Wednesday, January 2, 2008

Southern Comfort - Yerba Maté


source: Style.com

Guayakí Yerba Maté fair-trade tea-filled gourd, $12, available at http://www.guayaki.com/.

What do native Paraguayan forest people, Argentine cowboys, and Brazilian fashion editors all imbibe to get them through their day? Hint: It's not a grande latte. Take a tip from the South Americans and, instead of coffee or Diet Coke for fuel in the new year, try yerba maté. The powerful potion is a traditional tealike beverage made from the dried leaves of a yerba maté tree—the loose leaves are combined with hot water inside a hollowed-out gourd and drunk through a "bombilla," or filtered straw. Devotees swear by the mineral- and nutrient-packed brew for energy and weight loss. Even better, Guayakí, which sells a wide variety of yerba maté products, is carbon-neutral, solar-powered, and supports a wide range of local programs and projects in the South American rain forests, where the yerba maté tree is grown. Drinking it does a body, and a continent, good.

No comments: