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BBC WORLD CHALLENGE DOCUMENTARY
SARA SNOW VISITS GUAYAKI AND TAKES A TOUR
VISIT 3 GUAYAKI YERBA MATE PROJECTS
GUAYAKI BUSINESS MODEL EXPLAINED
Guayakí’s MARKET-DRIVEN-RESTORATION business model directly links our customer’s purchases to our partner farming communities in the South American Atlantic Rainforests. Guayakí’s partners sustainably harvest organic yerba mate from rainforest grown cultivations and reforestation projects, generating a renewable income stream which enables these communities to improve their lives and restore their lands. Learn more here.
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Our signature Organic Traditional Mate is deep and rich, supported by a well balanced and complex earthy "mate" body, and a smooth mellow finish.
Sustainably sourced from preserved rainforest and reforestation projects in Argentina, Paraguay, and Brazil, our Traditional Yerba Mate blend boasts a rich and robust mate flavor, toasty aroma, and a balanced finish.
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Bulk Pricing: [Price] [Price per Pound]
5 pound orders $52.50 $10.50
10 pound orders $90.00 $9.00
25+ pound orders $200.00 $8.00
Yerba mate was discovered centuries ago by the indigenous people in South America and has been consumed to enhance vitality, clarity, and well-being. With 24 vitamins and minerals, 15 amino acids, 11 polyphenols, caffeine, and is high in antioxidants, yerba mate triumphs as nature’s most balanced stimulant.
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Organic
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Fair Trade
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Kosher
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Sustainably harvested
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Biodegradable and Compostable packaging
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Reduces CO2 by 286g
A Cut Above
Guayaki Yerba Mate has the typical “Paraguayan” cut. In Uruguay, you will find that they prefer their mate cut to have even more powder. In Argentina, you will find the preferred cut is void of both powder and stems. In our years of research drinking mate in tea bags, through a French press, in a gourd or guampa, we have found that the Paraguayan cut delivers the smoothest balance of flavor.
Imparting the sweet nutty profile from the stem content balanced with the strength of the additional surface area from the powder, you have a full bodied mate with several characteristic layers of flavor. We like to consider the cut as a sort of “whole herb” approach, understanding that the stems add their own distinct function, and indeed carry an additional nutritional profile to the mate.
When packing a gourd, gently shaking the mate with a tilt allows the stems to rise, and the powder to drop. After inserting the bombilla, the gourd is tilted upright allowing the larger stems and leaf to surround the bombilla, and thus creating an additional “filter” layer that assists in keeping out the fine sediment. Without the powder, the mate needs additional time to impart its full flavor. With the powder, you get balanced flavor from the start, with the leaves and stem assisting in carrying the balanced flavor throughout the duration of the mate drinking session.
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The first photo is day 1, Traditional Yerba Mate bag on top of the soil: June 21st, 2008
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Day 40: July 30th, 2008
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Day 120: October 19'th, 2008
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Day 150: November 21'st, 2008
The material is very soft and shreds in your fingers. The product has not been agitated for 150 days, just sitting in the soil under normal Northern California conditions.
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New Biodedgradable Packages
Our new metalized bags are made entirely of biodegradable and compostable materials. The bags will compost in your home compost or landfill in 180 days.
The packages are made from renewable, non G.M.O. wood-pulp sourced from plantations employing Sustainable Forestry Management Principles, who conform to the environmental standard I.S.O. 14,000 and have either achieved or are working towards F.S.C. Printed with water based inks.
Is the Bio Bag’s packaging technology new?
Although cellophane and aluminum metallized films are not a new packaging concept, the process for producing metallized cellulose films that are compostable and biodegradable and that have the ability to be strong and flexible is truly groundbreaking. Guayakí is on the the ground floor of pioneering this packaging.
Why do the Guayakí Bio-Bags use NatureFlex Films?
