news flash- chubbies to become skinnies

its decided. we are now opening a challenge to everyone who wants to bust a little butt and become meaner and leaner.

the Mate del Sol dieters challenge!!

we will be accepting applicants to go on a yerba mate diet that we will specially structure. the rules will be simple. become hot!
the best part - we will be sponsoring looots of yerba mate. that way even if you gain weight (unlikely) at least you will have drunk lots of yerba, and be a generally happier person for it

Hola! Yerba Latte

at long last! mate del sol Yerba Latte is finally ready to hit the shelves (and cups). so much for espresso being so "expresso". this sucker has taken an incredible long time (considering its relative simplicity) to get ready to join the party. so here is a little preview of things to come. you will be able to purchase a half kg of yerba latte mix (suitable for use in espesso machines - not automated) at www.cafesakura.com

some arb' facts and stats on Yerba Lattes thus far
1. the Argentinians think im stupid.
2. our 1st customer is a 5 star hotel (overlooking all gourmet tea for later- go figure)
3. 9 out of 10 trial subjects (there have been many) think they would prefer it as a regular drink to coffee.
4. 7 out of 10 gagged on a yerba espresso unsweetened and looked at me like i was trying to feed them a farm yard.
5. the 8 out of 10 of the 7 (excuse my math, i never did geography at school) immediately changed their tune with the "magic" addition of a touch of honey
6. yerba latte is probably less addictive than crack, but definately healthier.
7. Amy said that she definately felt more cocky after sinking her second latte in a row, and that honey was nicer than vanilla. Amy then proceeded to behave substantialy more cocky once she had worked her way through an "Americano yerba"
8. my new Argentinian assistant looked at me like i was some sort of twisted psycho when i handed her a yerba latte, (part of her initiation/interview). made some muttered remarks as to what her zeida would have thought of this, and promptly sunk the rest.
9. cold yerba latte is cool too



p.s. there is a sale on kg of tradicional loose leaf mate del sol currently available at www.cafesakura.com

From the sublime to the sacrilegious – the sacrilegious

Today Neil and I took the tea known as “the drink of the gods”, the green gold of the indios, the herbal brew that has been used as a sacred peace pipe for thousands of years amoungst the noble tribes of the Amazonia forests. We took this most hallowed tea and pushed it through an espresso machine, pumped it into smoothies and blended it with nuts, coffee and cacao beans, wizzed it with slushed fruit juices. Inspired by Patti from global wrapps we threw in mint and pineapples galore.And it was good!!

Thankfully we are a few thousand miles away from South America else we probably would be roasting on tribal spits, or being stomped by enraged gauchos on horses. Nevertheless, after a lot of blending, steaming and grinding we managed to come up with some novel and delicious yerba mate blends, which do justice to Ilex Paraguariensis. I would not go pushing a yerba latte under Guarani’s nose for fear of offending him, but I definitely would recommend one to any South African looking for a smooth, elevating alternative to their coffee, rich in anti-oxidants. The smoothies will be hitting the counters of global wrapps in august.I look forward to popping into a global wrapps every now and then for a fruity fix on my many road trips.

Image: Neil running off a yerba shot for a hot nutty mate, date and cacao bean blend. Superfoods sounding decadent!