November 16th, 2008
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Mate Bars |
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Serendipity happens.
Imagine this: You’re sitting in a garden patio in the Sunnyslope suburb of Greater Phoenix. You can hear birds chirping in trees that provide a welcomed shade in Arizona’s notorious Valley of the Sun. You smile to yourself. This is not the region’s traditional cactus garden, it’s an unexpected oasis. You sip your yerba mate from a leather covered gourd and occasionally pour a little more hot water from your thermos so you can sip – and smile – some more. You’re at peace. Life is good.
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October 27th, 2008
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Customs and Culture |
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Ian Dell’Aquila is a Porteño at heart. A Porteño, literally a “port person,” is from the Rio de la Plata region of South America. This includes a large area surrounding the ports at Buenos Aires and Rosario in Argentina and extending across the river to the port at Montevideo, Uruguay. Almost all Porteños drink yerba mate. Yerba mate is as much a source of identity and pride to the Porteños as their unique Castellano Rioplatense dialect of the Spanish language.
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September 30th, 2008
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General Information |
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Why not go back to school and take a class on yerba mate? Become an expert. Amaze your friends with your new-found knowledge. Become a connoisseur. Become a cultural elitist!
On Sunday, October 5, 2008, I will be conducting a seminar on yerba mate in downtown Long Beach, California. Don’t miss this chance to learn more about yerba mate.
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August 13th, 2008
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History |
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The following story was originally posted on March 17, 2008. When I learned that it contained a factual error, I immediately took it down. The story has now been corrected. Please accept my apology.
Materva (a contraction of mate and erva) just could be the original yerba mate soft drink. The origin of Materva reportedly dates back to the 1920’s. This unique, carbonated beverage was marketed by LaPaz, S.A., a bottling company in Cuba, but following the Cuban Revolution in 1959, LaPaz was nationalized as part of the Communist movement. The popular yerba mate drink could have disappeared forever, but thanks to another Cuban company, it became available in the United States.
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May 14th, 2008
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Mate Bars |
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Last week while traveling in Northern California my wife Patti and I made a stop in Sebastopol. Sebastopol is one of those sleepy little towns that people in the big city dream about. It’s in the heart of the wine country region of Sonoma County where the fresh air, nearby redwood forests, terraced vineyards, lush green scenery and a slower-paced lifestyle beg city-dwellers to come visit.
Just a few blocks from the center of this little town is the brand new Guayaki Yerba Mate Bar. At last, a yerba mate bar that unabashedly sells yerba mate any way you want it. There is no hiding behind a long list of coffees and teas; this is the real deal. The place sells healthy organic food, snacks and yerba mate — just like mate bars in South America.
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April 30th, 2008
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General Information |
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Santa Barbara, California is gearing up for the Santa Barbara Writers Conference in June 2008. This annual event has attracted an impressive following since its inception in 1973 and more than 400 “wordsmiths” are expected to attend this year. You ask: “What do writers have to do with yerba mate?”
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April 13th, 2008
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Customs and Culture |
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Remember the hippies of the 1960’s? They had a reputation for bending the rules and avoiding responsibility. They were not very welcome in polite society either. Today, a different breed of hippie-looking folks still come to the beach in buses like this one. In 2008 however, thanks to the “legal leaf” from South America called yerba mate, they are very much welcomed as a part of a new health-conscious culture.
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March 31st, 2008
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Risks and Side Effects |
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Every Monday, our local, daily newspaper runs a syndicated column called The People’s Pharmacy. I have enjoyed this feature for years because, in addition to topical discussions on prescription drugs, drug policy and timely warnings of problems, it also features many home remedies, folk and herbal medicines and a question and answer section. I have waited for years for a question or a discussion about yerba mate. It finally happened. Boy, was I disappointed!
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February 27th, 2008
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Analysis |
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We are continuing our discussion of how to compare brands of yerba mate. Last time we considered the composition of the yerba and the color of the brewed mate. This time we will focus on the attributes of the resulting yerba mate infusion.
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February 12th, 2008
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History |
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Prior to 1982, the only yerba mate coming into the United States was for the personal use of South Americans who either brought it with them, had friends or family members send it to them or made elaborate arrangements to buy it from a South American company.
It was a simple case of serendipity that prompted James A. May to create the first U.S. brand of yerba mate — Wisdom of the Ancients. Jim May is the president and CEO of Wisdom Natural Brands. I recently had the opportunity to visit with Jim at his office in Arizona and hear his story first hand.
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Jim Worsham - is the author, editor, publisher, and owner of this blog. He resides in Long Beach, CA.
