Bright yellow cans with the words “Yerba Madre” have flooded their way into campus culture. Whether you’re walking through Washington Square Park or sitting in lecture, you’re bound to see a few. 

But these beverages aren’t a fad like Celsius or Alani Nu — they didn’t rise in popularity solely from a viral moment and some advertising. There’s a rich history behind the drink. The cans are filled with tea brewed from the plant of Ilex paraguariensis, or yerba mate. The tea’s story is marked by both indigenous wisdom and enduring social ritual, and it remains a daily staple in countries like Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay. From its sacred origins to Yerba Madre’s ambassador program — and now its prevalence across NYU — yerba mate’s journey is one of multifaceted cultural significance. 

The history of yerba mate began centuries ago with the Guaraní people, who are native to present-day Paraguay. Indigenous peoples value the plant for its spiritual and energizing properties, and often use it for medicinal purposes. The traditional method of preparation — steeping the leaves in a gourd, or matí, from which the drink’s name is derived, then sipping it through a filtered straw, or bombilla — was established by the Guaraní and continues to this day. Today, yerba mate is consumed in many ways across different regions of the world, and its market is estimated to be valued at $2.2 billion by 2027.

One of yerba mate’s longstanding appeals is its naturally high caffeine content — one serving has about as much caffeine as a cup of coffee, around 90 milligrams. Customers also gravitate toward the tea for its antioxidants, which result in a less shaky, potentially anxious reaction than other energy drinks. Bottled and canned, Yerba Madre’s yerba mate comes in 20 flavors ranging from 80 to 150 milligrams of caffeine. Customers can also buy loose leaf mate to make their own concoctions. 

Historically, yerba mate was consumed in a social practice known as a gourd circle. A designated pourer, the cebador, begins by packing one side of the gourd with loose leaf mate, leaving the other open for the bombilla. Participants gather, and the cebador fills the communal gourd with hot water, passing it along to the first drinker. Once they finish drinking the tea, they hand it back to the cebador, who replenishes the water and passes it down the circle. 

To honor this role, the company named its ambassador program after the cebador, creating “Ambacebador” — a diverse community of environmentalists, creatives and like-minded yerba mate drinkers.

Many teas have cultural significance around the globe, but yerba mate’s is one of the most defined. The co-founders of Yerba Madre wanted to hold true to yerba mate’s values and cultural heritage. It was originally named Guayakí Yerba Mate, after the Aché Guayakí people in Paraguay. As the company began sourcing leaves from other parts of South America, it aimed to better encapsulate the communities it partners with and honor the mother herb’s “ancestral roots,” changing its name from Guayakí to Yerba Madre earlier this year.

The brand refers to its business model as Market Driven Regeneration, emphasizing a net positive impact on the earth and the communities it sources tea leaves from. Yerba Madre focuses on climate and social justice measures, and encourages everyone in the Ambacebador program to think deeply about their contributions to environmental wellbeing. 

As Ambacebadores, along with nearly 100 other NYU students in the 10,000-person program, we participate in virtual gourd circles, volunteer at events, meet friends online and in person and learn about yerba mate’s storied past. We’ve had the opportunity to meet the company’s founders and CEO, speak to Argentinian yerba mate growers and attend environmental documentary premieres — remarkable experiences we never expected when signing up for the program. 

NYU students can spot Yerba Madre outside of the Kimmel Center for University Life during its college campus tour series in branded trucks giving away cases of cans, traditional hot-brewed yerba mate and merchandise to Ambacebadores and casual enjoyers alike.