Erva Brew Co. and others blend centuries of tradition into their teas.
Erva Brew Co.co - founder Tiffany Scalia was first introduced to yerba mate in college , while juggling three line to pay for her tutorship at University of Southern California . Back then , she was acoffeedrinker , relying on the complimentary cups that were often available in common blank around campus . Then , after one particularly grueling twenty-four hour period at work , Scalia ’s co - actor directed her toward a different drink : yerba mate .
“ The mate revived me from the privileged out . It was unlike anything I had ever go through , ” Scalia say . “ Coffee always hit me right in the breadbasket and then give me shaky and anxious . With fellow it ’s just so much cleaner . It even furnish , at least for me , a sense of optimism . ”
From her very first sip , Scalia was hooked , and like a shot replaced hercoffeehabit with Imperial gallon jugs of frigid - brew yerba mate . Native to humid regions of South America , when brewed as a tea , the dried yerba mate leaves and stems add themselves to an crude , smoky smack profile and are compact with vitamins , mineral , amino dose , and antioxidant , in improver to a salubrious dose of caffeine . According to some studies , yerba mate has been shown to improve the moods of those who use up it regularly .
Design by Maitane Romagosa for Thrillist, photos courtesy of Erva Brew Co.
While yerba match tea has a century - previous , precolonial story across South America , several California company have sweep up and are reimagining the traditional tea . Leading the drift isGuayaki , a bottled yerba mate brand name headquarter in Sebastopol . It was launch in 1996 by a student at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo looking to share the tradition he grew up with in Argentina . In 2021 , the founders of San Diego - based Boochcraft and Juneshine launchedKové Hard Yerba Mate , a spiked seltzer that use yerba copulate tea as its groundwork , with a tasting way in the Miramar neck of the woods .
Scalia did n’t initially set in motion a mate brand . After she graduate from college , she ran a hand in glove run , farm - to - festival catering ship’s company call 99 white potato . As she searched for something that would rejuvenatefestival - goers without sprain them into jittery , rest - deprived zombies , she once again found the response in married person , creating her caller ’s now - craze favorite Ginger Limeade flavor and serve it over deoxyephedrine .
In 2014 , Scalia , Juan Rivera , and Ryan Beaucher , co - institute Erva Brew Co. They expanded their mathematical operation to farmers markets acrossLos Angeleswhile adding flavors like Tulsi Passion and Hibiscus Lemon to muse the diverse cultures of the city . “ We get a great deal of people who have never hear of yerba couple and , after trying ours , they instantly switch over over from boozing coffee tree . That ’s really coolheaded to witness , ” Rivera says . “ We also get customer from Argentina and Brazil , as well as Syria and Lebanon , which not a lot of people are mindful that those countries also have traditions of drinking mate . It ’s really nerveless to share our version with people who have never ascertain yerba married person offered here . ”
Photo courtesy of Erva Brew Co.
Of course , there are naysayers to operations like Erva Brew Co. , often belonging to a coevals of longstanding fellow drinkers who believe the custom should be uphold in a certain means . Traditional yerba mate observance involve preparing the tea leaves in a small gourd and rain buckets in blistering water before pass it around in a radical , with each player sip the admixture through the same metal straw . The mixture is caustic and strong to start out , but water is impart intermittently as the gourd travel through the group , gradually easing its shrill tang .
But this traditional method of yerba mate economic consumption is n’t always idealistic in warm and sunny Southern California , and peculiarly not since March 2020 , which happens to be when Rivera and Scalia launched their brick - and - trench mortar store in Pasadena . Thankfully , Erva Brew Co. already had a solid following from its local farmers market fame and was able to remain afloat with takeout services . In July 2020 , they opened the shop to customer , offering blends like Lavender Lemon and Moroccan Mint on tap , as well as a extract of hot mate , yerba teammate caffe latte , loose - leaf blend , and South American - inspired bite like vegetarian empanadas and Peruvian alfajores cookies sandwiched withdulce de leche , made weekly by Rivera ’s mom .
Holding dependable to the ethos that help Scalia set up her catering caller , Erva Brew Co. is intentional about how it sources ingredients . For now , the fellowship uses constituent and fair trade first mate from kinsfolk farm in Misiones , Argentina , but the founders hope to mistreat that up to point swop as before long as possible . The herbs featured in their brews are organic and all of the fruits are sourced from local Fannie Farmer markets . With extractive practices so prevailing in the coffee industry , Scalia and Rivera strive to make a positive economical impact .
Eventually , Rivera and Scalia go for to instill Erva Brew Co. with some of the communal spirit that ’s so built-in to yerba mate tradition , too , such as adding couches so guests can lounge at the coffee shop . The original architectural plan was to set up with tasting flights that could be passed between customers , as well as shareable bowls of canchita — Peruvian popcorn — that are currently offered in individual packages .
Still find from a busy festival time of year , include a stop at Coachella , Scalia and Rivera are already at work on Erva Brew Co. ’s next seasonal launch . Rivera has his eye on creating a married person withchicha morada , a turn imperial maize drink that ’s popular in Peru , Bolivia , and Chile . He and Scalia also hope to bid a effervescent mate and fizz genus Cola mate soon .
For the time being , the sorcerous Pasadena workshop sport a vibrant wall painting behind the bar and a handful of seats for patrons , representing an ideal study smirch for nearby CalTech students and a friendly neck of the woods coffee shop pick for wandering locals .
“ We want to excite people in a newfangled means , one that helps them fulfill their greatest potency , ” Scalia says .
