On the 5th of April, still before I could speak Portuguese very well I tried some artisan yerba mate in Pelotas, Brazil. It had a very unique smoky taste which I hadn't tasted before. The shop keeper told me that it was produced on a small scale on a family farm about 500km away and that it was the only yerba that she buys and sells. I thought it might be worth following up in future so I noted the details of the farm. Just more than a month later, the little farm outside a town called Marau coincidentally happened to be on my route to the yerba mate plantations of Ilopolis.

21 May, 7am - It was early, cold and raining hard . I got a  lift which took me 120km from Palmeira das Missoes to Passo Fundo. In Passo Fundo I took a bus toward Marau and kept my eyes peeled for a church on the route where I was to get off and walk the rest of the way to the farm. I saw the church, asked the bus driver to stop, jumped out into the rain and took the long walk along a muddy track. I recognised the name of the yerba mate brand on a small sign board pointing down a narrower track, I followed it until I arrived at the house. There was nobody about. I approached the house and a man's face appeared in the window. He gave me a hard stare, I stopped and was about to say something when he disappeared back into the house. The door opened, I approached, removed my beanie and asked if he would show me how they make yerba mate. His response was, " come inside out of the rain, we're serving lunch". There was a large wooden table in the kitchen occupied by 5 men, the youngest of which was probably 50 and the oldest 80 years old. They were speaking what sounded like Italian . I was introduced in Portuguese, they gestured for me to sit and the lady of the house served roasted beef, black bean stew, rice and boiled Mandioca  from the cast iron stove which kept the ambience cozy and warm.They explained that they were one of the many families of Italian origin in the region. With the exception of this particular family most of them make excellent cheese, wine or salami which they trade among one another and sell to neighbouring regions and other provinces in Brazil.
 
The Jr of the house gave me a tour of their production facilities built about a half-century ago with plank, iron and stone. The Sr took me into some native woods they have on their land and showed me the enormous wild yerba mate trees which get climbed more than 10 meters high in order to harvest the best leaves which grow in the canopy of the forest. While we were at it, we collected wild pecan nuts and Brazilian Pine nuts for snacks.

Later I took the long walk back to the little church where I took shelter from the rain and the cold. There were some men finishing renovation work who told me that the last bus would be around in an hour and that I should wait on the other side of the road closer to the time. The video below will serve as a better explanation...
 
 VIDEO PLAYLIST