Paul Mathew isn't your typical drinks founder. Before he ever stood behind a bar, he was knee-deep in tropical forests cataloging endangered plant species. That unlikely CV — part botanist, part bartender — is exactly what makes Everleaf one of the most genuinely interesting non-alcoholic brands on the planet.
We sat down with the founder of Everleaf to talk about what 200,000 edible plant species can teach us about flavor, why texture is the missing ingredient in most non-alc drinks, and how a trip to Madagascar changed the way he thinks about vanilla.
The Origin Story
BoozeMakers: Let's start at the beginning. You're a conservation biologist who became a bartender. How does that happen?
It's less of a leap than it sounds. My father was a botanist at the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew — he worked in the Herbarium studying irises and crocuses. So I grew up surrounded by plants. That turned into a master's degree in conservation biology, then fieldwork with Fauna & Flora International — the world's oldest conservation charity. I spent years in Chile, Vietnam, Brazil, the Caribbean, studying how people use plants sustainably.
But I'd been bartending since university too, and at some point the bar pulled harder than the field station. In 2006 I opened The Hide in Bermondsey with a business partner, right as London's cocktail scene was expanding almost exponentially. We eventually ran three bars across London.
BM: So the plant knowledge was just sitting there, waiting for a use case?
Exactly. My wife is a diplomat, so her career took us traveling internationally — I was sampling Brazilian caipirinhas, Vietnamese rice wines, whatever was local. And all the while I'm thinking about plants through two lenses: what can we conserve, and what can we drink? It turns out the Venn diagram is bigger than you'd think.
Why Non-Alcoholic?
BM: You owned three bars. You clearly weren't anti-alcohol. What made you create a non-alc brand?
Frustration, honestly. I'm a picky bartender — I made Everleaf because I didn't have enough products offering me the complexity I wanted in the non-alc category when we launched. Customers would ask for something without alcohol, and I'd have nothing interesting to give them. Just soda water with lime, or some overly sweet mocktail. It felt like a creative failure.
But I also didn't want to make a "non-alc gin" or similar, because you're immediately missing 40% or so of what makes that product what it is. Alcohol is a solvent, a preservative, a flavor carrier. Take it away and try to mimic gin? You're starting from a deficit.
BM: So instead of subtracting alcohol from something familiar...
I added. That became the whole philosophy — adding, not taking away. I reasoned upward from the drinking occasion. What do people want at 7pm on a Friday with friends? Something complex, bitter, aromatic, grown-up. Start there, and build the liquid around that desire, using plants as your raw material. The attraction with non-alc is there aren't any rules. Two hundred thousand plant species are considered edible, and different parts of the plant may not taste the same. That is one million different flavors and aromas to combine. The creative freedom is extraordinary.
The Texture Problem
BM: You spent 18 months just on texture. What's the obsession?
Because nobody else was thinking about it, and it's the thing that makes or breaks a drink. Most non-alc products nail the aroma and the flavor, then feel like flavored water in your mouth. Alcohol gives weight, viscosity, warmth. Without it, you're hollow.
I spent those 18 months dehydrating, grinding, and heating plant materials in every way I could think of. Some experiments precipitated. Some solidified. I had some spectacular failures. But eventually I solved it using two ingredients: acacia gum from the land, and carrageenan from the sea. The inspiration actually came from salep — a historic Eastern Mediterranean drink made from orchid tubers. Plants offered all the answers we needed to create a great mouthfeel, great texture, great color, great aroma, and great flavor.
The result is something you can actually feel — it's a really important part, helping flavors develop on the palate and improve the finish.
Three Biomes, Three Bottles
BM: Walk us through the three expressions. They're named Forest, Marine, and Mountain — and they're genuinely different drinks, not flavor variants.
Forest was first, launched January 2019. It's the most personal one — it draws directly on my conservation fieldwork. Imagine walking through a tropical forest: flowers blooming at the top of the canopy, then the rich spice of the trees as you descend. Mid-palate you get cinnamon, cassia, vanilla. And the finish is the earthy, bittersweet roots of the forest floor. Fourteen botanicals including saffron — a nod to my father's work with crocuses at Kew — Madagascan vanilla, orange blossom, gentian root, and vetiver.
