Creating Homemade Club-Mate: A Refreshing DIY Adventure
At Hackalot, me and a couple of friends have embarked on a quest to craft our own variation of Club-Mate, a refreshing caffinated South American-inspired iced tea made with yerba mate. With just a handful of essential ingredients and some equipment, you can recreate or build on our attempts.
Ingredients
- Yerba mate (Playadito yerba mate)
- Citric acid
- White sugar
- Water
- E150A caramel food coloring
- Co2
Equipment
- Kitchen scale
- High precision scale (0.1g)
- Thermometer
The recipe
Our experimentation has led us through over 40 different variations, and we're delighted to share our current best recipe so far:
- Place 10 grams of Yerba mate (Taragüi pure leaf) and 7 grams of Yerba mate (Pajarito) in a tea steeping bag.
- Set aside 1.08 grams of citric acid in a small container.
- Set aside 0.05 grams of E150A
- Prepare 45 grams of white sugar in another small container.
- Boil 440ml of water, allowing it to cool down to 75°C.
- Add the tea to the 440ml of 75°C water and allow the tea to steep for 5 minutes.
- Dissolve the sugar, citric acid and food coloring in 60ml of hot water.
- Filter the tea through a coffee filter to remove any particles.
- Pour 500ml of cold water into a soda bottle.
- Add the cooled tea and sugar mixture into the soda bottle.
- Cool down the mixture to 5°C
- Pressurize the bottle to 2,1 bar of Co2 using a carbonation stone.
The result? A homemade Club-Mate inspired soda that boasts a wonderfully fresh flavor profile. While it may have its unique twist compared to the original, we guarantee it's a sip worth savoring.
Ongoing Improvements
We're not done yet! We're continuously working to refine our recipe. Our current focus is on fine-tuning the taste and experimenting with winter spices. You can find detailed records of our experiments and discoveries on the Hackalot website.
Join us on this exciting DIY adventure as we craft the perfect homemade Club-Mate, and stay tuned for more updates as we strive for beverage perfection!