MEMO ON YERBA MATE
✓ Yerba mate is not a tea but a South American shrub from the holly family
✓ It is mainly cultivated in Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay
✓ Locals drink the dried leaves as an infusion in a gourd with a perforated straw
✓ It helps improve alertness, stay focused and fight fatigue
✓ It’s a source of antioxidants and it may also have a fat-burning effect
The first Bombilla
Currently confined to Barcelona, we’re taking the opportunity to continue our meetings with small producers and brands that inspire us, online this time.
After an exchange of emails about the problem of yerba mate monocultures in Brazil, and the importance of producing it organically and with respect for the forest, we quickly arranged a meeting with Jérémie, co-founder of La Bombilla, the young French reference brand for mate. He ‘welcomes’ us via Skype from his garden in Val-de-Marne, surrounded by trees, birds and his mate thermos always at hand.
Jérémie is an engineer. In 2017, taking advantage of a position that allowed him to work online and remotely, he traveled for more than a year between Mexico and Argentina. It was there that he discovered the famous mate (or yerba mate) and its energizing power.
“Maintenant j’en bois presque tous les jours. C’est très énergisant, ça permet de rester concentré, et t’as pas le coup de barre que tu peux avoir avec le café”
Anyone who’s already traveled there knows: Argentines, Uruguayans and southern Brazilians are hooked on this plant. They drink it throughout the day from a thermos or, more traditionally, from a gourd with a perforated straw, the “bombilla”.
It is true that maté has a euphoric effect thanks to the caffeine it contains – about 1%: less than coffee, but more than green tea. It also contains theobromine, a substance also found in cocoa and that provides a sense of well-being.
When Jérémie returns to France, he talks with his friend Antoine about his desire to introduce this energizing and beneficial drink to those around him. They select a supplier, take care of the packaging, offer a mate discovery kit with a sachet, a gourd and a bombilla to enjoy it, and tell people about it. La Bombilla is born and finds its audience: more than 1,500 sachets are sold.
Faced with the success of this first “wave” of yerba maté, the two friends set out to refine the project. While much of the feedback they received was positive, some was more nuanced: mate is too bitter. How can they satisfy the French palate, accustomed to milder drinks, and “convert” more people? The best course of action is still to go to the source!
A 5,000 km road trip in search of the best yerba mate
Thus begins a 5,000 km road trip across northern Argentina and southern Brazil in search of the best yerba maté. Jérémie and Antoine meet many producers, taste countless samples of maté — one can imagine they were seldom tired — and learn in the field all the subtleties of this traditional drink that remains widely acclaimed.
Yerba maté leaves are harvested from a shrub in the holly family. It grows wild in the forest. Originally, its leaves were chewed and formed part of the ritual ingredients of certain indigenous peoples, notably the Guaraní.
Today, intensive yerba mate cultivation is a cause of deforestation: conventional (non-organic) mate is indeed grown in monoculture, with heavy use of pesticides. This type of cultivation kills forests and local wildlife, depletes the soil… That’s why our two friends sought to identify agroforestry farms, where this cultivation is more environmentally friendly.
After months of research and the discovery of dozens of plantations, they meet THE producer, in the state of Paraná in southern Brazil. It’s a region where mate cultivation has a long history.
The seedlings grow in small nurseries, then are planted in the forest and grow within a rich ecosystem. The harvest takes place every two years, and the leaves dry naturally, without smoke. This mate is certified fair trade and organic.
Brazil’s disastrous environmental policy cannot, for the moment, destroy this special place: because these mate shrubs grow in the middle of the forest, the forest is considered a cultivated area and is less likely to be cleared.
And what about the bitterness in all this?
South Americans drink a mate whose leaves are refined, aged, and therefore more bitter. We found a green, “young” mate that is therefore milder and more in line with French and European tastes
Another particularity of La Bombilla: the founders themselves chose their mate and their producer, which is rare in the sector. Most European mate brands source from a wholesaler in Germany that produces white-label products.
New blends and collaborations
Today, Jérémie and Antoine offer three different mates: a classic mate, a mint mate, and a floral mate. These blends are designed in Brazil. Soon the range will expand further with an aged mate (for those who like bitterness), and a roasted mate with a caramelized flavor that sounds divinely good.
The other focus of La Bombilla is developing high-quality accessories that go with mate tasting. A mate thermos with a pouring spout, flat bombillas, leather calabashes…
And collaborating with leading figures in the mate world. Such as Mateador, which crafts artisanal calabashes and supplies soccer players (and not the least): Lionel Messi, Antoine Griezmann, Angel Di Maria, Sergio Agüero…
To learn more about yerba mate and all its benefits, check out our in-depth feature here!
We would have loved to meet Jérémie and Antoine in person, and even better over a good mate in the depths of the Parana, but the virus had other plans. One thing’s for sure, we’re going to follow La Bombilla closely and start drinking liters of mate right away 🙂
