Yerba Mate (Guayakí)

About

Yerba Mate (Guayakí) refers to a packaged caffeinated drink by the company Guayakí, named after a plant of the same name. Yerba Mate is traditionally consumed in central and southern regions of South America, primarily in Paraguay, although it is now available worldwide in the form of energy drinks and loose leaf. Guayakí's Yerba Mate is often connected to the Art Hoe Wojak and California culture and enjoys a following comparable to that of Red Bull or Monster Energy.

History

Guayakí is an organic beverage company specializing in bottling and selling yerba mate products. The company is based in Sebastopol, California, and was founded in 1996 by CalPoly San Luis Obispo graduates Alex Pryor and David Karr.

Guayakí Yerba Mate has gathered a cult following over the past decade as an organic and purportedly healthy alternative to processed energy drinks like Red Bull and Monster Energy. Guayakí Yerba Mate is primarily distributed through organic and health-oriented stores like Whole Foods. ^[1]

Online History

Guayakí Yerba Mate is often associated with California and is known to be popular amongst California college students. On March 17th, 2017, Twitter^[2] user @mikaelaxmd posted a tweet that read, "someone shotgunned a yerba mate in the lib i don't think i've ever seen anything more ucsb," referring to University of California, Santa Barbara. The tweet gathered over 400 likes in six years (seen below, left). On June 10th, 2017, Twitter^[3] user @alexx_crz tweeted, "Yerba mate is the official drink of the UC system," gathering over 500 likes in six years (seen below, right).

On January 7th, 2020, Twitter^[4] user @dogwrld tweeted, "Dudes be drinking Yerba Mate but failing college, lmao focus on Yer BA Mate," gathering over 78,000 likes in two years (seen below, left). On July 16th, 2023, Twitter^[5] account @BarcaWorldwide tweeted, "Leo Messi: "I am excited to be here in Miami, to relax, drink yerba mate and enjoy the beach… that's it." The tweet gathered over 16,000 likes in a day (seen below, right).

Notable Memes

Art Hoe Wojak / Yerba Mate Wojak

A popular meme that uses the imagery of a Guayakí Yerba Mate can is the wojak colloquially known as the "Art Hoe Wojak." The drawing is meant to parody a typical liberal arts student, featuring a choker, orange hair, glasses and a septum piercing.

The earliest known use of the wojak were two 4chan posts from October 10, 2018, posted to /mu/^[7] and /pol/^[6].

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References