I've tried all the popular yerba mate brands, smoked, flavored, Uruguayan, Argentinian, but I still prefer organic unsmoked Yerba Mate with stems. I brew 1/2 cup of mate with 2 cups of 150F water and a splash of lemon juice for 30 minutes, then pour the whole thing through a chemex coffee filter. It takes a few minutes to filter, but the result is a delicious, very caffinated, slightly lemony tea.