100 YEARS OF MATE EXCELLENCE

Switzerland's finest stuff.

ENERGY YOU CAN TRUST.

Our mate originates in Misiones, Argentina. At Pindo Farm, yerba mate is grown for your El Tony – and the knowledge that makes it special has been passed down through the generations.

We’ll take you to the place where it all begins for our mate.

Watch The Pindo Chronicles

There’s a story behind every tinPindo Chronicles

In 1926, Alfonso Scherer leaves Switzerland for Argentina. Today, mate grows on Pindo for your El Tony. In between lies a family history full of experiences with a plant that keeps raising new questions.

In the Pindo Chronicles, the people who are carrying this story forward have their say. Three episodes about their roots, their craft and what unites them.

The expertise – THE PLANT

Prize draw Win a year's supply of El Tony Mate

We’re celebrating 100 years of mate excellence—and you can join the celebration. Answer our question, and with a little luck, you could win a year's supply of El Tony Mate.

Free entry from September 17, 2026, through December 31, 2026. Open to residents of Switzerland aged 18 and older. One entry per person. Three year’s supplies (16 trays) of El Tony Mate will be awarded in a drawing. Terms and conditions apply. For information on data processing, please see our Privacy Policy.

We will use your email address solely for the purposes of running the prize draw and notifying the winner. The data will be deleted once the prize draw has concluded. For more information, please see our privacy policy.

A hundred years
in a can.

Good mate is all in the detailsQuality at every stage

What you taste in your tin begins long before it is brewed. It starts with the plants on Pindo, the people working in the fields and the care taken after the harvest. It’s worth taking a closer look.

Mate with a provenance

Mate with a provenance

Our yerba mate is grown in Pindo, Misiones, Argentina. We know the farm and the people who grow our Yerba Mate.

Supported right from the start

Supported right from the start

Pindo grows over a million mate seedlings every year in its own nursery. The selection and care of the plants begin long before the first harvest.

Good craftsmanship deserves recognition

Good craftsmanship deserves recognition

Pindo relies on trained harvest workers and fair pay. Their expertise makes a difference in the fields every day.

Carefully crafted

Carefully crafted

After harvesting, the mate is gently dried and processed. These carefully coordinated steps contribute to its delicate flavour.

Freshly brewed

Freshly brewed

The yerba mate for El Tony is freshly brewed using the cold-brew method. This creates the base for your mate.

What's inside?Transparent ingredients

Just a few clearly identifiable ingredients, rather than a long list. You can see for yourself what’s in it — and with us, you can also trace where it comes from.

Ingredients: Water, mate tea (90%), cane sugar, lemon juice (3%) from lemon juice concentrate, carbon dioxide, natural caffeine, natural flavouring

A green leaf, symbolizing fresh ingredients for El Tony Mate beverage.

Yerba Mate

Lemon symbol representing refreshment and flavor in El Tony Mate beverages.

A splash of lemon

Illustration of a bamboo stalk with green leaves for El Tony Mate.

A little cane sugar

A playful design featuring red leaves and a curious, joyful expression.

A hint of guarana

Swiss roots.
Raised in Argentina.100 years of Pindo History

The story of the Pindo farm began in 1926. A hundred years later, the Scherer family’s expertise in yerba mate is behind El Tony.

Alfonso Scherer left Switzerland as an agricultural engineer and set up a farm in Argentina. His new home is in Puerto Esperanza, Misiones. The name means ‘Harbour of Hope’.

Today, his grandson, Dr Rafael Scherer Pindo, runs the farm. The family has continued to develop its mate cultivation over generations. Their connection to Switzerland has remained – as has their grandfather’s wish to one day bring mate to Europe.

1926

First Mate plants

3.

Generation

1 million+

Seedlings per year

Young yerba mate plants at the nursery in Pindo, Misiones, Argentina.
Young yerba mate plants at the nursery in Pindo, Misiones, Argentina.

Good mate starts small.Pindo’s Nursery

Pindo grows over a million seedlings every year in its own nursery. These include a variety developed by Dr Rafael Scherer. Even before the plants are transferred to the field, they already embody a wealth of knowledge.

Rafael devoted his doctoral thesis to yerba mate. At Pindo, he combines his research with the knowledge his family has accumulated over generations. In this way, with every new plant, their experience continues to grow.

1 mm. Exactly the size we need.

A detail that reflects a wealth of experience1 mm. Exactly the size we need.

