| Type | soft drink |
|---|---|
| Owner | Cawy Bottling Co. |
| Country | Cuba |
| Introduced | United States, Canada, Spain |
| Previous owners | 1920 - Materva Soft Drink Company |
| Website | www.cawy.net |
Materva is a mate soft drink, produced in Miami by Cawy Bottling Company. Materva is made from yerba mate, a tea popular in Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay. Materva is very popular among Cubans and other Hispanics in the United States.[1] There is also a diet version called Diet Materva. Unlike the somewhat bitter tea-like mate on which it is based, Materva is sweet with an almost bubble-gum flavor.
The Materva Soft Drink Company was founded in Matanzas, Cuba, in 1920. It was produced and sold in Cuba until 1960, when the Cuban Revolution brought about the nationalization of all private industry. The rights to the drink were bought out by the competing Cawy Bottling Company of Miami in 1965. In 2002, Materva was given the "Best Local Soft Drink" award by the Miami New Times. In recent years Materva has been distributed outside Southern Florida to larger markets in the United States, Spain, and Central America.[2]
Carbonated Water, Sugar, Corn Sweeteners, Tartaric Acid, Extract of Mate, Caramel Color, Other Artificial Flavors, Caffeine, Preserved with Sodium Benzoate.[3]