I made it to Bella Vista by plane, a small town of German influence in the heart of the yerba mate country of Paraguay. My hosts were Mirian, daughter of the founder of yerba mate Pajarito, Lauro Raatz and her husband/our aeroplane pilot, Arnulfo - fluent in Guaraní. 

We had to wait out two weeks of heavy rain before I finally got the chance to visit their organic yerba mate plantations and see the factory in full swing . I am going to cut what could be a very long story short - this yerba and their production processes were the best I had come across in my entire trip.Their organic certified yerba was what impressed me most. It checked all the boxes of high quality yerba mate...

♥ shade grown yerba plantations 
♥ far from tarred road 
♥ no pesticides
♥ no artificial fertilizers
♥ planted in native wild forest
♥ harvested only once per year in Aug/Sep (Winter)
♥ no delivery trucks may enter the production floor
♥ production facility is thoroughly cleaned (without chemicals) before organic harvest is delivered
♥ harvest is dried in a barbacuá (hot house) 
♥ drying takes place at low temperature (90-100°C) for 16-24 hours.
♥ aging is for 24 months, unpacked, loose, a mountain of organic yerba

What made this experience most exceptional was that 90% of the people I was in contact with during this time spoke Guaraní, an ancient tribal language belonging to the true founders of yerba mate, the Guaraní tribe. Paraguay is the only country left where Guaraní is an official langauge and it is spoken by about 92% of the population. The oldest existing name for yerba mate is in Guaraní, "Ca'á"

VIDEO: my visit to the organic plantations OF YERBA MATE PAJARITO
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLPjI1aUf1o&list=UUcRiyYf_02jTM0nyPlWCiLQ