Meet the Yerba Crewser: Yerba Mate On the Move

We built a cart because a table wasn't enough

Yerba Crew's events started with a folding table. While big enough for large groups, a table waits for people to come to it, and most people at sporting events and neighborhood gatherings don't want to wait by a table.

So Jason, Yerba Crew's founder, built something that could move instead. A cart can roll to the sideline between halves, navigate through crowds, and set up within intimate gatherings. It meets people alongside what they're doing and who they're with.

There's an old feeling behind that idea. A few people at recent stops have said some version of the same thing: it reminds them of joy of the ice cream truck, a familiar face and treat. That's closer to the Crewser, the flavor of your favorite yerba mate, brought to you by the "Yerba Guy," a staple at Philadelphia community events.

Yerba Crew's motto Drink to Connect, is woven into all of our custom local event setups: connecting to yourself, to each other, or to tradition.

Three ways we show up

Sideline Service

This is the cart at the 5th Annual Women's Empowerment Cup, an indoor 5v5 tournament run by CASA Soccer League benefiting SAFE-HUB Philadelphia's Girls' EduSoccer and CASA's Women's Inclusive Scholarship Fund. The Sideline Service is rolling, outdoors, and built for a crowd of players and fans. Yerba Crew poured cold brew and handed out engraved-gourd awards. On the sideline, that connection points outward to each other, a cup passed from the cart to teammates between plays and to attendees through cheers.

Meet-up Mateada

A mateada is the word for a traditional gathering built around sharing yerba mate together. At Palo Santo Wellness Boutique, a yoga and wellness studio on East Passyunk Avenue, yerba mate replaced the usual post-class tea and the room turned into its own kind of circle. In a studio, that connection points inward first, yerba mate as part of slowing down to connect with yourself.

Tasting Tables

The third way we show up includes trays and demonstrations however it fits the environment. Here at Old City Kava Company's Open Mic Afternoon, we included a traditional gourd-and-bombilla pour for more adventurous newcomers alongside our hibiscus cold brew. This is where that connection reaches back the furthest, to tradition itself.

This part matters to us regardless of which setup it is. The cart, the studio collab, and the tasting table are all casual, modern ways to hand someone their first cup, but none of them replace how yerba mate is actually shared in Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Brazil: one gourd shared around a circle. Every version above is a way of pointing back to that tradition, not around it.

What to know

1. The Yerba Crewser only roams the Philadelphia area, for now.
2. There are three setups for booking: Sideline Service for matches and tournaments, Meet-up Mateada for studio and wellness collaborations, and Tasting Tables for open mics and other seated gatherings.
3. We work with a range of budgets and event sizes, and figure out which setup fits once we hear from you, rather than a fixed package.
4. Reach out through our contact form.

Request Tips

• What kind of event it is, and roughly how many people
• The date, and whether it's indoor or outdoor
• The venue or neighborhood
  
• Any timing we should work around