Tereré

Name: Tereré
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: 45 g yerba mate; 700 ml water, ice-cold; 200 g ice; 10 g mint, washed, roughly torn; 1 lemon, sliced (optional)

Vegetarian

Paraguay's iced mate: yerba in a cup or horn refilled with ice-cold water steeped with crushed fresh herbs, and passed around on hot days.

Tereré is a Paraguayan cold drink, ready in about 20 minutes and made with yerba mate and mint. It serves 1 and is rated easy to cook.

Start cooking

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Prep: 10 min
Cook: 0 min
Rest: 10 min
Total: 20 min
Serves: 1
Level: Easy
Calories: 4

Then refilled and shared.

Ingredients

1 cup (shared round)

45 g Yerba mate (opens in a new tab)Refilled many times and discarded.
700 ml Water (opens in a new tab), ice-cold
200 g Ice (opens in a new tab)
10 g Mint (opens in a new tab), washed, roughly tornParaguayans use a mix of medicinal herbs (yuyos) such as mint, lemongrass and lemon verbena, crushed in a mortar.Swap: Lemongrass (Bruised stalks.)
1 (85 g) Lemon (opens in a new tab), sliced (optional)

Equipment

Method

1
Step 1
Pound the herbs lightly in a mortar to release their juices, put them in a jug with the ice-cold water, ice and lemon (opens in a new tab) slices, and leave for 10 minutes.
2
Step 2
Fill a cup, gourd or horn (guampa) two-thirds with yerba (opens in a new tab), shake the dust to the top and tilt the leaves to one side as for hot mate. Insert the bombilla on the low side.
- 2 min
3
Step 3
Pour the herb water beside the bombilla, sip it all through the straw and pass it on, refilling for each person.
- 2 min

About this dish

Origin: Paraguay · Well documentedAlso popular in north-eastern Argentina and Brazil's Mato Grosso do Sul.Also popular in Argentina, BrazilMore food from Paraguay
Dish: Snack · Lunch · Cold drinks
Cooking method: No-cook
Taste: bitter, herby, refreshing
Diet: Vegan · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients · Low-carb
All labels
Vegan · Plant-based · Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Lacto-vegetarian · Ovo-vegetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · Whole-food focused · Paleo-style · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · Low-carb · Low-fat · Low-sodium · DASH-style
Worked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for: Everyday · Portable / lunchbox
Cook more with: Yerba mate · Mint

Allergens

None of the 14 major allergens appear in the listed ingredients.

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

4 kcal per serving

Estimated

1 serving ≈ 910 g · recipe makes 1

Where the energy comes from

Protein 23%
Carbohydrate 60%
Fat 17%

Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
Nutrient	Per serving	Per 100 g*
Energy	4 kcal	0 kcal
Protein	0.3 g	0 g
Carbohydrate	0.8 g	0.1 g
Net carbohydrate	0.2 g	0 g
Sugars	0 g	0 g
Added sugars	0 g	0 g
Fibre	0.7 g	0.1 g
Fat	0.1 g	0 g
Saturated fat	0 g	0 g
Trans fat	0 g	0 g
Cholesterol	0 mg	0 mg
Sodium	21 mg	2 mg
Salt equivalent	0.1 g	0 g

Vitamins & minerals per serving

Potassium: 46 mg
Calcium: 110 mg
Iron: 1.2 mg
Magnesium: 24 mg
Vitamin A (RAE): 20 µg
Vitamin C: 1 mg
Vitamin D: 0 µg
Vitamin B12: 0 µg
Folate (DFE): 11 µg

How these numbers were made

Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
*Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
Optional ingredients are not included: lemon.
Not counted (tiny amounts or “to taste”): yerba mate.
Ice: Frozen water; same composition as water.
“—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

A fruit-juice version (often with orange or grapefruit juice) is also popular.

Common mistakes

Letting the herb water warm up — tereré is only refreshing when the water is ice-cold; keep the jug on ice.

Food safety

Wash the herbs well; they go in raw.

Storage

Prepare for immediate sharing; the herb water keeps a few hours on ice or in the fridge.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added 29 Oct 2026 · Updated 8 Nov 2026

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Customise in Sip & BlendCompare with

Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

The body of the dish

Gravy, sauce & base

Yerba mate45 g
Water, ice-cold700 ml · 700 g
Ice200 g
Mint, washed, roughly torn10 g

Used in steps 1, 2

Less sweet, dairy-free, caffeine-free or for more people — the original stays as it is.

Customise in Sip & Blend

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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