A very interesting project has sprung in Katoomba, run by a group known as The Twelve Tribes. This is a group of people living life simply, sharing their possessions and running a cafe known as the Common Ground Cafe, which they restored from a dilapidated state into a hand crafted work of love. Common Ground Cafe Inside, much care has been taken to put together a dining area that is both beautiful and inline with the group’s beliefs and practices. You will see from the photos that handcrafted wood features prominently, which really does transport you once inside to a simpler, more organic place. |
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 the counter |
 a group member with customers |
 a general feel of the place |
 looking from the entrance |
| Outside is a counter selling a tea like concoction named yerba mate, and inside, I saw more of the stuff, packed in bags and tea cannisters, and also saw the vessels from which this “tea” is usually imbibed (see pictures). This jogged my memory to a conversation Ludwig and I were having. Ludwig said he missed having matteh, a tea well known in Lebanon. The word matteh sounds like the most typical Arabic word but then I saw the gourd vessels, I knew that the tea I drank as a child and yerba mate are one and the same, and that it would have come to Lebanon through the massive Lebanese migration to the new world. Now I won’t go much into the health benefits of yerba mate, but sufficient to say, I bought two gourds and a bag of green yerba mate to give it a go. The tea has a particular fragrance, and tastes like a Tom Waits song, Green Grass – but more interesting than good old green grass. The caffeine content is addictive, and it seems to have a less fidgety effect overall. So now, I’m waiting for Ludwig to come around for a bit of matteh to share. | |
 the outdoor yerba mate counter |
 another inside view, with yerba mate in the background |
 Saturday is a day of rest |
 my yerba mate having come back home with me |
Yerba Mate and the Twelve Tribes of Katoomba
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The Lebanese love yerba mate, it is interesting to see how some cultures pick it up and i wonder how? I have discovered that even Germans love yerba mate. For something coming from South America this is amazing. I reckon its addictive! it has a fair bit of caffeine in it (as far as intake goes) if you drink in the gourds, but yerba mate also has many health benefits. I went to Uruguay, my dads homeland, loved it and came back to Australia with a gourd and some loose leaf yerba mate that we brought in the suitcase.
Hi Alexi
South America, and America in general has given us a huge amount of “new world” food. Tomatoes for instance
The Lebanese had a huge wave of immigration to South America. Brazil has more people of Lebanese origin than there are Lebanese in Lebanon itself. So it makes sense our relatives brought back Yerba Mate with them. It is an acquired taste, strong and grassy. But it is fun, healthy and keeps you awake. Caffeine goodness.
Actually, your right, i remember my dad telling me that a lot of Lebanese people came to Uruguay. One of dads friends employed someone from Lebanon in one of those street kiosks.
Mate is great. It is a infution, like tea, of native people from South America (Argentina, Brasil, Uruguay, Paraguay, Chile). I live on Argentina and take mate everyday.
Yes Quite different must try for alternate
As always an excellent posting.The
way you write is awesome.Thanks. Adding more information will be more useful.
Bathmate
Mate is grose and more is made out of it than there realy is.lol
it won't make that much difference.lol
I went to common ground when I was staying in Katoomba. It is a great little place with tasty food and really friendly people. The wood work inside is fantastic and its a really nice cozy environment on a cold day.
recently i got a huge pack of yerba mate in canada with friends from argentina. but now back home i miss the gourd and hav an idea beside drinking it in d cup: look up for yerba mate recipes! any idea!?
radha´s last blog ..Squash gnocchetti ~ Gnocchetti di zucca
Hi Radha. I have to admit I havent been overly adventurous and have only been drinking my yerba mate in a cup. That said, a glass or a bowl should work equally as well
Maybe a yerba mate cake? Like a green tea cake?
It’s simple: masses of Lebanese immigrants (my grandfather among them) went to Argentina (where I was born), settled there, then when things changed for the worse in Argentina they realised that they were better off back in the Lebanon, and took the mate back with them.
It is just awesome to me, and I love the fact that I can walk into any Lebanese bakery in Melbourne and have a cup of mate to go with my fatayyeh.