Cellulose film is the oldest transparent packaging product. First marketed in the U.S. in the 1920’s as cellophane, it was the most popular packaging film used until the 1960’s when polyolefin based products began to dominate the packaging market for a variety of reasons. In the more environmentally-conscious marketplace of today, cellulose film is returning to popularity because it is on average 94% from renewable raw materials. Unlike the man-made polymers in plastics, which are largely derived from petroleum, cellulose films are manufactured from a natural polymer, cellulose, which is a component of plants and trees. The raw material for NatureFlex, the cellulose film that Guayakí is using, is a renewable wood-pulp sourced exclusively from plantations following sustainable forestry principles.
Why do the Guayakí Bio-Bags use aluminum?
Aluminum has been used since Roman and Greek times in various forms, and is used today in a wide variety of packaging materials. This metal acts as a very effective barrier to light, oxygen, odors, flavors, moisture, and bacteria. The new Guayakí bags are designed to provide the freshness benefits of an aluminum barrier, using the absolute minimum amount of metal necessary. The NatureFlex film used by Guayakí is the only metallized biodegradable film suitable for home composting because the level of metal is miniscule, less than 0.02% of the bag by overall composition. The ultra-thin layer is only a few atoms of aluminum thick, as opposed to the much thicker 180 ml sheets that are used by most companies.
How is NatureFlex made?
Cellulose film is made by digesting wood in a series of chemical processes that remove impurities and break the long fiber chains in the raw material. Regenerated via extrusion of a dissolved cellulose liquid as a clear, shiny film, with plasticizing chemicals added for flexibility, cellulose film is still comprised largely of cross-linked cellulose molecules. This means that it can be broken down by micro-organisms in the soil just as leaves and plants are.
How are the Guayakí Bio-Bags Biodegradable and Compostable?
Tests have shown that the average total time for complete bio-degradation of cellulose film is from 28 to 60 days for uncoated products, and from 80 to 120 days for coated cellulose products like the ones we use. In lake water, the rate of bio-degradation is 10 days for uncoated film and 30 days for coated cellulose film. Even materials which are thought of as highly degradable, like paper and green leaves, take longer to degrade than cellulose film products. Conversely, plastics, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyethylene, polyethylene terepthatlate (PET), and oriented-polypropylene (BOPP) show almost no sign of degradation after long periods of incorporation in soil.
In the Earth's crust, aluminum is the most abundant (8.13%) metallic element, and the third most abundant of all elements (after oxygen and silicon). However, because of its strong affinity for oxygen, it is almost never found in the elemental state; instead it is found in oxides or silicates. In the decomposition process for the Bio-Bags, the ultra-thin coating of aluminum oxidizes and turns into aluminum oxide which is non toxic.
All NatureFlex films are fully FDA & EU direct food contact approved and certified compostable to the ASTM 6400 and EN-13432 standards. A small amount of fossil-based polymer is used in the process in order to provide the required functional properties such as moisture barrier and sealability. Renewability tests conducted in accordance with ASTM 6866 show that NatureFlex films are certified 94% bio-based, with the remainder being fossil-based carbon.
• Organic Certified
• Fair Trade Certified
• Gluten Free
• Vegan
• Soy Free
• Dairy Free
• Kosher
TO EXPERIENCE THE FULL HEALTH BENEFITS OF YERBA MATE DAILY, WE RECOMMEND STEEPING 1-2 TABLESPOONS.
The uplifting and nourishing choice of health-minded individuals, yerba mate boasts 24 vitamins and minerals, 15 amino acids and abundant antioxidants. Yerba mate is also known for its adaptogen-like qualities, which include reducing the effects of occasional stress.
Of the six commonly used stimulants in the world, yerba mate, coffee, tea, kola nut, cocoa and guarana, yerba mate, with naturally occurring caffeine, triumphs as the most balanced, delivering both energy and nutrition.
Yerba Mate:
*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.
This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. |
Loose-Leaf Mate
