Materva

Materva is a carbonated drink made from yerba mate, a tea popular in Uruguay, Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, and Paraguay. Unlike the somewhat bitter tea-like mate on which it is based, Materva is sweet, with a flavor described as similar to ginger ale{{cite web|url=http://3guysfrommiami.com/beverages.html|title=Best Cuban and Latin American Beverage Guide|publisher=Three Guys from Miami|accessdate=12 January 2014}} or cream soda.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XDsKjkQYvosC&pg=PA14|title=Conflicting Loyalties|last=Caicedo|first=Harry|date=2004-04-01|publisher=iUniverse|isbn=9780595311576|page=14|language=en|access-date=2015-05-12}}

Current production includes a diet version called Diet Materva.{{cite web|url=http://cawy.net/diet-materva/|title=Diet Materva|website=Cawy Bottling Co.|accessdate=2018-05-15}}

The Materva Soft Drink Company was founded in Matanzas, Cuba, in 1920. Materva became known as a "famous Cuban brand"{{Cite book|title = Cuban Miami|url = https://archive.org/details/cubanmiami00levi|url-access = registration|publisher = Rutgers University Press|date = 2000|access-date = 2015-05-12|isbn = 9780813527802|language = en|first1 = Robert M.|last1 = Levine|first2 = Moisés|last2 = Asís|page = [https://archive.org/details/cubanmiami00levi/page/77 77]}} and advertising included celebrity endorsements that touted the drink's energizing properties.{{cite web|last=Sokol|first=Brett|title=Havana's Real-World Don Draper|url=http://oceandrive.com/the-latest/pursuits/postings/ricardo-arregui-havanas-real-world-don-draper|publisher=Ocean Drive|accessdate=12 January 2014}}{{cite web|last=Quiroga|first=Alberto|title=And now a word from our sponsors|url=http://havana5060.blogspot.com/2005/12/and-now-word-from-our-sponsors.html|publisher=Havana- May 1950-Nov 1960|accessdate=18 January 2014}}

During the Cuban Revolution, the Materva bottling plant was targeted for strikes by revolutionaries, along with the Coca-Cola and Pepsi bottling plants in the country.{{cite book|last=Julia|first=Sweig|title=Inside the Cuban Revolution: Fidel Castro and the Urban Underground|year=2002|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=9780674044197|page=134|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ob-I8MyTqx8C&pg=PA134}} Materva was produced and sold in Cuba until 1960 when it was nationalized along with other private industry. It is no longer produced in Cuba.{{Cite book|title = La Lucha for Cuba: Religion and Politics on the Streets of Miami|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=vkzV8Q_Aj4wC|publisher = University of California Press|date = 2003-09-10|isbn = 9780520930100|language = en|first = Miguel A. De La|last = Torre}}

The Cawy Bottling Company of Miami was founded to produce the Cawy lemon-lime soda that had been popular in Cuba. The company began producing Materva in the United States in the 1960s in an attempt to diversify after the founder of the company realized that there were many large American companies already competing with lemon-lime drinks.{{cite news|last=Roth |first=Daniel Shoer |title=A Cuban who popularized Materva and Jupina in the US passes (tr.) |url=http://www.elnuevoherald.com/ultimas-noticias/article2013793.html |accessdate=12 January 2014 |newspaper=El Nuevo Herald |date=March 20, 2011 }}{{Cite book|title = Cubans, an Epic Journey: The Struggle of Exiles for Truth and Freedom|chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=k186e30BHmgC|publisher = Reedy Press LLC|date = 2012-01-20|access-date = 2015-05-12|isbn = 9781935806202|language = en|first1 = Sam|last1 = Verdeja|first2 = Guillermo|last2 = Martinez|chapter = 18, "Entrepreneurs: The Pioneers"|quote = In 1962, Vicente Cossio relaunched the Cawy brands in the U.S. ... eventually expanding its offerings to include ... Materva, a yerba mate soda.}}

Materva has been described as a part of the "standard Cuban pantry",{{Cite book|title = The Cuban Kitchen|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=vmJlvl1mVUgC&pg=PA6|publisher = Alfred A. Knopf|date = 2011|access-date = 2015-05-12|isbn = 9780375711961|language = en|first = Raquel Rábade|last = Roque|page = 6}} and as "the old standby Cuban soda".{{cite book|last=Motz|first=George|title=Hamburger America|year=2011|publisher=Running Press|isbn=9780762442348|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5-cSGkAv_L4C&pg=PT61}} Because of its significance as a popular drink in Cuba prior to the Revolution, it is often cited as a source of "shared memories" and "nostalgia" of pre-Revolutionary Cuba by Cubans who live in the United States.{{cite news|last=Wong|first=Samantha|title=Materva: Un Buchito de Cuba|url=http://www.jwu.edu/uploadedFiles/Documents/Academics/studentwork/JWUStuFoodWritingNMI.pdf|accessdate=2020-09-10|newspaper=Johnson and Wales: Student Food Writing |page=8 (PDF p. 11) |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140113000105/https://www.jwu.edu/uploadedFiles/Documents/Academics/studentwork/JWUStuFoodWritingNMI.pdf |archive-date=2014-01-13}}{{cite news|last=Navarette|first=William|title=Una Habana de otros tiempos|url=http://www.elnuevoherald.com/2013/12/14/1635379/una-habana-de-otros-tiempos.html|accessdate=12 January 2014|newspaper=El Nuevo Herald|date=December 14, 2013|quote=tr.: "To read [this book] is to remember brands of products manufactured in Cuba [list including Materva] and many others that bring us the smells of great memories to those who are older."}}{{Cite book|title = Miami: A Cultural History|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=mMVHBgAAQBAJ|publisher = Interlink Publishing|date = 2014-07-30|isbn = 9781623710613|language = en|first = Anthony|last = Maingot}}

In Miami, politicians use the drink to symbolize Cuban-ness, such as when a congressional candidate told local media in 2010 that he had spoken about Materva to President Obama during a presidential visit to the city.{{cite news|last=Pardo|first=Bernadette|title=Materva Con Frita|url=http://www.elnuevoherald.com/2010/10/15/820241/no-al-revocatorio-de-alvarez.html|accessdate=12 January 2014|newspaper=El Nuevo Herald|date=October 15, 2010}} Travel books also often recommend the drink to visitors to Miami.Petit Futé New York 2013-2014 Dominique Auzias, Jean-Paul Labourdette 2746967529 2012 p. 207 "Les Cubains rencontrés lors de notre dernier passage nous ont assuré qu'ici on sert les meilleurs sandwichs cubains de la ville. Tout y est à point, même ce curieux soda à saveur de malte, le Materva."{{cite book|last=Schmidt|first=Gretchen|title=Night + Day Miami|year=2006|publisher=AS Davis Media Group|isbn=9780977624508|page=20|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Qjf4ZPXu5-0C&pg=PA20}} In 2002, Materva was given the "Best Local Soft Drink" award by the Miami New Times.{{cite web|url=http://www.miaminewtimes.com/bestof/2002/award/best-local-soft-drink-15900/|title=Best Local Soft Drink 2002|publisher=Miami New times|accessdate=12 January 2014}}

{{portal|Drink}}

• Coco Rico
• Ironbeer
• Club-Mate
• List of soft drinks by country

{{reflist}}

{{Herbal teas}}

Category:Cuban drinks

Category:American soft drinks

Category:Yerba mate drinks