![]() ![]() The original Twelve Tribes communes of the 1970s sustained themselves with a series of 24-hour sandwich shops called the Yellow Deli, but the new café is the Savannah tribe’s first foray into food and drink. The local community has supported itself through its Commonwealth Construction company since the early 2000s and also owns a tall ship that was docked on River Street until recently. ![]() Jon explains that organization supports itself by creating industries that allow members to stay close to their families during the workday. “We want people to get to know us,” says Brian Fenster, 41, who has lived in Twelve Tribes communities around the country for 20 years and relocated to Savannah last year to help open the Maté Factor, the latest in a chain owned by the group. While members do eschew many aspects of modern culture, the locals welcome questions about their lifestyle and consider themselves a part of Savannah’s larger community. ![]() Part of a network of around 50 communities around the world, the local Twelve Tribes circle is comprised of several families and a handful of singles who live, work and share their resources as interpreted from the Bible in Acts 2:44, “All who believed were together and shared all things in common.”įounded in the 1970s, the communes evolved out of the Jesus Movement and have had their share of controversy surrounding the group’s ascetic philosophies. Renowned for their carpentry skills, the men are recognizable by their ponytails and beards the women dress in bloomers and can often be seen herding small children in Forsyth Park with beatific smiles. Jon stone’s throw from the downtown Kroger, the Maté Factor is owned and operated by the Twelve Tribes Community, a spiritual group that has lived communally in the neighborhood for over a decade. Benches are covered with tooled leather and hammered rivets, the artisanal efforts of the proprietors’ loving hands. The narrow historic building looks like has been taken over by industrious elves, the interior transformed into a two-level seating area with a sunny loft and a sunken alcove overseen by a two-toned timber sunburst. Progressive palates can give it a try at Savananh’s new maté-dedicated café, the Maté Factor, which opened its doors this week at the corner of Habersham and Hall.Ĭozy as a mountain cabin with exquisite wooden flourishes and flowery wrought iron details, the café’s ambience guarantees that you won’t want to take your beverage to go. Plus, it’s traditionally served in a cured gourd and sipped through a silver straw called a bombilla, which is way cooler than a paper cup with a plastic lid. Hipsters and health freaks dig it because it’s a caffeine-like fix with benefits, brimming with antioxidants and delivering a buzz far gentler on the stomach and nerves than coffee. WITH its roasty, toasty flavor and funny name, yerba maté hasn't hit the Starbucks drive-thru menu quite yet.īut like Indian chai tea and Italian espresso lattes before that, the exotic herbal drink is fast finding its way into American hot-cuppa-culture.Ĭelebrated for millennia by the indigenous peoples of South America, yerba maté is a tea brewed with leaves from a type of holly tree and still plays a part in social and cultural rituals in Argentina and Brazil. Brian and Shelevah Fenster welcome guests to the new café owned and operated by the Twelve Tribes community.
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