Yerba Mate Lab🧉

How to fail in the mate business 101....

To anyone who plans on starting a mate business, please think about this first...

I've been getting a lot of people asking me lately

And by no means am I some savvy business person

But here's my one piece of advice...

DO NOT START A MATE BUSINESS FOR THE SAKE OF MAKING MONEY AND BEFORE HAVING AN AUDIENCE FIRST

So many people see mate is growing in popularity and think, I'll just come up with a brand name, slap it on a bag, and fill it with the cheapest yerba I can find and cash out

That's not going to work

And I can tell you first-hand several people who've done just that and failed and disappeared

Even ones I see now just starting out, will almost certainly fail if they don't switch up what they're doing (which I hope they do)

Take it from me...

Before I even sold a thing on our website, I wrote tens of articles and reviewed almost 100 brands of yerba.

Then when I decided to sell, it still wasn't going well

Why?

Because even though I helped, I didn't build much of a following

Then in 2022, I decided to post a lot of content on social media

And I made it a goal to be as educational as possible because mate was still fairly new

And that paid off immensely

Not because I got lucky and went viral, but because I was actually helping people and guiding them through their mate journey

You see...

You cant ask someone to give you money if you don't give them something valuable first

As I've always heard...

"It's better to give than to receive"

So before trying to sell something, ask yourself..

"What can I contribute to this community"
"What's something unique I can do with mate that can help"

Other than just a bag of yerba, in a different packaging

Because trust me, I think a lot of materos are tired of seeing it lol

19 hours ago | [YT] | 249

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Yerba Mate Lab🧉

This week's promotions on Discord!🧉

Join here: discord.gg/k8p3FqfVE

Most are already sold! Make sure to join so you don't miss next week's!

1 day ago | [YT] | 92

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Yerba Mate Lab🧉

Discord Appreciation Post🙏💚🧉

Join the community! discord.gg/RuMpgfrwnA

Will be releasing an exclusive mate gourd and doing giveaway soon! Don't miss out!

2 days ago | [YT] | 330

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Yerba Mate Lab🧉

As some remember, I'm not a fan of Brazilian terere

Give me your best way to prepare it (without fruits/herbs/juices) so I can make it proper and see again

Comment with most votes will be featured in the video👇👇

I have Black Erva Mint and Pura Folha, as well as Trots Burrito and Pura Folha

1 week ago (edited) | [YT] | 32

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Yerba Mate Lab🧉

🚨 Life update

A few days ago my wife and I bought a new home.

The next day I spent 12 hours moving everything with my friend.

8am to 8pm.

Couches.
Shelves.
Tons of heavy boxes.

At one point I thought:

“I could’ve just hired movers.”

Would’ve cost a few thousand… but it would’ve been easier.

I’m glad I didn’t though

Because halfway through I wanted to quit (which I kept to myself)

And I realized something…

The voice that says “quit” never goes away.

You just get better at ignoring it.

The same voice showed up when I started Yerba Mate Lab.

People doubted me.

“Why yerba mate?”
“Just get a job.”

There were many times over the last decade where I almost walked away.

But like when I wanted to quit moving, I just tell myself

“I’m gonna make it happen.”

Some might call that pride, ego, or being stubborn (I heard that a lot growing up)

But if you stick with something long enough…

Stubborn takes on new meaning:

Self-belief
Discipline
Dedication

And hopefully those are things you see through what I’m building with YML

Let alone my own yerba, La Palma, which is still unreal to me

And as a chinese-american, starting a yerba mate company probably wasn’t on anyone’s bingo card lol

But here we are

Cheers to an amazing 2026🙏

Ps. Ignore my dirty ass shoes

1 week ago (edited) | [YT] | 742

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Yerba Mate Lab🧉

Blizzard? No problem. Just drink La Palma😂

Seriously though this was insane. 3 ft in some parts.

Couldn't make it to the post office today. Don't think it was even open.

All orders are packed and will be brought tomorrow morning!

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 291

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Yerba Mate Lab🧉

I've been keeping this secret🤫

For the past few months, I've been working with a new supplier in Brazil for La Palma

If you're in the Discord, this is nothing new to you

If it is.. here's a quick recap

I sent them a sample of the original so they can match the cut to the best of their ability (see the second pic of their testing)

Then they sent a sample back for me to try

And it's 99% the same

Cut, taste, color... everything.

I wouldn't even be able to tell you the difference

What's evenbetter though?

This version (La Palma 2.0) will now come in a vacuum sealed packaging like ones used for chimarrao, instead of the current resealable bag.

Not only will this help bring down costs so we can hopefully offer it to you for cheaper, but it'll also better retain freshness

As you can see in the first pic, that's what the new packaging will be like which I think will turn out amazing

However, this yerba is "smoked".

And by smoked, I mean it comes into minimal contact with it. It's not intentionally smoked in a way to give it a smoky flavor. It doesn't have any. But since it's not 100% free from contact, we can't technically say it's unsmoked.

At this point, now that our new artwork is finalized and the bags are about to go into production, I'm happy to announce this new version

And I hope you guys are as excited about this as I am.

It's been a hell of a ride and I appreciate all of you who were by my side throughout it

Whether you enjoy La Palma or not, I hope someone can at least find value in me documenting this project

Because I don't think anyone else has

With all of this said, I've decided to put our current batch of La Palma at a discounted price on our shop

So if you wanna try it before this version isn't here anymore, go grab yourself a bag now!

3 weeks ago | [YT] | 210

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Yerba Mate Lab🧉

This is my second can of Club Mate and I'll be honest...

It's good lol

If I was able to buy the Zero sugar version, and if it wasn't so expensive on Amazon (~$3/can), I'd gladly drink it everyday.

Have you ever had it?

(video coming in the next hour!)

3 weeks ago | [YT] | 217

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Yerba Mate Lab🧉

Love getting messages like this🙏🧉💚

Makes La Palma feel all the more rewarding in starting.

And it's only going to get better!

La Palma 2.0 is in the works🔥

3 weeks ago | [YT] | 274

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Yerba Mate Lab🧉

Baldo in our JOYA imperial today

So foamy, but not a fan.

I've finished 2 bags of Baldo in the past, and currently, it's not my cup of mate

The floral notes and astringency make it one of my least favorites of Uruguayan brands

3 weeks ago | [YT] | 266

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