Graciela Baduel
05/04/2021 6:00 AM
Clarín.com
Gourmet
Updated 05/04/2021 9:46 AM
How to capture the essence of mate
without priming it in the traditional way
?
With that goal in mind, Marcos Stubrin (28), Agustín Favre (25) and Salvador Fernández (28) created
MateCaps, a bottle to drink mate in capsules
.
An innovative product that is now manufactured and sold, in dollars, to almost everyone.
Just as in 2019
yerba capsules
were presented
for
automatic
coffee
machines (an initiative of the National Institute of Yerba Mate), now this option appears, where mate is not a "one shot" drink, but
is taken in small sips , but without a bulb.
It is a 410 milliliter bottle, with
a special filter for mate
where the
capsule of pressed yerba
is placed
and a sorbet in the shape of a beak.
The basic equipment
bring a second filter in case you want to infuse tea and you can also simply drink water.
The double wall of the bottle
preserves the temperature
, whether you prefer hot or cold drink.
The bottle is made of 100% recyclable material and the capsules do not have
individual
packaging in
the style of coffee, so they do not generate waste either.
In addition to the traditional flavor, the "caps" come in
different blends
.
You can choose a drink with an emphasis on
energizing
(Amazonia, with guarana, acai and berry), one designed
for the morning
(Aurora, with ginger, lemon, mint, pepper and cinnamon) and a more
relaxing one
(Serenata, with jasmine , chamomile, peppermint, lemon balm and marcela).
The complete kit: the bottle and the capsules.
Photo MateCaps
The blends were created with a food products company, targeting the different needs of the daily routine.
The mate of the 21st century: without a light bulb and in capsules?
The national drink may have supporters and detractors, but even the most fanatic must recognize that
the traditionally primed mate has its disadvantages
, beyond the apprehension of sharing the light bulb.
Let that pot man raise his hand that never spilled that
lethal mixture of water and herb on the notes of the faculty or the work papers
.
Or the one who didn't juggle to
prime without burning his hands during a
car or bus
ride
.
Or he was left with the desire for some good bitter because
he could not transport the thermos
loaded with hot water and the yerbera.
With the focus on these drawbacks, there were several attempts to change the way we enjoy our most typical infusion.
In the 90s, Taragüí launched the Mate Listo, all in plastic and styrofoam, disposable.
In Argentina, yerba mate capsules compatible with coffee makers are also sold.
Photo: Southmatea.
Then came the
electric
kettles, ideal for those distracted who always let the water boil.
And with the plus of being able to always drink at the right temperature.
The
automate or thermomate
came to save the inconvenience of priming and
its popularity grew in the pandemic
, precisely because of not sharing a light bulb.
And on the market there are also the aforementioned mate capsules compatible with coffee machines, such as those of the Southmatea brand.
Now, the creators of MateCaps present it, in a timeline that can be seen on their IG, as
the way to drink mate in the 21st century.
El mate del gaucho, presented in English
The history of these entrepreneurs is very
glocal
(local + global): although the idea is Argentine,
the bottles are manufactured in China, the organic yerba mate comes from Brazil and the plant where the capsules are processed is in Uruguay,
as is the logistics center where orders are dispatched, door to door.
“We want to bring mate to the world and
we chose English to be our first language to reach so many people who don't know it
.
Anyway, we are working on a Spanish version for our platforms ”, explains Marcos, founder and CEO of the company.
“Mate make us happy”, “Zero-waste natural energy”, “Jitters out. Yerba mate in ”
(Mate makes us happy, Natural energy without waste; Nerves outside, yerba mate inside) are some of the phrases chosen to promote the invention.
Which is clearly based on three pillars: it
is an energizing, sustainable and healthy drink (without sugar or preservatives).
There are also
nods to the usual association mate with Pampa Argentina and gaucho
, star of one of the advertising clips, always in English.
How much does the mate equipment cost with capsules
“It is a mate that brews on its own,
a practical option aimed at a modern and global audience
”, explain its creators.
The "Mate full pack"
includes the bottle, the filter for mate, an additional filter for tea, a neoprene cover, a can to store the capsules and two boxes of 24 units of "matecaps" (one of the traditional blend and the other with an assortment of the other three).
It is sold for $ 49
, online only, through the website https://www.matecaps.com/shop/.
They ship to practically the whole world, except to Spain, Chile and Mexico, where food is not allowed by international mail.
In Argentina you can also buy it, but not in national currency
, so, depending on the exchange rate, the equipment can be around 8 thousand pesos.
Past and future?
The traditional mate and the bottle with capsules.
Photo Juano Tesone
How much mate can be taken with a capsule?
"In principle, we thought about it for the content of the bottle - Marcos says - but we have been told that it
is perfectly benched two turns, that is, about 800 milliliters
.
An important fact: the bottle
can
also
be used with common herb
, tea or any other herb that you want to infuse.
From Santa Fe to the world.
Salvador Fernández, Agustín Favre and Marcos Stubrin.
Photo MateCaps.
The story of the inventors
The germ of MateCaps emerged in 2018, when Marcos was still an industrial engineering student and
traveled on an exchange
to Vigo, Spain.
He had brought his own mate kit and realized that
the flavor and properties of yerba hit hard with his teammates
.
However, there was something in the way of drinking mate that did not quite convince the Europeans.
Back in his native Santa Fe, he invested more than a year in
devising a bottle and filter
to drink mate in a cleaner and - fundamental to reaching international markets -
totally sustainable way.
Then Agustín, a colleague from the university and today
an industrial engineer, joined, just like Marcos
.
The team was completed with Salvador, a friend of both and a
specialist in branding.
Through trial and error, they developed the product, which they presented in various
competitions for entrepreneurs
.
In Uruguay they got the funds for the first stage
and that is why the MateCaps are manufactured there.
“We were selected by the
National Research and Innovation Agency
(ANII), which is a mixed, public and private entity, with a financing program, Proyecto Uruguay, for projects in Latin America (outside Uruguay) that intend to
create products with export purposes
”, summarizes Marcos.
Easy to transport, the MateCaps bottle offers another way to drink mate.
Photo MateCaps
The next step was
a campaign on the Kickstarter platform
, where in just three hours they managed to raise the necessary money through the pre-sale of a thousand bottles.
Although the pandemic slowed down plans a bit,
in April they managed to send 900 packs to 47 countries
.
Its main clients are in the
United States, Argentina and Germany.
EC
Look also
National Mate Day: who invented it and where
He is a water sommelier and recommends which one to use for mate
