WHY MAH’TCHI?
Beach culture is big in Brazil, and nowhere is it bigger or more impressive than Rio de Janeiro. It’s not just about bathing, it’s a social thing, a chance to meet, socialize and play sports. It’s a scene for fashion and trend setting. In the beaches of Rio is where Mah’Tchi iced tea started to be sold by beach vendors, becoming a typical drink in the city beaches, healthy bars, restaurants and supermarkets spreading throughout the country.
We grew up having Mah’Tchi Brazilian Iced Tea in the beaches of Rio, drinking it reminds us of happiness.
But we grow up, and we leave our hometown to study, to work or even to find a new perspective in life, nevertheless our experiences remain, our minds trip back with each ounce of Brazilian Iced Tea we drink. So we have decided to bring our great memories to all people, by brewing the most pure product and the most vivid palate experience a person can have when they taste Mah’Tchi… Liquid happiness!
Our products are real brewed, from real leaves. No weird powder, no instant tea, no artificial flavors, no added colors, no added sodium, gluten free, lactose free. We move towards a more sustainable business by using recyclable and reusable bottles, so save our bottles, drop them off or we’ll pick them up, we will sterilize it clean and reuse it, and you have contributed to our environment.
It’s real Brewed!
It’s brewed in USA.
It is gluten free!
It is lactose free!
It has no artificial colors!
It has no artificial flavors!
Liquid Happiness!
It tastesAwesomeFantasticWonderful!
It’s made with real leaves, no powdered, instant or reconstituted tea.
Recyclable and Reusable packaging bottles!
A LITTLE HISTORY
Archaeological findings showed that the Brazilian native Guaranis had already used the leaves of Mah’Tchi (called ka’a karai, “sacred leaf”) to prepare a stimulating drink, long before Europeans arrived in America.
According to a Guarani myth, the drink was discovered when an senior native Brazilian was no longer able to follow the tribe’s pace due to his advanced age and had to stay behind. His daughter decided to stay with him, but he wanted her to stay with the tribe, so the god Tupã taught him how to prepare a drink with the leaves of Mah’Tchi, a drink that would give him strength and that would allow him and his daughter to follow the tribe.
The drink was also consumed by the carijós, xetás, guairás, plows, caingangues and the Incas, as they all maintained commercial relations with the Guarani. The term “mate” (phonetically Mah’Tchi) comes from the language of the Incas.
Spanish settlers in Paraguay observed that the Guaranis were addicted to drinking Mah’Tchi. Initially the Spanish Jesuits banned its consumption due to its supposed aphrodisiac effects, calling the plant as “devil’s herb”. But the Spaniards and Portuguese soon tasted and approved it, using it as a basic ingredient in their diet. Soon enough, in Europe, Mah’Tchi became known by the name “tea of the Jesuits” and was grown in botanical gardens.
The name Ilex paraguariensis was given in 1820 by the French botanist Auguste de Saint-Hilaire after coming into contact with the plant for the first time in Paraguay. After that, he discovered that it was in the Brazilian state of Paraná that the herb grew in greater quantity and quality, later he retracted himself saying that he should have named it Ilex brasiliensis.
In 1920, the first Mah’Tchi tea was launched in Brazil. The new type of consumption of toasted Mah’Tchi sought to imitate the dark aspect of the famous English black tea produced in India and Ceylon. The consumption of tea made with toasted Mah’Tchi leaves spread quickly throughout Brazil.
World War II made it difficult to export Indian tea to the rest of the world. As a consequence, the production of toasted Mah’Tchi tea in sachets was encouraged, which started to replace English tea imported from India. Mah’Tchi tea started to be served iced in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro, where it was sold on the beaches, becoming a typical drink in the city.
Mah’Tchi reaches USA.