Organic Yerba Mate

Maté grows on a tree also called Yerba Maté, whose botanical name is Ilex Paraguariensis. This tree belongs to the Aquifoliaceae family, i.e. the holly family. Like the holly, its foliage is evergreen. It can reach a height of 4 to 20m in its native environment.

It grows particularly fast under good growing conditions.

Ilex Paraguariensis produces clusters of white flowers which then provide bright red berries, but it is the leaves of the Yerba Maté that are used to make the drink of the same name!

Mate has been consumed for centuries in Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.

The Guarani Indians were the first to discover the benefits of mate, at a date difficult to define. The Spanish conquerors discovered the use and virtues of mate in the 16th century thanks to the Guaraníes and increased its trade. It was then the turn of the Jesuits to be seduced by this plant, so much so that mate is sometimes called Jesuit tea. They decided to find out its secrets in order to cultivate it: as the seeds of mate are very hard, they must first pass through the digestive system of certain birds to soften, notably the toucan, before they can germinate.

Nowadays, mate is a real ritual in South American countries where it is widely consumed, ahead of coffee.

If you are curious and like to make your taste buds travel, mate is for you!

Mate can sometimes be derived from so-called “native” trees growing wild in the forest, but it is usually derived from plantation trees.

The production stages are as follows:

1. 1. 1. The tree nursery

         Millions of plants, rigorously selected for their quality, are born in the nurseries

      2. Planting

         After six months, the seedlings are moved to their final location in the field. The care given to each of them allows them to become strong, healthy and with all the qualities of the authentic yerba mate. It takes 4 years before the first Yerba Maté leaves can be harvested from a young plant.

      3. The harvest

         It consists in cutting the young branches of the year. It is done manually with tools such as shears or pruners. Harvesting takes place between April and August when the trees have the most leaves and when they can best withstand cutting.
         The leaves are processed quickly within 24 hours of cutting to avoid fermentation.

      4. Drying

         In a dryer, the leaves are exposed to high heat for a short period of time to stop fermentation and oxidation. Without this step, the leaves turn brown and lose their flavour.
         Some traditional matés are roasted and smoked. This process is currently being questioned for maté marketed in Europe because it leads to the presence of anthraquinone, a harmful molecule of the PAH (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon) family that is formed when maté comes into contact with smoke.
         All our matés have been dried using processes that avoid the formation of anthraquinone by preventing prolonged contact of the maté leaves with smoke.
         The leaves are then subjected to lower temperatures of 80°C – 100°C for several hours to complete their drying.

      5. Maturation

         The taste, colour and aroma, which differentiate the various yerbas produced, are obtained after a period of maturation. Brazilian and Uruguayan Yerba Maté are generally fresh and green, while Argentinean and Paraguayan are aged for at least one year.

      6. Grinding

         The mate leaves are then crushed to become what is known as “yerba canchada”. The fineness of the cut and the presence of stems further vary the taste of the mate: finely cut matés with stems will have a marked bitterness, while matés cut more broadly will be sweeter and more aromatic.