The Plant

Yerba Maté goes by many names, erva mate, Ilex Paraguariensis, Ka'a, all depending on who one asks (Spanish, Portuguese, Latin, Guaraní, respectively). The tree only grows in one environment in the world with exactly zero successful commercial plantations outside of its habitat: the Paraná-Paraguay river system watershed:


Yerba is a member of the holly family, aquifoliaceae, and is found in the secondary canopy of the Atlantic Rainforest, a jungle that once covered much of eastern South America. Growing up to 15 meters, below is a photo of a wild yerba tree in its virgin habitat (the yerba is in the very center of the picture):


A wild female plant in bloom in the Spring:


When cultivated, the tree takes on the appearance of a bush more than a tree. In commercial plantations in Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay, the plant density is usually 1000-2000 trees per hectare. Below is an example of a domesticated yerba plant, when harvested it will yield between five and ten kilograms of material for harvest:


Traditionally, the harvest includes stripping the tree of all its branches, leaves, stems and buds. This crude raw material is trucked to the factory and processed using a method created by the Spanish Jesuits in the 17th Century. The product of ten trees would look very similar to this:


Below is what we at Complete Leaf Company believe the product of 10 plants should look like: