Dell’Aquila was born in the U.S., but when he was about nine years old his family moved to Buenos Aires. He completed his schooling in South America and officially became a Porteño. Then in 1999 the Porteño with a U.S. Passport returned to the United States.

Ian pronounces his name Yohn – like John would sound if it started with a “Y” instead of a “J” – the way it’s pronounced in his ancestral homeland of Rosario, Argentina where his father was born. The thriving port city of Rosario lies about 185 miles up river from Buenos Aires. It is actually situated on the Paraná River, a tributary to the Rio de la Plata Delta.

I first met Ian at a Southern California car show. He was helping two friends from South America operate a booth that sold Argentinian Empanadas. As I placed my order, I noticed a mate gourd and bombilla on the counter and this led to a few quick yerba mate anecdotes. But, when I observed that other customers were getting annoyed with our exuberance, I left my card and moved on. A week or so later, Ian sent me an e-mail that led to a visit and an interview.

Ian shares an apartment with his girlfriend Carolina and her sister Leticia. Like Ian’s family, Carolina and her family are also from Rosario, Argentina. Their apartment is in Venice Beach, a suburb of Los Angeles that is home to many South American immigrants. Ian laments: “A lot of Argentines get nostalgic when they immigrate.” Perhaps this is why their whole neighborhood is glued together by Latin American-themed markets, bakeries, restaurants and night clubs.

As we shared stories, Ian told me of his early experiences with yerba mate. His grandmother prepared it by heating a few spoonfuls of yerba in a pot of water and then straining it into a cup – sometimes adding milk or sugar. When he was older, he would sip mate from a gourd with his friends. Its gentle caffeine stimulus and the subtle sense of well-being he felt made him an enthusiastic user. He doesn’t care for the idea of tea bags however.

Ian proudly showed me his collection of mate gourds and cups, which included calabash, wood, ceramic and metal. One of his favorites is a small metal cup that he called a “mechanic’s mate.” So called because the metal does not absorb grease from the mechanic’s hands the way a traditional calabash gourd does. Eventually the grease will permeate the gourd and contaminate the yerba.

We both admired the intricate designs on this very special mate. It represents poems about the legendary Argentine gaucho, Martin Fierro.

Next, he showed me his prized “mate dispenser” hanging on the wall in his kitchen. The wooden canister has a glass window in front so you can view the level of yerba inside. We both laughed when he told me about filling one side with yerba sin palo and the other side with yerba con palo. Look closely and see if you can spot the separation down the middle. This is still funny to me!

You might find similar dispensers for sale on the Internet, but they won’t have the artistic fileteado painting on them. This unique style of painting is the South American equivalent to “pinstriping” that was popular on hotrods in the U.S. in the 1950′s and 60′s. In Argentina this decorative art is painted on buses, taxis, signs and on one’s most prized possessions. Ian had his yerba mate dispenser painted while attending the annual Buenos Aires Tango Convention a few years ago.

We had enjoyed a pleasant conversation for almost an hour and then Ian invited me to share a mate. Of course I agreed.

His favorite brand is Nobleza Gaucha from Argentina and he drinks it amargo which means “bitter” or unsweetened. For this occasion, he chose a wooden mate and a Uruguayan spoon-type bombilla. He heated the water in a traditional Argentine kettle using filtered water and insisted the filtered water makes a difference in the taste. He listened to the sound of the water “hissing” in his kettle and knew when it was ready just by the sound. We sipped and chatted for an hour or so – one of the secrets to a good mate experience is taking the time to enjoy it.

Ian says: “I have mate at least four times a day.” Typically, this is first thing in the morning; again in mid-morning; after lunch; and finally, about 5:00 or 5:30 p.m. The last one he usually shares with Carolina as they recount the day’s events. He confesses: “I get grumpy when I don’t have my mate.”

You know what? So do I.

Salud!

Remember the hippies of the 1960′s? They had a reputation for bending the rules and avoiding responsibility. They were not very welcome in polite society either. Today, a different breed of hippie-looking folks still come to the beach in buses like this one. In 2008 however, thanks to the “legal leaf” from South America called yerba mate, they are very much welcomed as a part of a new health-conscious culture. 

Yerba mate seems to be very popular in beach towns. Young, active people are naturally attracted to the good energy, health benefits and mental clarity that it provides. Perhaps one of the reasons young adults adapt to it so well is because they are willing to try something new.

Still another reason could be that they are fascinated by the traditional social ritual of sharing yerba mate from a gourd and bombilla. It’s just so . . . well . . . like . . . you know . . . idiosyncratic . . . and stuff. Whatever the true reason is, whether it’s Copacabana Beach in Brazil or Ocean Beach in California, yerba mate is a hit in beach towns.

