Chimarrão 🧉
2026-05-03
I've been trying to switch from coffee to mate — which we call "chimarrão" in Brazil, or just "chimas".
The drink is popular only in the south of Brazil, where it's very popular. I'm from São Paulo, but I went to college in the southernmost state, Rio Grande do Sul, where I picked up the habit. I like chimarrão because of its almost religious nature: there's a ritual in the preparation, and it's often a communal drink, with the gourd being passed from person to person.
There are also many unspoken rules: receive with your right hand and pass it on with your left. Drink until it makes noise. The first pour is for the host. Don't hoard. Don't cut in line. Don't touch the straw with your hands, and never, NEVER, use the straw to mix the herb with the water.
These days I drink by myself, and I really miss the social aspect. I used to drink in class, sharing the gourd with other students and the teacher, especially in the cold days of winter, when we perched together inside the bigger, cold, classrooms. All of us sitting close together, listening to the teacher, bonding over the hot tea. There was no heating, and we all wore jackets, gloves, scarves, beanies.
I like the bitter taste. It took me a while to learn the right temperature of the water, to prevent the tea leaves from burning. It took me longer to master the art of preparing the mate, shaking the leaves with the gourd upside down so that the bigger pieces end up in the bottom, where the straw is. This prevents it from clogging.
It's a nice ritual, and like all ritual it connects me with the past. With people that I shared a laugh, a story, a moment. It brings back only good memories, for some reason. The herb is already bitter enough, leaving only space for the sweet moments of the past.
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