Traditional Yerba Mate Kit with Calabash Gourd

Curing the Gourd is not essential to drinking Yerba Mate out of the Gourd, but it definitely enhances the taste and experience of your Mate over a period of time. 

To cure your gourd, simply: 

1. Fill your Gourd in with Loose Leaf Yerba Mate to the brim, and add water to moisten the herb and let it rest for 24 hrs. 
2. Once rested for 24 hours empty the gourd completely with a spoon. 
3. Since the gourd is essentially a fruit (Bottle Gourd) you will see that the overnight process would have resulted the the fruit to absotb the water and mate to ooze out some pulp. 
4. With the same spoon, spoon out the pulp and let your Gourd to dry in sunlight (Always keep the mouth of the gourd open)
5. Once dry you can start using the gourd to make your Yerba Mate regularly. 
6. Do note that the Gourd will change its color from inside over a period of time. to the point that it will be completely dark from inside. This indicates that the gourd is completely cured. 

1. Never wash your Gourd with Soap, as it is a fruit. Simply clean the insides with hot water and pat dry with a tissue. 
2. Let the Gourd dry in sunlight.
3. Never keep your Gourd upside down since it needs to breathe, or else your Gourd is prone to fungus growth.