Web Feature: Where Mate Reigns Supreme

Santiago Casanueva, who was born in New York but whose family hails from the yerba mate-loving nation of Chile, opened Top Leaf Mate Bar in Bend, Ore., late last year with a mission to move consumers “off the bean and onto the green.” Aside from some vegan-friendly food options, the shop exclusively serves mate—in a variety of forms. There’s the traditional gourd-and-bombilla style. Then there’s French press. And, finally, there’s the shop’s handful of blends that combine finely ground mate with ingredients such as vanilla bean and dandelion root. Pulling mate shots on a La San Marco espresso machine, Casanueva and his staff use the blends as bases for mate lattes, mate mochas and the “mate ocho”—eight shots of what Casanueva calls “the darkest mate you’ve ever seen.”

Q: Is there enough interest in mate for this concept to work long-term?

A: It’s all about the blends. We have original, unsmoked mate, and most people shy away from that. But then when I add some rice milk or hemp milk and agave, suddenly they’re whirlwinded into this intense flavor profile. In the coffee business, people go into a shop and say, “Oh, I love the Indonesian, I love the Ethiopian.” I want the same thing to happen here, where they’ll say, “I love the Prana blend [which combines mate, rooibos, honeybush and vanilla bean]” or, “I always drink the Shanti [mate, Chinese licorice root and a variety of other spices].” I don’t talk bad about coffee. I love it. But I’m finding customers who are over the acidic and are finding a whole new love of their buzz here.

Q: Where’d you come up with the idea behind Top Leaf?
A: When I moved to Bend in 2005, I didn’t know a single soul. I had gone through a divorce in California and had $34 to my name. I started working at the busiest coffee shop in downtown Bend, making 100 drinks a day, learning to be a proficient barista. From that, I realized what I could do with mate.

Q: Do you have to modify the espresso machine to pull mate shots?
A: We’re using the same espresso machine you use at a coffee shop—no different. The only challenge I’m finding is calibrating the water temperature. It’s an Italian machine I got from a Barnes & Noble that used to have a Starbucks. It’s an old-school machine. As soon as I can afford a newer one, I’ll get that. With these older ones you can’t quite calibrate water temp the way I’d like to.

Q: Is there anything special to keep in mind when pulling the shots themselves?
A: Those shots run the same as espresso except we double everything. A 12-ounce drink gets three to four ounces instead of one or two; the 16-ounce gets six shots. We’re using a lot more of the mate and a lot less of the milk.

Q: What is your source for the mate?
A: It all comes from farms in Misiones, which is a province in the northern region of Argentina. It’s all third-generation family grown. We have met the families. It’s still hand picked. We’re also helping to sustain and rebuild some of the forestation there. It’s a really neat sustainable loop.

Q: Do you have goals to expand?
A: Absolutely. The concept is perfect for franchising. As we become more financially sustained, we’ll be looking for a green-minded venture capitalist to get on board and a marquee spokesperson. And then we can look to customize everything, from our machines to the way we actually deliver the whole unit to franchisees. That’s what’s really neat. You’ll be able to get a green, sustainable, fair-trade franchise for $50,000 or less.

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