1312 was a Friday the 13th!

And contrary to popular belief, we had quite a bit of luck just in time for the weekend thanks to a little help from our friends Dobre Ziele and Project Mate Solutions.

Visitors to our shop in Berlin will be relieved to see that we have a small selection of simple Calabasas and Bombas in stock again. We also received a limited supply of the Jan 2024 harvest of Moonshine Mate form the Family Gehm.

These products will only be available offline until the end of the year. We look forward to receiving Craft Mate from 2 new families towards the end of December.

Winter Opening Times

In order to accommodate visitors over the next weeks, we will remain open during some of the traditional German holidays.

Our opening hours are always updated online, and it is worthy to note, we will be open almost every day this month with the exception of 16 & 30 December.

Bubbling Brews & Sweet Mates

This year marked 100 years since the initial patent on a Mate Brause recipe in Berlin. This city has seen many changes in the last century and especially in the past decades, the multiplication of mates on the market has been phenomenal.

We were recently reviewed for a report about Mate for a Munich Radio Station 94.5.

Although we strongly advocate the traditional consumption of Mate, we are aware that in Berlin, the local bottled version of Mate is popular at end of the year parties. The Mate 2 Brause Box is available at our shop in Berlin in small and large sizes.

X-MATE DATES. Winter Opening Hours

Our Shop in Berlin will have extended opening hours in December to ensure that everyone is well stocked with Mate at the end of the year.

We will be offering tastings and workshops on weekends; walk-ins are welcome on Sundays at 3pm.

While we are still awaiting the arrival of a mini craft harvest do have some other creative mate recipes and blends in stock currently.

Check our opening hours online and stop by during the dark december days….

Below are some Meta Moments with Mate from the past weeks.

Stay happy, healthy and hydrated!

Mate in Peace for Freedom and Friendship

Berlin is celebrating 35 years since the fall of the wall this weekend, and the Mauerpark will commemorate its 30th birthday on 9/11. Our wishes to throw a wild party were dampered by the Berlin Bureaucrats who recently informed us that we did not have the necessary permissions to blow big bubbles and celebrate freedom with chaos and colors. There are plans for a symbolic self-organised-session to drink a mate at the Amphitheater at 3pm and share a moment together and an invitation to join us at sunset with Friends of the Mauerpark for the opening of a photo exhibition.

An exhibition of photos by Rolf Zöllner illustrates an unparalleled transformation of a place where the Wall once stood. Drop in to the vernissage from 4.00 pm on 9 November and find out more about the evolution of this extraordinary place and learn about how we can safeguard the spirit of this sacred grove and protect it from becoming a park for profit and politics instead of for the people

30 years of Mauerpark – from darkness to light

The Berlin Wall fell on 9 November 1989. Five years later, on 9 November 1994, the first part of Mauerpark was opened. The no-man’s land where the Wall fortifications had once been – Germans called it more accurately the ‘death strip’ – was now every (wo)man’s park. The Friends of Mauerpark (Freunde des Mauerparks e.V.) invite you to come and celebrate the transformation with us.

The historic events of November 1989 are being commemorated at numerous celebrations in Berlin. The invitation to join in includes a call to ‘Uphold freedom’. Maintaining historical awareness is vital and linking commemoration of the past with a call to action in the present is what makes an act of commemoration meaningful. And that is exactly why Mauerpark is such an important place in the city: it commemorates the fall of the Wall every single day. Berlin suffers no shortage of symbols reminding us that it was once a divided city – Checkpoint Charlie or the Brandenburg Gate spring to mind. But they are now just Disneyfied versions of their former selves; Mauerpark is a living memorial. The Wall, which for 28 years divided not just Berlin but the entire world into East and West, has gone. In its place is Mauerpark where people from all over the world come together. It is not only an open space but a cultural space in which the values the East German people fought for back then are actually put into practice: freedom, participation and the right to think differently, to live differently, to simply be different. The Friends of Mauerpark work tirelessly to preserve this heritage of the peaceful revolution.

Rolf Zöllner has followed the development of Mauerpark from the very beginning. The photographer has lived near the ‘death strip,’ which morphed into Mauerpark, since 1989 and has documented it from its earliest days when local people started to plant trees and call on the authorities to turn it into a park. His photos show Mauerpark and its people in all their facets – quiet, romantic, challenging, protesting, celebrating, with others or alone. His photos testify to his authentic interest not only in artistic motifs, but in people. That’s why he knows the stories behind the images.

