As the beautiful colors of the fall foliage begin to wane and cooler temperatures begin to embrace the nation, many of you will probably start to transition from your iced mate drinks to a warmer mate brew of some sort. Yerba mate is certainly a versatile beverage that can be prepared in a variety of ways to suit differing tastes.

The die-hard traditionals (whom I'll equate to those folks who drink their coffee black) typically prefer packing a gourd with about 50g of straight mate and then pulling it through a bombilla. Others like to enjoy a more subtle experience by steeping a couple tea bags, perhaps flavored with chai, honey, or other sweetener. Whatever your preference, you can be assured you're consuming one of the most healthful drinks on the planet!

Yerba mate continues to make inroads to mainstream consumers here in the United States. The number of publications covering this South American secret seems to double every month. Along with the increased media coverage, there has been a more concentrated effort from researchers to identify the healthful components of the plant and even compare them to more well known natural drinks such as green and black teas. Yerba mate extract can be found in a number of bottled drinks ranging from energy drinks to herbal mixes to sodas to even beer.

If you haven't already done so, I invite you to download our Yerba Mate FAQ. This pdf is a compilation of published research on yerba mate. (It has been downloaded over 15,000 times!)

Whether you're a first-time consumer or a loyal customer of Aviva, it's important to know that not all yerba mate is the same. Growing conditions, harvesting methods, and production routines greatly affect the end product. Here at Aviva, we're proud to bring you a unique Wild Harvest product of a pure leaf consistency that is shade grown in a sustainable way, which leaves a very small footprint on the surrounding landscape. This is in stark contrast to large plantation operations. As you sip on your next drink of Aviva, you can know that you're helping to preserve the Paraguayan forest and provide for the betterment of the workers on our ranch.

Aviva + Stevia + Spearmint = Hmmmmm...Good!

Health & Fitness News Feeds: Many of our readers have written us expressing thanks for the additional content we provide about living a healthy lifestyle. Instead of simply relaying an article or two a month via our newsletter, we've decided to compile on our website a few health & fitness news feeds containing articles from around the world. These feeds can be accessed here:

Take care and we'll see you in a couple weeks. Don't forget you can Save on 1lb of Tea Bags in November. For all other products, our storefront is a great place to start! As always, free shipping on domestic orders over $50!!