate and relax you in the evening — this mate is soft in both energizing and relaxing effects, making neutral in my personal experience. It’s still going to provide you all the health benefits of yerba mate and I definitely felt mental clarity while drinking it, so in my opinion it is a good all-day mate to sip on while working or studying.

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What are your thoughts on Unión Original? Comment below!