Once the "yerba" is settled, the mate is carefully brought to a near-sideways angle, with the opening tilted just slightly upward of the base. The mate is then shaken very gently with a side-to-side motion. This further settles the "yerba" inside the gourd so that the finest particles move toward the opening and the "yerba" is layered along one side. The largest stems and other bits create a partition between the empty space on one side of the gourd and the lopsided pile of "yerba" on the other.