Iced mate with pomegranate juice

Mate is my favorite cold drink and it reminds me of Brazil and those very hot days on the beach, in Rio de Janeiro, when happiness was easily confused with a glass of iced mate shaken with some lemon juice and served with manioc starch biscuits. As time went by I started to appreciate mate blended with passion fruit juice or cashew fruit pulp and lots of ice cubes.



For those of you used to drink green hot mate, I am sorry, I know iced mate might sound a little bit crazy, almost like a crime but it is so good, deliciously fresh and seductive with its smoky aroma and I just can't resist. If you don't know anything about mate it is an amazing and delicious South American herb which is drunk by native Americans since long before the arrival of the first European colonists. It is a delicious drink, hot or cold...



Iced mate with pomegranate juice

1 liter of water
2 tablespoons of roasted mate or black tea
one big and ripe pomegranate
1 tbsp of sugar (use more or less if you prefer)
Ice, lots of ice cubes


How:

In a pan boil one liter of water and once it is boiled add the mate and let it in infusion until it cools completely. After the infusion has cooled put in a jug and transfer it to the fridge. When you are prepared to serve transfer the chilled infusion to a blender, add the pomegranate pulp, the sugar, ice and blend it for 30 seconds as you don't want to smash the pomegranate seeds too much. Pass the mixture through a sieve, discard the solids and serve the drink with lots of ice cubes.

Serves 4