Guayaki, Sebastopol, California, the grassroots company that pioneered the spread of South American yerba mate beverages across the U.S. is breaking new ground by opening a classic Mate Bar. Since rainforest yerba mate is an entirely different drink and culture than coffee and tea, the goal of Guayaki’s (www.guayaki.com) new Mate Bar is to provide guests with a joyful experience that helps them discover and embrace the cultural traditions and spirit of sharing that is at the core of the healthy yerba mate lifestyle.

The Guayaki Mate Bar is conveniently located in downtown Sebastopol in the big ‘gold’ building at 6782 Sebastopol Road (Route 12) in the heart of Sebastopol, and is open from 7 AM to 2 PM Monday through Saturday. This unique ‘jungle lounge’ blends authentic South American yerba mate culture with delicious local artisan cuisine. Although the focus is on the celebration of yerba mate and its community-oriented culture, the Guayaki Mate Bar also offers a creative food menu that features light and healthy organic fare with ‘something for everyone’ including delicious gluten-free, wheat-free and vegan options.

The Mate Bar drink menu includes a wide variety of tasty organic yerba mate beverage styles such as mate lattes, cappuccino mate, mate mocha, mate chai, java mate, spicy mayan mocha mate, mate shakes, espresso shots, iced mate (seasonal), and drip brewed mate. Since a key objective is to help others discover the joy of sharing yerba mate, it is only natural that one of the features at the Mate Bar is traditional yerba mate sipped from a gourd and bombilla. You can even bring in your own gourd and the experienced staff will provide helpful advice.    

The gourd ritual was established centuries ago as a symbol of hospitality. Tomando mate (drinking mate) inspires openness between those in the drinking circle, and this communal spirit allows the mate to do more than just nourish and energize bodies and minds. As the mate gourd is passed around, a sense of connection emerges. Typically, the cebador (mate server) prepares mate for a group of friends. The cebador drinks first, testing the waters to ensure that only a smooth running mate is shared. Then the gourd is refilled with water and passed counter-clockwise with the bombilla (straw-filter) facing the recipient. Each person drinks the entire gourd. After the last sip is gone, the gourd is returned with the bombilla facing the cebador. The gourd is refilled with hot water and follows the circle, continuing until the mate is lavado (flat).

A colorful rainforest mural greets guests at the outdoor entrance, and the interior of the new Mate Bar exudes a calm elegance due to an abundance of lush green plants and sustainable and natural building materials. The décor features beautiful sculptures created by indigenous artists, as well as photos of the Guayaki Ache tribe, a proud and resilient native people that the company is named after and partners with in South America. Striving to have their customers share a closer relationship with the source of the shade-grown mate they are sipping, the wall hangings also include color maps that identify the rainforest regions where Guayaki’s healthy yerba mate products are sustainably harvested.