Customer Reviews

Guayaki Pre-Columbian Gourd Gift Pack with 6 oz of Loose Yerba Mate

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The mold occurs when the gourd is left moist for too long, but do not worry, a simple wash with hot water will take care of it!

DO NOT EVER USE SOAP OR ANY OTHER CLEANING PRODUCTS AS THE GOURD WILL ABSORB THESE FLAVORS!!

my husband and i love guayaki and drink their bagged mate frequently so we decided to try this. the tea was okay, but the gourd molded around the bottom. i followed the directions perfectly, but due to a weak spot in the gourd it molded. so, basically, you're taking a chance buying this kit. i'm pretty upset to have spent the money on something that turned out badly.

Alright, After using this mate gourd for a week now I am ready to give a honest review.
First off this gourd has a stunning design on the front, which makes you know that someone took a lot of time and care into making this gourd. The bombilla is not a spoon shape or a spring shape but instead it has small slits on the bottom of the bombilla which I find to be a clever design. I recommend this gourd for beginners since it is a fairly good price and it lets you get an understanding of how to use it.

For people who are worried about this gourd molding, don't. If you take care of this gourd properly it should last you a long time. First off, make sure you cure your gourd for at least 6 hours by filling it up with yerba mate almost all the way to the top and adding hot water. For a better curing process keep adding water as needed. When you are done curing the gourd the inside of the gourd will be a dark green color. Do not worry! This is not mold! This is from the gourd absorbing the dark green color of the yerba mate. If you are still worried about the gourd collecting mold you should try substituting the water with some alcohol. (I prefer Tequila, will give it a nice flavor and the alcohol will keep down the mold.)

When you have finished using your gourd make sure you rinse it out with HOT water. DON'T USE SOAP!! Or else the gourd will end up absorbing the soapy flavor. Make sure you completely dry the gourd on the inside with a paper towel and then grab a new paper towel and put it inside the gourd to help it dry. Another mold reducing tip is put the gourd next to an open window to help it dry faster.

The only problem that I have found with this gourd is that after using mine for a while the gourd has absorbed a lot of water and has started to expand creating little cracks at the top of the gourd.
Nothing too serious for now but that's why I gave it 4/5 stars.

Anyways the mate that comes with it has an amazing flavor. I hope whoever orders this product takes the time to take care of their gourd. If you take care of your gourd, your gourd will take care of you.
Thanks!
-Kev

Yerba matte is great tea, tasty and full of energy. The gourd and bombilla are fun to use. Plus it's sustainably produced!

I ordered this kit because I wanted to end my dependence on coffee and energy drinks which I would always buy constantly. I would always use about half a truck full of splenda just to make coffee tolerable. Now that I've had this for about a month, I have yet to have touched an energy drink or a cup of coffee. I don't drink mate every day, but its not a jitter causing over-reactive drink compared to coffee which means you never wake up each day thinking "I NEED CAFFEINE"! I'm loving every single coffee and energy drink free day. Its funny because when I walk into a gas station people any more only open the energy drink cooler while I enjoy other drinks like I did when I was younger before energy drinks were prominent.

As for the kit itself here's my review:

1. All gourd of are of different designs when they arrive, mine was a lizard.
2. The provided bombilla is incredible, works perfectly and filters a great amount of leaves.
3. The provided amount of mate was incredible, its a huge bag for a starter kit.

The mate that is provided is a fairly strong blend compared to the air dried kind that I buy. The first couple times you drink this, its strong and bitter, but it mellows out over time and you acquire a taste for it. I have yet to add sugar to any mate I've made and I plan on keeping it like that. A very good kit to get you started and keep going, just keep good care of the gourd and bombilla and you'll make this kit worth many times its money.

This was the second gourd I had acquired after successfully curing and enjoying my first one for a while. This gourd is very attractive and the mate that comes with it is tasty. However, after following the directions for curing, several patches of green mold appeared. I tried to kill these with boiling water as recommended in some mate-related websites, but a weak spot in the bottom of the gourd was apparently cracked by the heat and a leak developed. Amazon gives no refunds on these types of items so as another reviewer mentioned, you're rolling the dice. On a related note, contrary to what some mate enthusiasts on the Internet may say, it is NOT safe to drink from a moldy gourd. Green mold appearing in your gourd will likely be penicillium, which has the ability to produce mycotoxins.

Great product. Bought this gourd about a month ago and have used it everyday since. Have had no problems like others have stated in reviews and glad I decided to go ahead and purchase this item.

When I bought my gourd (not this particular one though) it had instructions for curing it. I don't recall exact measurements, but it did include soaking with roughly a few tablespoons of wood (only wood) ashes and water overnight.
No mold ever, so perhaps that's the trick? Though they should have supplied those instructions with the gourd.
I do love the flavor of this brand of Yerba Mate. Rating 3 because I couldn't post without rating.

The mate that comes with it isn't the top shelf, but it still has a great flavor and they give you a good amount of it. The gourd needs to be cured, but that's easy to do with some hot water and a spoon (or just use the included bombilla). The only downside is that the bombilla filters out the leaves by straining the water through thin slits in the side. Because of this you can't always drain your cup to the bottom, and some of the smaller leaves will get through. Not a big deal, but there are better bombillas out there.

In all it is a great product and I would recommend it to anyone who is looking to brew their own mate.

Gourd is very good. It is smaller then I had before, but it is good, because I add warm more water more often. I clean it every day and nothing bad happens.