For El Tony, the yerba mate leaves are finely cut to 1 mm – with the stems removed. To achieve this, Pindo has developed special cutting techniques and machines exclusively for El Tony Mate, which are tailored to this specific profile.

What looks small is the result of years of work with the plant. After all, the processing is also part of what makes for good mate. Right down to the very last leaf.

Discover our expertise
A legacy that began with one man’s passion

A legacy that began with one man’s passion

Over a million seedlings a year, in our own nursery

Over a million seedlings a year, in our own nursery

Hand-harvested and brought fresh from the field

Hand-harvested and brought fresh from the field

How to get to your El Tony.From seed to tin

A seed, a young plant, the first harvest. At Pindo, a journey begins that brings together many hands and a wealth of experience. Until the mate leaves become the basis for El Tony.

Seeds and rearing

Seeds and rearing

At the Pindo nursery, young mate plants are grown from selected seeds. The team looks after them until they are ready to be planted out in the fields.

Growing and caring for plants

Growing and caring for plants

In the field, it is essential to know the plants. The specialists monitor their growth and tailor their care and pruning accordingly.

Transport for processing

Transport for processing

Freshly harvested mate is gathered, loaded onto lorries and taken for processing. There, the work on the leaves continues.

Drying and processing

Drying and processing

Mate is carefully dried and processed. This involves shredding and ageing. For El Tony, finely cut leaves measuring 1 mm in length, with no stalks, are used.

Freshly brewed as cold brew

Freshly brewed as cold brew

For El Tony, the processed yerba mate is freshly brewed using the cold brew method. This is where the mate base for your drink is created. No concentrate. No shortcuts.

Formulation and bottling

Formulation and bottling

The infusion is enhanced with the other ingredients specific to each variety. The finished drink is then bottled.

ENERGY YOU CAN TRUST.

We know where our mate comes from. We know the family behind it. And we know the care that goes into the work at the Pindo farm. To mark our centenary, we’re sharing this story with you.

Good to knowQuestions, answered

2026 marks the centenary of the founding of Pindo Farm. El Tony Mate is celebrating this anniversary and offering an insight into the origins of its yerba mate. The year 1926 is part of Pindo’s history.

The Pindo Chronicles is a film series by El Tony Mate to mark the 100th anniversary of Mate Excellence. Three episodes tell the story of the Scherer family, their knowledge of yerba mate and their daily life together on the farm. The story is also available as a full-length film.

The yerba mate used in El Tony is grown at the Pindo Farm in Misiones, Argentina. The Scherer family has been cultivating and processing it there for generations.

Pindo is a farm in Puerto Esperanza in the Argentine province of Misiones. Its history began in 1926 with the Swiss agricultural engineer Alfonso Scherer.

Dr Rafael Scherer, an agricultural engineer and the grandson of Alfonso Scherer, is the head of Pindo. He wrote his doctoral thesis on yerba mate and combines his research with his family’s experience.

Roland and Saskia von Moos founded El Tony Mate. The Scherer family is behind the story of Pindo, the brand’s mate supplier.

The yerba mate leaves used in El Tony are finely cut to 1 mm – with the stems removed. Pindo uses specially adapted cutting techniques and machinery for this.

Every year, Pindo grows over a million mate seedlings in its own nursery. Among them is a variety developed by Dr Rafael Scherer.

Yes. The processed yerba mate is freshly brewed for El Tony using the cold-brew method. This infusion forms the basis of our drinks.

At Pindo, trained specialists harvest the mate by hand. The farm places great importance on fair pay. The staff’s experience is crucial both for the harvest and for the plants’ continued growth.

El Tony sources yerba mate from Pindo and works directly with the farm. This means we get to know the people behind the cultivation and gain an insight into the processing.

The 100 Years Edition is El Tony Mate Classic in a limited-edition tin design. It celebrates the 100th anniversary of Pindo’s excellence in mate and the origins of our mate.

Cold Brew Mate is a mate infusion made by steeping yerba mate leaves in cold water. For El Tony, we use finely chopped mate leaves from Pindo Farm in Argentina. Our mate is freshly brewed – unlike concentrate-based mate drinks, we do not use mate concentrate. This forms the basis for your El Tony.

Mate is a natural product — every harvest is slightly different. That is why each batch is tasted individually and adjusted to match the El Tony Mate flavour profile before it is processed.