A lesson in Mateology

In the past decades the popularity of Mate in the Northern hemisphere has increased primarily for its functionality of providing energy. In Germany this is particularly evident in the soft drink industry. Post-Pandemic people have moved away from taking the time to share a „meta-moment“ over a large mate together and with all of the digitalised distractions in our modern world, rituals remain rare. We recently had the pleasure to sit down and share a mate with fellow-matero David Askaripour (Circle of Drink) and speak about the meta-mate-mission….

Mate isn’t merely a drink, or a ‚tea,‘ as it’s often labeled, but an experience; a lifestyle, a way of communicating not only with yourself, but other mate drinkers – the satellite herb connecting and receiving – broadcasting friendship with every sip. Mate is a manifestation – a herbal conductor of openness and friendship – that has appeared on Earth, here with us, instructing in myriad ways. Naturally showing us how to press pause on hectic society life, and press play on connecting with our fellow brothers and sisters.

– David Askaripour „Mateology: the drink beyond a drink“

Although we all have a slightly different approach, most materos have the same goal in sight. Starting his mate journey almost two decades ago, Dave Mate has created a new generation of Materos in the US and beyond with Circle of Drink

While Guayaki was one of the pioneers over 20 years ago with spreading sustainably sourced mate in the North American market, in the past years they have strayed away from the origin and are mostly concocting energetic cocktails that are anything but bitter. It’s better than a Coke, but those looking for cultural traditions might want to „Join the Circle“.

Our world is becoming increasingly politically polarised with the rise of war-driven leaders. Imagine a society where it were it were a norm for people to sit down together and discuss important issues over a Mate. The connectivity created through the mere act of sitting in a circle combined with the positive spirit that this healing herb carries can help in finding constructive solutions.

Imagine if Lewis Carol had known mate, the Mad Hatter and wonderland would have had another dimension..

In these dark days following the elections, one can only send Metta and wishes for a beacon of light at the end of the traumatic tunnel that our Star-Spangled-Mates will have to endure. And we can raise our gourds in hope and sit to mate in peace with compassion for the planet. It is a great time to reflect on the motto….Make Mate Not War

Meta Chaos Mates & Dates

As the days get darker and cold we are warming up our calendar with some special mate dates.

Berlin is celebrating a long weekend under the motto of unity and we are open in the afternoons.

Sunday, 6 Oct, from 2.30-5pm Leafy Mate Melody – will share some older moonshine mate harvests with friends

Sunday, 13 Oct from 2 – 5pm. MateMeetup w/ Über den Tellerrand

Please note, our shop in Berlin will be closed from 30 Oct – 6 Nov.

SAVE THE DATE – MauerParkMate 9/11

It’s 35 years since the wall that once divided this city was demolished and we would like to come together with friends in one of our favourite parks in the city to drink a Mate.

Bring your cups, straws, and hot water and we will provide you with the rest and let us meet and mate…

Stay tuned for more information…..

Carijo Mate 20 Sept 2024

In conclusion to Amazon Week at the Brazilian Embassy, we will reflect on the fate of the Atlantic Forests, the struggles of its inhabitants and the almost extinct tradition of autonomous mate making.

4pm – Mate Circle with the new harvest

5pm – Summary from Amazon Week in Berlin

6pm – Talks about Guarani-Gaucho Culture

7pm – Carijo Film (Portuguese w/ English captions)

Meta Mate Green Wash 2024

While most of the harvest from this season was washed out by climate conditions, there were additional causes created by our capitalistic civilisation

What started off as a joke went a bit too far and we ended up creating a new campaign for our craft mate harvest.

Perhaps, as passionate materos, we want to provide you with the opportunity to infuse yourself in Mate so deeply so that it is flowing in and out of your pores (literally).

In fact, we want to call your attention to the precarious situation of our Mate farmers and to give value to the limited resources with this year’s harvest that will come in single-serving packages (for those who are used to big gaucho chimmarao).

The Family Gehm has not harvested this season but we are delighted that they have given their know-how further and we are pleased to be able to bring another family-produced barbacua mate to you later this month.

Recently we were reflecting on the term „bio economy“ and the fair and sustainable practice of purchasing exotic and esoteric products in the spirit of self-care and saving the planet.

We are well aware that by making claims such as „full moon harvest“ and „renewable forest energy“ that we are on paar with pioneer Deutsche / Demeter brands.

Most importantly, however, we let our mates speak for themselves and let our materos spread the word. We remain committed towards the origins and see beyond hipster trends.

Living Resistance

The sky is falling and the destruction of forests and pollution of waters in these modern times is will make it impossible for the shamans to hold up and prevent it from crashing down to earth, according to Indigenous Yanomami Leader, Shaman and Activist Davi Kopenawa.

Berlin is blessed by the beings who travelled from far away over the past week to gather to protect our planet .

