he mate bubble in Berlin keeps growing, outsiders can read about this phenomenon.  At Meta Mate, fans have the chance to experiment different drinks from our modest Hacker Brause collection, those seeking more information regarding thedrinks have the chance to bombard us with questions which we can mostly answer, and occassionally (or often it seems as of late) one might bump into the brains behind the bottles hanging out and drinking a Mate with us.

The opening of the GeFeKo in Berlin with a range of exclusive drinks marked the beginning of a wave of visitors from our drink manufacturers to Meta Mate. We were honored to host Kolle Mate for an afternoon and exchange ideas of how we can foster the Mate drinking culture in Germany, find a way to unite different Mate ‘collectives’

Although they are not exactly Mate, we do stock 2 colas on our shelves. Premium Cola, whom we are honored to have as partners, and the new Berliner Cola that, contrasts Premium Cola in color as well as caffeine.

Glam Cola makes a good story – a Keruzberg mother who wanted a healthy cola for her 5 children, and since there was not one, she made it, sweetened with fruitjuices, without artificial flavours and preservatives, on the lower end of the caffeine spectrum and with Calcium instead of Phosphate (what makes colas black and depletes your bones). The entreprenuering woman behind Glam Cola stopped by to drop off a couple of boxes some weeks ago…..and we must say, Glam Cola is a great alternative for a low-caffeine, sugar-free drink with a note of Ginger.

Of course when it comes to transparency (not clear colas), the Premium Collective always pops up. And yes, we also had a visit from one of the masters behind Munter Mate. We are proud to have Meta Mate in Premium’s Mate drink and are glad to count on the support of the collective to develop sustainable Mate harvesting projects in Brasil. (link to our partners)

One of the latest Mate’s on the market has also found it’s way to our shelves in a bottle labled Berliner Matchen. Created by a young couple in Berlin, this mixture between gassy apple juice (Apfelsaftschorle) and Mate syrup is a great sugar-free alternative to caffeine fans, and it’s really sweet. We were touched by the Berliner Matchen’s openness and willingness to move towards the direction of creating a drink directly with Mate leaves and discovering a way to increase their caffeine content without industrial caffeine from coffee.

The 1337 Mate team wound up their day trip in Berlin with an informal gathering with some friends at Meta Mate during the first week of February. They shared their business plans during a round of mate, mier, and 1337-Mate-Spirit.  We are glad to know that they are parallel to us also trying to tackle the BioMate issue.

This February will feature 3 different Mier’s at Meta Mate as long as our supplies of Mier 16.0 (roasted) don’t run out, as Thorsten bottles a limited unpasturized edition from keg of Czech Mates Mier 14.0 that we received from our partners at the Bizona Brewery near Pilsen while Mier 17.0 the new Berliner ripens up to make it’s premiere at the Deutsche Konzerthaus’s South American music festival in the middle of the month.

And yes, although we are a Mate shop, we don’t discriminate against coffee. On the 1^st of March afternoon, the Premium Collective will meet to choose their new Espresso. Those interested in Premium and Coffee should please drop us a line.