A few weeks ago, I was traveling in the San Diego area. On a tip from a friend, I visited a weekly outdoor “Farmers Market” in nearby Ocean Beach. It’s held every Wednesday afternoon and it just sounded like fun.

Canopies and booths lined each side of the block-long event. Street vendors were selling everything you would expect at an outdoor market such as: fruits and vegetables, flowers, artwork, cosmetics, clothing, fast food, desserts, kettle corn, a “bounce house” for kids and even yerba mate!

One booth that sold Argentine food, also sold loose yerba mate by the kilo. I asked if they sold it by the cup too, but the answer was “no.”

Another booth, decorated like a little mate bar, did sell yerba mate by the cup  – freshly brewed in a French press. Several “hippie-looking” people worked in the booth and they offered many flavors and blends. I was intrigued with the whole operation. The brand they sold was Mate Factor. I have used this brand several times over the years and quite by coincidence, I had a cup of “fresh green” Mate Factor that same morning!

The group selling the mate was from a nearby religious community called the Community in Vista. One young man who was busy brewing mate told me the Community was made up of many people who had been disappointed by the traditional religions of the world. They have decided to band together, share resources and show their love for one another through self-sacrificing actions. Their lifestyle is patterned after the principles derived from the “twelve tribes of Israel.” The roots of their communal movement date back more than 35 years to Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Yerba mate is a key ingredient in their “Community” lives. They brew it early in the morning to start their day and then brew more for the men to take to work in a thermos. Their “work” includes building a new Mate Factor Cafe in nearby Vista, California. They expect it to open in the fall of 2008.

I checked out the various packages of loose yerba and tea bags for sale and bought a cup of “Chai” mate. The package design of Mate Factor suddenly struck me as very similar to the Tribal Brasil brand of erva mate tea bags I purchased last year at a market in Brazil. I wondered if there was a connection.

 

A quick search on the Internet that evening showed me that there were more than two dozen “Communities” in the Twelve Tribes network in the U.S., and a dozen more in other countries. In addition, there are about twenty cafes and stores in the U.S. and abroad that operate as Mate Factor or Common Ground Cafes and/or Stores.

Each Community has some type of business enterprise to support their lifestyle. The Communities that produce crops or products sell them through their own network called the Tribal Trading Company. There is no Tribal Trading Company per se; it’s just a means of distributing their goods.

My curiosity did not end there. When I returned home, I called Mate Factor’s new headquarters in Asheville, North Carolina and talked with the president, David Cohen. I asked David about the connection between the Tribal company in Brazil and the Mate Factor in the United States and other countries. He explained: “They’re the reason why we got started in the first place . . .” He added: “They’re a great group of people down there that are pioneers in the organic market.”

Cohen’s U.S. operation began in 1992 when they started importing bulk yerba mate from Brazil for various co-ops and specialty food companies. He went on to describe the origins of Mate Factor which adopted their U.S. brand name in 2002. The company operated as a sole proprietorship until 2007 when they became a Limited Liability Company.

The Mate Factor product line is sold through distributors and on the Internet. It is available at many health food stores and specialty markets. Their sales are increasing and a lot of their success is the result of the sales by the Communities.

When I inquired about any franchise fees or legal arrangements they had with the Mate Factor outlets around the world, he said there were no formal arrangements. He believes in helping good people and encourages their efforts to bring the healthy benefits of yerba mate to new markets. Like other outlets, the Communities buy the product wholesale and sell it at retail. The profits in turn, support their local Communities. This is known today as a “social enterprise.”

David actually lived in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil last year while working with Tribal Brazil. He was assisting them in developing new systems and procedures. As we talked, he recalled his passion to bring the new Brazilian style yerba mate to the U.S. This unique Brazilian mate is fresh, green yerba that is a blend of both wild and cultivated plants.

Mate Factor has its own production criteria for the Brazilian-grown yerba, and its flavor profile is different from the smoked and aged yerba that is produced in Argentina and Paraguay. The Brazilian process is to cure, package and ship within a few days of harvesting. He believes this yields a fresher yerba.

I have to admit, the flavor of “fresh green” yerba mate is different, but I like it. Don’t worry — it still has a rich greenish amber color when it’s brewed — not the putrid emerald green that tastes like algae. You now have a choice of several yerba mate profiles: green vs. smoked vs. aged vs. flavored, etc. You might compare this choice to selecting from different varieties of white or red wine. Each one seems right for a specific time and place.

Isn’t it amazing? After centuries of tradition, the yerba mate culture is still evolving!

Salud!