We have asked a few of our suppliers to produce a blog or two informing our customers on their products and what makes them great! The first business on the list is the Agua de Madre from London.
I first met Nicola Hart (owner/founder) at lunch a few years ago… remember the pre-covid time’s when you could meet people at lunches and dinner parties? Excitingly it feels like those times are just around the corner once again. I was quickly captivated by the product and Nicola’s excitement, and I’ve been drinking it ever since. This is the story of the Madres and their new product “culture shot”.
Since joining forces with The Mart, we Madres have been deep in the history books, reading up about the historic railway connection that linked East Linton to London between 1850 and 1963. Sixty years since the station shut, we couldn’t be prouder to be renewing that old East Linton-London connection.
We’re Agua de Madre, a small independent business producing fermented drinks from our fermentary in Hackney. Like The Mart, our core values orbit around the importance of community and sustainability. We’re kindred spirits: that’s why we’ve chosen to partner up with The Mart to launch our brand new culture shots.
A fiery ginger & turmeric concoction, these shots will quickly become part of your go-to energising routine. Jammed full of organic, immunity-boosting ingredients, our culture shot’s perfect in the morning or as a late afternoon pick-me-up. Packed with live cultures, this small bottle’s got everything you need. It’s an effective way of rebalancing gut health while securing a generous dose of vits & mins. These invigorating shots are unlike anything you’ve ever tried before and will leave you feeling lifted, sharp and alive.
We also produce kefir water, which we craft-brew in small batches using only organic ingredients. Made using a Tibicos culture, the probiotic ferment is fed with organic cane sugar, ginger, lemons and figs, together with Himalayan salt in pure filtered water. The culture metabolises most of the sugar, producing a perfect low-sugar alcohol alternative.
Our water kefir culture originated in Mexico on the pads of the Prickly Cactus. We’re inspired by the idea of a ‘Mother culture’: it encapsulates values of community, sharing, and support through food.
Kefir water is a deliciously effervescent drink bursting with 55 billion live cultures per 100ml; the nutritionist and author Eve Kalinik described it as ‘champagne for the gut’. Containing several lactobacillus strains, the cultures in Agua de Madre have been proven to survive gastrointestinal conditions, reaching the gut ‘alive’. An independent study by Huddersfield University concludes: ‘by drinking Agua de Madre, these beneficial and ‘live’ cultures can aid the immune response, keeping your intestines healthier’.
And the good news doesn’t stop there. As a happy by-product of the ferment, Agua de Madre also contains trace alcohol (<1.2% abv). This makes our drink a ‘guilt-free’ alternative to booze that’s not only delicious but also satisfies all cravings and delivers the hopsy mouthfeel of alcohol. It’s the perfect choice for those looking to cut down on alcohol without sacrificing the ritual of drinking.
Fermentation is a lovely slow organic process. It’s the perfect fix as we slow down and consider the importance of our health, and the health of our planet.
Agua de Madre Socials:
F: https://www.facebook.com/AguadeMadre/
T: https://twitter.com/aguademadre
