Guayaki Yerba Mate Enlighten Mint -16 oz.

Guayaki Yerba Mate Enlighten Mint.  Guayakí (gwy-uh-kee) Yerba Mate (yer-bah mah-tay) is made from the leaves of the celebrated South American rainforest holly tree (ilex paraguariensis).

For centuries, South America's Aché Guayakí tribe have sipped yerba mate daily from a traditional gourd for its powerful rejuvenative effects.  These rainforest people find tremendous invigoration, focus and nourishment in yerba mate and revere it as the "drink of the gods". 

Guayakí's Enlighten Mint is a flavorful tribute to the Aché Guayakí and their legendary beverage.  Rise up with Guayakí and share in this powerful rainforest experience!

BevNET Review: With their Enlighten Mint variety, which won BevNETs Best of 2009 Awards for Best New Tea and Best Packaging Design, Guayaki has a tough act to follow. Fortunately, what they've created with their Enlighten Mint flavor is spot on, blending just the right amounts of mate, peppermint, sugar, and honey. Its an extremely easy product to drink, with a smooth flavor that’s clean from start to finish. And of course, this being mate, it has 150 mg of natural caffeine per can but is still low in calories (112 per can). Packaging is a nice continuation of what they developed for their Lemon Elation product, with small visual differentiators (a green accent color and a female face) made to their vibrant looking can design. It somehow manages to feel hip and authentic, giving it a leg up on Guayakis bottled products. USDA Organic and Fair Trade certifications are prominently displayed, which certainly bolsters this product's premium vibe. Overall, a really well executed product from Guayaki.

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:

• Helps Stimulate Focus and ClaritY
• Boosts Physical Energy
• Traditionally Used to Support Weight Loss Programs that Include Balanced Diet and Exercise.
• Aids Elimination
• Contains Antioxidants

Frequently Asked Questions:

WHAT DOES ENLIGHTEN MINT TASTE LIKE?
Enlighten Mint has a minty flavor with a touch of honey flavor, and an earthy note from the yerba mate. It's easy drinking and clean tasting, and not too sweet.

HOW DOES IT COMPARE TO THE BOTTLED MATE DRINKS?
The bottled mate drinks are more 'juicy' and 'earthy' and come in glass bottles. The cans have a lighter and brighter flavor. The glass bottled Empower Mint is more pepper minty while the Enlighten Mint can has more of a spearmint honey flavor. 

IS IT CARBONATED?
No. But, they are under minimal pressure so the cans maintain integrity when shipped.

IS IT AN ENERGY DRINK?
Not in the traditional sense, but many people experience energy from drinking mate as well as clarity of mind. Each can has 150 mg of caffeine, which is equivalent to a cup of coffee.

WHAT IS YERBA MATE?
Mate has the strength of coffee, the health benefits of tea, and the euphoria of chocolate. Yerba mate is made from the naturally caffeinated and nourishing leaves of the celebrated South American rainforest holly tree (Ilex paraguariensis).

The Guayaki Story

Guayaki is working to make organic, fair-trade yerba mate the mainstream energy source of choice, and prove that a company can be profitable while operating sustainably. They are an organization of individuals whose daily work is to bring you the finest yerba mate on the planet. We started in 1996 with a vision of protecting and restoring the South American rainforests and empowering the native forest people, and with your help, we are achieving that goal, sip by sip. Here is the story of our humble beginning.

In 1996, Guayaki was seeded in California's central coast by two university buddies. Alex Pryor from Buenos Aires, and David Karr from Northern California. As good friends and passionate yerba mate drinkers, David and Alex set out to share the yerba mate plant with the world, recognizing that people were in need of a nourishing source of energy and a healthy dose of optimism. As good fortune would have it, co-founders Alex and David were swiftly joined by three other pioneering partners to round out the original founding seed group: don Miguel aka the “The Journeyman”, Steven Karr aka “Shape-Shifter” and Christopher Mann aka “The Chairman of the Gourd”. These five ambitious friends aka the “semillas” (seeds) channeled their activist mentality into the creation of a new restorative business model, calling consumers to action by voting with their dollars.

The Semillas rooted themselves in fertile grounds of San Luis Obispo, CA, nestled comfortably between scenic Santa Barbara and magical Big Sur. This coastline, riddled with good surf breaks, provided the perfect backdrop for many extended mate gourd sessions while looking for surf. As passionate lifestylers, the Semillas group was intimately committed to a holistic lifestyle and business practice which was philosophically aligned with their love for nature, adventure and spirit.

In a blend of the West coast pioneer spirit and Argentine hospitality, the inspired band of Semillas took to the road to share mate with all those who would listen. Rooted in the central coast, hours from any major city, road warriorship became Guayakí's destiny. Traveling in a mix of VW vans, pickups, and RV’s, David, Steven and don Miguel took the wheel in the one hand and the mate gourd in the other, to the four corners of United States. With a strong brew of mate, good tunes, flowers and genuine hospitality, the Semillas encouraged keen samplers to develop a relationship with the yerba mate plant.

Growing up, we always heard “money does not grow on trees.” Well, today we are proving that “money does grow on trees” and rainforest-grown yerba mate is the new green currency. It provides the peoples of the rainforest with income as well as the ability to steward their land.

In 2009, Guayakí became the first Fair Trade Certified yerba mate company in the world thru IMO.