Joe Mertz works at the intersection of art and technology, integrating electronics into the live entertainment industry. He first tried Club-Mate in Chicago in 2017 and has since spent his time at Chaos Computer Club events in Germany sampling the fruits of the burgeoning craft-mate scene. He has been brewing his own mate soda and keeping it on tap at Chicago's Pumping Station: One since February 2018, and earlier this year he jumped into the craft-soda business with osMate, which will be the first open source mate soda on the market.