Marine came next. It captures that saline umami you get at the back of your nose when you've been in the sea. We use hand-harvested Irish dulse, kelp, sea buckthorn, Calabrian bergamot, juniper, and eucalyptus — sixteen botanicals total. It's the crisp, refreshing one. The seaside aperitif.
Mountain was inspired by a bicycle ride through Chinese hills. It begins with valleys of spring cherry blossom — we use Japanese cherry blossom that's been traditionally fermented in Shizuoka — then mountain herbs and wild British strawberry, with a tart, bittersweet finish from wormwood and rosehip. Vibrant and aromatic, but also savory and a little bitter. Twelve botanicals including immortelle, which most people have never encountered in a drink.
BM: Together that's about 50 different plants across the range?
Give or take. And many of them are botanicals that most drinkers wouldn't consider — labdanum in Marine, immortelle in Mountain, voodoo lily in Forest. That's the advantage of coming at this from a botanical background rather than a spirits one. You're not limited to the usual suspects.
The Sustainability Question
BM: This is where the conservation biologist in you really shows. Tell us about your sourcing approach.
We operate on a "Good, Better, Best" framework. At minimum — the "Good" level — we won't use threatened plants. We actually removed quassia from Forest when it appeared on the IUCN Red List and we couldn't verify sustainable sourcing. That hurt, because it was a beautiful ingredient. But the line is the line.
"Better" means actively reducing our footprint. We switched from Fair Trade cane sugar to British beet sugar to cut carbon. "Best" means our sourcing actively benefits communities and ecosystems. Our Madagascan vanilla is the example I'm proudest of — that supply chain funds schooling, adult education, sustainable agriculture, and protected area conservation. I've visited personally, met the farmers, verified everything.
BM: You're also B Corp certified and carbon neutral.
B Corp since 2023, carbon neutral through ClimatePartner. We offset through certified forest, mountain, and marine conservation projects — matching our three biomes, which felt right. We're also 1% For The Planet members, donating to Fauna & Flora International, Plantlife, and SeaTrees.
My advice to any brand making sustainability claims: ask lots of questions and keep asking them. Recognize that it's not a one-time commitment — suppliers have switched sources without notification. You have to stay on it.
Building the Business
BM: COVID hit when you were barely a year old as a brand. Eighty percent of your sales were bars and restaurants. How did you survive?
By diversifying fast. We pivoted hard into retail and direct-to-consumer — and honestly, those channels became permanent. Post-recovery we kept them. We're now in about 3,000 UK bars and restaurants, available through Ocado, and in the US through Boisson.
BM: What's the biggest mistake you made building Everleaf?
Trying to do too much myself in the beginning. I needed to recognize that there are people who can do almost all parts of the business better than I can. The biome metaphor applies: Everleaf is more than the sum of the parts, just like a forest is more than just trees. Everything plays its part and helps the whole thing thrive.
The Future of Drinking
BM: Where do you see the non-alc category going?
I want it to stop being a category. What I mean is — I envision a spectrum of delicious drinks, some of which are full strength, some mid, and some non-alc, across every category. Nobody should have to think of it as choosing between "real drinks" and "alternatives." They're all just drinks.
The trends I'm watching: functional alternatives to alcohol gaining traction in the US, traditional medicinal plants showing up in Chinese cocktails, gut-health-focused beverages taking off in the UK. The thread connecting all of them is that people want complexity and purpose in what they drink — not just ethanol.
Quick Sips
BM: Favorite place to eat in London?
Borough Market. Specifically the Kappacasein cheese toasties. Don't judge.
BM: Best bar you've visited outside London?
The Virgin Mary in Dublin. Entirely non-alcoholic bar, brilliantly done.
BM: The one botanical you'd save from extinction?
Vanilla. Not just because I use it — because the communities that grow it depend on it. When you protect vanilla, you protect people.
BM: Best way to drink Everleaf at home?
Fifty milliliters over ice, 150 mil light tonic, plenty of garnish. Forest with orange slices. Marine with lime. Mountain with strawberry. Simple, but it lets the botanicals do the talking.
BM: What would you tell someone who thinks non-alc drinks are boring?
That they haven't tried the right ones yet. Come back to me after you've had a properly made Everleaf spritz and tell me you're bored. I'll wait.
Paul Mathew is the founder of Everleaf Drinks. Everleaf Forest, Marine, and Mountain are available through their website, select retailers, and approximately 3,000 bars across the UK. US availability through Boisson.
