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

A drinking problem?

Yerba Mate is an everyday obsession with me, and I drink it continuously throughout the day, and I love it strong and in the traditional mate (calabash cup). I think some days I might even rival Argentinians, who have had laws passed to stop them from drinking and driving (drinking mate that is). Oolongs are about special times, but the yerba is everytime. To give you an idea of the love I have for the tea, let me take you with me (in thought ) to the average meeting I might have.

“Hi mr/mrs/notsurewhatyouare blab bla, thanks for taking the time to meet me, can I interest you in some tea? mate?” by this stage I’m either pouring or commandeering the persons staff to get cups, water, no not so hot (get it to the “crab eye” bubble stage – in my head)not hot enough, and generally ignoring any protests about how they may or may not have drunk enough for the day.

We talk, more often than not, I talk more than them, examine some tea, smell it, poke around the leaves, the pros and cons, slam CTC a little. Now comes the embarrassing part, if the person leaves their cup partially un-drunk. My eyes keep skipping down to the yerba simmering in there cup, getting stronger, and inevitably heading for over infused status. If it’s a delicate green tea in their cup, the whole episode plays out the same way but with a frantic pace as my heart beats out the 3 minutes infusion time, while the cup remains undrained.

By this time the client/supplier/whatever is starting to notice my repeated warnings of “ why don’t you finish up that mate?” or “don’t you like the tea?” “its going to get too strong” rising in tempo and progressively peppering the conversation more and more. Conversation starts to break down as concentration on the topic erodes, and any pretense of my interest in anything other than the cup slips away.

Now you may think, this guy is exaggerating, but there are quite some number of people out there, by now, who may slowly shake their heads and be reminded of the broken sentences ending with “ are you going to drink that already? Cause if you aren’t I will!” followed by my slurping down the remainders of their cup.

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!