„You have dreamed, so I am here“ said Kopenawa as he shared the stage with climate activists at the Berlin Literature Festival last week promoting the release of the German translation of ‚The Falling Sky‘.

It is getting harder to ignore the cries of nature as the politicians continue to sell our lands to corporations that allow rivers to be poisoned and precious resources extracted from the earth.

Activists are often labelled Terrorists by the Establishment for their attempts to publicise alarming actions that are contributing towards a climatic catastrophe.

This past weekend we had the honour to drink a Mate with Mother Earth at the Extinction Rebellion Camp in Berlin and speak with students about sustainable business practices.

It is time to listen to the wisdom of our elders and realise that we all share this planet and should treat it and one another with love and respect. Progress is only possible if we incorporate the past.

Our Shop in Berlin will be closed from 16-21 Sept due to Amazon Week at the Brazilian Embassy.

Serving Mate is a form of Sacred Activism for us and we look forward to sharing those moments of meta with many mates. Wise Words from a Yanomami Shaman have been transcribed in the book The Falling Sky and we strongly urge those who feel the calling to find a version in their local language and read it to understand where we are at.

Coffee Cup Hacks

Although Mate was „discovered“ by the European world around the same time as coffee and tea, the ceremonial aspects of how it was traditionally consumed slowed down its spread into global mainstream culture. Colonialism and Capitalism have left no natural resource untouched by commodification, and mate has suffered this same fate time and time again throughout history.

Perhaps it is naive to believe that the digital nomadic globalised generation of the 21st century will empower themselves and chose to energise themselves sustainably by slowing down to celebrate life and embrace nourishing practices such as drinking mate.

We are not quite there yet. The reality is that the stresses of daily modern society leave us with little time to sit down and mate. Quick ready to drink options are preferred and it the short run it is easier and economical to buy a bottle over a bunch of equipment.

This simple Coffee Cup Hack was created to ease you into trying it the traditional way without creating too much of a mess.

Cultivating Meta……

While we are unable to directly influence the weather patterns in Southern Brasil that affected the Mate harvest this season, we can work on cultivating Meta within and sharing the spirit of universal friendship that Mate embodies.

Mate is a social practice in different places around the world in different ways. Here in Berlin, mate is known as a soda that is drunk while partying. In cooperation with Lokal Labor and Über den Tellerrand, we invite you to a traditional mate round with an exchange in Gleisdreieck Park this during the afternoon of the July Full Moon

We look forward to a colourful circle with mate drinkers from all cultures and encourage those who can to bring their own cuias, bombas and thermoses to facilitate the sharing. We will have some to spare and lots of leaves on hand to provide plenty of wild sustainable forest energy for the gathering.

Cure ur Cuia

Caring for your cuia is an essential part of mate hygiene. A well-seasoned calabash can last a lifetime. There are many techniques for curing your mate gourd before using involving elaborate rituals of soaking it with used mate leaves, or setting the insides on fire with alcohol and then coating with honey for 24 hours. Pyromaniacs are welcome to have their fun; in this article we will explain a technique to cure your cuia over a longer period of time.

Although the small round gourds are more stereotypical in mate imagery, we choose to work with directly sourced stable Calabasas from a cuia cooperative. These cuias have a wider opening and are already sanded on the inside to give a smooth clean surface.

You may rinse your gourd out with warm water and use immediately.

When you are done drinking for the day throw out the use leaves and wash your gourd with warm water. NEVER use soap to clean your gourd. Please be aware that especially the beginning the pores of the gourd are sensitive and can easily absorb strong flavours. Therefore, we advise using pure mate leaves in the beginning.

Empty out the water and add 1 -2 tbs of old mate powder into the cuia. This is normally included in your purchase from Meta Mate, otherwise any old mate leaves will suffice.

Cover the top of the cup and shake it around until you have the feeling that the mate is evenly distributed on the inner surface.

Leave the cuia in a dry bright place for a couple of days. You can check if it is ready for drinking by putting your fingers deep inside, if the mate leaves are still moist, it still needs a bit of time.

When the cuia is try you should be able to shake out the mate powder, if you feel the need you can rinse it and then drink a mate. Repeat the process with the mate powder afterwards. (this can be done the first 3-4 times after drinking

Even a well used cuia can get mouldy if not cared for properly. For this reason we caution drinkers to take care and don’t leave their gourds sitting for over 24 hours with moist mate leaves inside on a regular basis. And please ensure that you allow your gourd to properly dry between one usage and another.

Even a well seasoned cuia with a hard smooth inner surface should be given a rest at least once a week. If you don’t have an alternative such as a ceramic cuia, try a regular coffee cup.

Please bear in mind that Calabasas are not from Europe and the climate conditions differ from their native home, they are organic materials and should be treated with care!