As a kid growing up in Brazil, my mother would always had a jar of iced mate ready for me, much the way kids now drink Capri suns at soccer games. After a long career in marketing, I wanted to find a product that I could stand behind and that would make a difference in people's lives. That's when I came across a couple of research studies on Yerba Mate that blew my mind. How could people not know about this?

The dream of a better Mate

In 2012, 3 years before INATO I dove into the research and discovered the properties of this amazing plant. My earlier experiences started to make sense. But as I dove deeper, and visited several farms in Brasil and Argentina, I noticed that there wasn’t a product that lived up to my ideal of the perfect maté.
Most matés are dried in overly high temperatures with no regard for the humidity and nutrients on the leaves, than heavily-aged (6-18 months) just sitting in a hot warehouse inside potato sacks, leaving a smoky taste and compromising the nutritional value of the drink.
Others that are green are very powdery, which can be messy and clog filters and not much regard to hygiene when handling the product. 
If the best yerba mate wasn’t out there for me to buy, maybe I would just have to source it myself.

The “Champagne” of Yerba Mate

Over the course of two years of research, I visited several farms and companies in search of the perfect mate, or someone who would be willing to work with me to create it.
I finally found a small area in the south of Brazil that produces what the natives like to call “mountain maté”. This product was a wild rainforest harvest, shade-grown, completely organic, and the plants were truly treated with love. I was thrilled but still felt that the processing treatment available in the market was not delivering the full potential of this amazing plant.

Inventing a Cleaner Processing Method

We went about developing special large-scale machinery, that would deliver the highest quality yet--clean of sticks, dust, or any other unwelcome organisms.
The leaves are air dried, which means not dried over the fire. Eliminating the contact with the smoke, as we understand that smoke is not commonly associated with health. So this is why INATO does NOT have the traditional "smokie taste".
 We developed a specific granulation that is 100% leaves and allows you to brew it just like coffee and without clogging your strain straw or leaving dust on your maté when you use the french press. 

The result is a one-of-a-kind, exclusive product. 

I hope this story gave you a little background on what makes this maté so special. We are very happy to be able to offer such a great product and witness how it is changing people's lives.
We hope INATO will become a big part of creating a life you love and truly master your world.

Thank you 

INATO Yerba Maté is now sold internationally with over 50,000 happy customers. Every single INATO Yerba Maté drinker, I consider part of my family and I am so grateful for an amazing community that I can help live healthier and more energized lives through the power of Maté. Thank you all!