Great Maté Stops - #5
Author: Drink Deep
If you’re headed to the upper Midwest, you may be worried about finding a place to get your maté fix. Don’t worry, good folks in Ann Arbor, Michigan are making sure that you can enjoy the warmth of a hot, frothy maté latte (Sounds good now that I have proof that my thermometer isn’t stuck above 80 degrees).
Zingerman’s Delicatessen has been an Ann Arbor institution since 1992 and is celebrated nationally for its wonderful sandwiches – perhaps a Zingerman’s Reuben or a D-$’s Cuban Conundrum would hit the spot. A lovely selection of beverages issues from the adjoining coffee shop, Zingerman’s Next Door. Next Door is your source for Pixie Maté, as well as small estate grown coffee hand selected by Zingerman’s Coffee Company, and an array of teas. The milk used in your latte comes from a local dairy where the cows have actual names – milk from Bessie has to be better than milk from big company Cow #5309! For dessert you can enjoy premium chocolate, including Zingerman’s own Zzang! candy bar, or a wide selection of pastries from Zingerman’s Bakehouse.
With wide ranging expertise in everything yummy, Zingerman’s Delicatessen and other shops are stops not to be missed the next time you are in the Ann Arbor area.
Category: Maté Encounters, Café and Barista
New York Sophisticates get a Maté Buzz
Author: Drink Deep 
We always enjoy a chance to mix it up when it comes to our yerba maté experiences, so we are delighted to learn about several New York City restaurants that are adding maté goodness to their cocktail menus.
At Yerba Buena, located on the Lower East Side at 23 Avenue A, diners are offered an array of Latino cuisine such as Lechon (suckling pig) and Costilla (beef short ribs). Thanks to mixologist Artemio Vasquez, they can also enjoy a cocktail with a Chilean pisco base that is infused with yerba maté and served in a traditional maté gourd.
Moving on to Soho, diners can stop at Tailor, located at 525 Broome Street, where the menu is designed around a sweet and salty theme. The cocktail list includes the Maté Sour – yerba maté, Querberante Pisco, lime juice, honey, egg whites, and bitters.
Another choice in Soho is Savoy , at 70 Prince Street, where they focus on sourcing ingredients from local farmers. Their Gaucho Fizz is a mix of cachaça, yerba maté, lime and honey.
The New York Times, in a recent article featuring these restaurants, was nice enough to provide the following cocktail recipe:
Pisco Maté Adapted from Yerba Buena
2 ounces yerba maté-infused pisco
3/4 ounce lime syrup
3/4 ounce grapefruit syrup
3/4 ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice
To infuse the pisco, steep one tablespoon of yerba maté (available at specialty tea stores) in 1/2 cup of pisco for two hours, then strain through a fine sieve. (This will make enough for two drinks. To infuse a whole bottle, use 7 tablespoons. of yerba maté.) The syrups require overnight infusing: Add the zest of half a grapefruit to 1/2 cup of simple syrup, and the zest of two limes to another 1/2 cup of simple syrup, and refrigerate overnight; strain through a fine sieve, and keep refrigerated. To make the drink, shake all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
Yield: 1 serving
Enjoy!
Category: Maté Encounters, Café and Barista
Great Maté Stops - #4
Author: Drink Deep 
The next time you are visiting Northern California wine country, take the time to stop in Sebastopol and enjoy the true Argentinean maté experience. Guayaki has just opened a Maté Bar off of its manufacturing facility (6782 Sebastopol Road).
At most coffee shops, no matter how much we love them, the maté can get lost amongst the wide array of teas and coffee. But at this bar, maté is the main act. You can enjoy a wide array of barista blends such as maté chai and maté shakes or you can enjoy traditional gourd service. With the full Gourd service, especially fun to share with a group of friends, you’ll feel like you’re in Argentina when a cebador comes to your table with a ceramic gourd and bombilla and prepares the maté for you, along with instructions if you’d like to learn the art of traditional brewing yourself. If you plan to stay awhile, you can also enjoy an array of snacks or light meals; they’re organic, and gluten-free, wheat-free, and vegan options ensure maximum munching pleasure for all.
Unfortunately, I haven’t made it to the Guayaki Bar just yet, but Jim Worsham of the Yerban Legend has, so check out his blog for full details. What’d I do with that list of cheap weekend e-fares???
Category: Maté Encounters, Café and Barista
Great Maté Stops - #3
Author: Drink Deep
The next time you’re in the Big Easy, make a stop for great refreshment at PJ’s Coffee of New Orleans
. PJ’s joined the New Orleans scene in 1978 when founder Phyllis Jordan opened the first shop near Tulane University, well before the bean hit its current pop culture status. While university students can still enjoy PJ’s at 7624 Maple St., there are now PJ’s in seven Southern states.
PJ’s has been voted best coffee house in New Orleans for two years running. They recently introduced an Energy Latte featuring yerba maté from Pixie Maté. It’s hot in the South, so you have the option of enjoying it chilled if you can’t stand the heat (which most of us northerners can’t). One secret for PJ’s success is that they slowly medium roast their coffee beans in small batches right in the city. Another secret is a variety of unique products. For coffee drinkers looking for Southern flavor, each spring PJ’s offers praline coffee in a variety of tempting concoctions like Iced Mocha Praline. PJ’s also offers King cakes, a traditional Mardi Gras confection, all year long. To include your non-coffee or maté drinking friends (if you’re still speaking), many PJ’s have also added a wine bar.
So, the next time you’re wandering around the South, delirious from the sun, take a respite from the heat and have a nice cold maté at PJ’s.
Category: Maté Encounters, Café and Barista
Starbucks Goes Gaucho
Author: Drink Deep
Finally… the mate latte gains attention from Starbucks…
Starbucks has moved into the heart of maté country with the May 30th opening of its first store in Argentina. SBUX Argentina’s flagship store is in Buenos Aires at the Alto Palermo Shopping Center, one of the country’s premiere shopping centers. While longtime Starbucks loyalists will find their beloved staples on the menu, there will also be an offering of Argentinean favorites such as maté lattes, alfajores, and chocolate cookies filled with Dulce de Leche.
On opening day, lines were out the door all day long (thanks to Buenos Aires Daily for the picture shown here). Frank Almeida, of Sugar & Spice, Starbucks Argentina’s cookie and brownie supplier, even had to make an extra cookie run. According to A Texan in Argentina, it looks like this may be a hot spot for the younger crowd, the ones that are obsessed with the U.S., while the older set sticks to their traditional cafés. Still, this could be a good thing for us American maté lovers. Hopefully, the Argentinean drink culture will seep into Starbuck’s corporate veins and increase the flow of maté in its American arteries!
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