Yerba Maté - myth & obsession
IKÓ isn’t an energy drink that happens to use Maté.
It’s the Maté drink that happens to be (among many other things) an energy drink. One way or another, it’s a whole universe of good stuff just waiting to happen. In a can.
It’s been called the Green Gold of the Amazon. Maté comes from the subtropical region of South America. That’s Paraguay, Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay. It’s been cultivated and drunk there since time long-forgotten. Its precise origins as a beverage are a mystery.
The tribes most associated with the plant, the Guaraní and the Tupí, tell the legend of Yari, a woman alone in the jungle caring for her sick father. On the edge of starvation, they generously share their remaining food with a stranger, who reveals himself to be the god Tupa.
In thanks, he gifts Yari the yerba mate plant, and shows her how to make it into a drink that will sustain them. To this very day, the Tupí-Guaraní people grow Maté in the forests around them. Maté is still associated with health, vitality, longevity, and hospitality.
“Ikó” is a word from the Tupí language. It means, “to be” or “to live”. Today, over 30 million people drink Maté every day. In Argentina, they consume more Maté per day than water!
Maté has it’s followers outside South America. Sufis have been known to drink Maté before meditating.
In Germany it’s a must-have for club-goers in Berlin looking for a clean or minimal-hangover weekend. According to one club-owner “we believe it to have a metaphysical relationship with techno music”.
It’s also stocked at many of the world’s top Tech firms. One coder said of Maté: “There is some sort of cosmic bond between this mysterious potion and the exploration of computer technologies." …Nuff said.
And into this mysterious culture steps IKÓ. How will we influence the spread and evolution of Maté-kind? Now, that’s entirely up to you. We’ll supply it and just let it do its thing.
