A popular Kickstarter gadget is now officially available, and the new innovation is helping consumers brew and drink their tea or coffee with a straw.
“With JoGo, we wanted to take the simple, portable, and sustainable aspects of the bombilla – that's used with yerba mate – and apply it to a wider variety of loose leaf teas and coffee,” said JoGo co-founder Joey Jones. “To use it, simply add your favorite loose leaf tea and hot water into your mug, pop in your JoGo, and enjoy. As you pull from the straw, you will filter out the liquid from the leaves in your mug. JoGo is a zero-waste brewing system that lets you experience the full journey of the leaves in your mug. And as an added bonus, drinking tea through a straw can even help reduce those unwanted teeth stains.”
JoGo’s tea and coffee brewing straw is available for $24.95 at the company’s website, as well as Amazon and Uncommon Goods.
According to JoGo, the straw is designed to fight against disposable culture by eliminating the need for paper filters for coffee, coffee pods, to go cups, and plastic straws. The company said its method allows you to brew/steep and drink in the same cup, simplifying the process and avoiding unnecessary waste.
For tea drinkers, just add loose leaf tea and hot water to your cup, stir and then drink from the straw when ready. The loose-leaf tea will stay in the cup, as the built-in filter prevents the leaves from going through the straw.
For coffee drinkers, the JoGo straw offers all the robust flavor of a French press but with the ease of instant. Simply drop a scoop of your favorite ground coffee into your mug, add hot water, pop in your JoGo and enjoy.
JoGo’s design and utility is patent pending, and it’s roughly the size of a pencil so it can easily slip into any pocket. In addition to being used with loose leaf tea and coffee, the creators said it can be used with cocktails (think filtering out mint leaves, muddled fruit, etc.). Or, you can simply remove the filter and use it as a regular reusable straw.
The dishwasher safe tea/coffee tool is made with durable food-grade stainless steel and BPA free silicone.
Combining Historical Roots with Modern Convenience
The inspiration for the JoGo originated when Jones was on a 28,000-mile solo motorcycle expedition from Minnesota to Argentina in 2016. While in Argentina, a family gave him a “bombilla” – a straw with a filter on the bottom that is designed for drinking the popular loose leaf Yerba Mate tea.
The first bombillas were created by the Guaraní people and took the form of a simple and straight tube constructed out of the Taquara plant. In the 17th and 18th centuries, craftsmen developed the first metal bombillas, using alpaca and brass. They would eventually be adopted by the legendary Argentinian Gauchos and are now widely used in many regions of South America today, as well as parts of Europe, Asia and more recently the United States.
For Jones’ next adventure – after he returned from his motorcycle trip – he teamed up with Nick Yehle to lead a canoe trip in the Canadian wilderness. One morning at breakfast they had an idea – could they use the sustainable brewing method of the bombilla, and apply it to the world of tea and coffee? They discovered, however, that while the traditional bombilla’s filter worked with Yerba Mate, it wasn’t fine enough to filter the finer ground coffee and would even get clogged. Nonetheless, they were stoked at the prospect of innovation on the horizon.
After their trip, the two went to work. After countless trials and rigorous testing of various prototypes, they finally attained a design that filtered out the grounds, didn’t get clogged, was easy to clean, and looked good. They named their little 2 oz stainless steel baby “JoGo” and launched on Kickstarter in April, 2021. During their 30-day campaign, JoGo raised nearly $400,000 in pre-order sales from beverage lovers around the world, making it the third most backed coffee-Kickstarter of all time.
JoGo Gives Back
Every year JoGo contributes five percent of profits to Survival International, a nonprofit organization that works in partnership with Indigenous and tribal communities to help them defend their lives, protect their lands, and determine their own futures. Because the JoGo was inspired by the bombillas created by the Guaraní tribe, a partner of Survival International, JoGo believes it is their duty and privilege to give back to this nation.
To learn more about JoGo, visit jogostraw.com.
Plan to Attend or Participate in the
World Tea Conference + Expo, March 21-23, 2022
To discover more products and services related to the global tea community, plan to attend or participate in the World Tea Conference + Expo, March 21-23, 2022, celebrating its 20th anniversary. The event will be co-located with Bar & Restaurant Expo for the second year, creating unique opportunities and synergy. Visit WorldTeaExpo.com.
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