ABSTRACT
Guayaki is a small but growing beverage company that specializes in selling organic, rainforest-grown, fair trade yerba mate — a South American caffeinated plant which, when steeped in hot water, creates an infusion that provides a healthy alternative to coffee or tea. Guayaki is not a company that merely pays lip service to the triple-bottom-line approach; rather, its whole business model depends on it. According to the Guayaki website: Yerba mate is nature's most balanced stimulant and naturally contains 24 vitamins and minerals, 15 amino acids, abundant antioxidants and naturally occurring caffeine. Mate is tradition ally drunk from a gourd with a metal straw called a bombilla. The name Guayaki honours the Ache Guayaki people. The indigenous Ache people are the last hunters and gatherers that remain in the Atlantic Forest. Via the company's Paraguay Project, Guayaki is working with the Ache people to grow mate and preserve their rainforest home.
