Chimarrão

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Chimarrão or cimarron is a South American traditional beverage.

Chimarrão

Chimarrão is a strong tea prepared from the greens of the yerba mate (Ilex paraguariensis) or erva mate, in Portuguese, and very popular in Rio Grande do Sul (a state in southern Brazil) and neighboring countries. Its preparation requires some practice and a special gourd recipient called a "cuia" through a special metal straw called "bomba". It is usually drunk in groups, but in the same cuia. People usually drink chimarrão early in the morning or in the evening. There are some customary rules to drink it, such as:

The person who prepared the chimarrão is the first one to drink it. This has to do with etiquette - the first mate usually tastes very bad.
When one member of the group finishes his/her drink, he/she is to fill the cuia with hot water and offer it (while holding the cuia with the right hand) to the next person.
No one but the one who prepared the chimarrão may move with the bomba. If it clogs, hand it to the person who prepared the mate and ask him/her to handle it
You cannot drink a half cuia. You must finish the cuia before passing it on to the next person.
In some more traditional circles there is a special procedure to clean the cuia. The bomba should not be used to remove the used tea, but a spoon. After cleaning the cuia just with boiling water, more tea must be poured in order to leave a "protecting" shell, which keeps the cuia dry (avoiding fungus) and also improves the flavor. If that procedure is adopted, prior to making another chimarrão this "shell" must be removed with a spoon.

The tea used to prepare chimarrão is called "erva mate" in Portuguese, or "yerba mate" in Spanish, and its origins come from the Guarani people. Its scientific name is Ilex paraguariensis.

The word chimarrão has its origins in both Spanish and Portuguese.

From the Spanish cimarrón, that means rough, brute, barbarian, word used in almost all of Latin America, from Mexico to the Plata river for domesticated animals that have become wild. The word was then used by the people who colonized the region of the Plata river to describe the natives' rough and sour drink, drunk with no other ingredient to soften the taste.

Marron in Portuguese means, among other things, clandestine and cimarrón in Castellano has identical meaning. The commerce and use of the herb in Paraguay was made illegal for a while, however it did not stop it from being drunk illegally in what was then a Spanish colony.

The erva mate is a medium-sized evergreen tree that can grow to 20m high in the wild. When cultivated it is generally pruned into a shrubby 4-8 m tall tree to facilitate harvesting. In the wild this tree grows near streamsand, has graceful, full-leafed branches, white flowers and small red, black, or yellow berries. It is yerba mate's tough, leathery leaves that are used medicinally and as a natural, refreshing tea beverage throughout South America. Yerba mate is indigenous to Paraguay, Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay; however, it is now cultivated in many tropical countries to supply a world demand for its leaves.

Like other teas erva mate contains some caffeine. It does not have any addictive properties different from any other traditional tea or coffee.

Main benefits attributed to erva mate are similar to Japanese green tea: increased energy, improved metabolism, blood cleansing, enhanced immunity and improved digestion. Erva mate is also known to fight free radicals (hence it is anti-carcinogenic) and possibly enhance memory.

Internationally, the erva mate tea is also available in the form of the traditional English style tea bags, sometimes flavored with orange or other flavors and scents.

[edit] The Ritual of Chimarrão [1]

Drinking the erva mate is considered to be more than just good for the body; it's also good for the soul. Drinking it can be a form of meditation or reflection - allowing the goodness to infuse into the body while stimulating and resting the mind. In traditional use, the cuia is often shared among groups of friends and family, passed around from person to person in a circle. Those who share the mate join in a kind of bond of total acceptance and friendship. In a traditional chimarrão-sharing event, there is one person who pours the hot water and serves up the cuia. At a party of close friends, this person is often the host. At outings or at home, this responsibility may change from one sharing to the next. Generally the server will start a new infusion and then take the first drink. He or she will drink all the water in the cuia, taking several good sips until air is heard coming through the bomba. Once done, the server will again fill the cup with hot water and hand it to the next drinker, who will also drink the entire contents of the cup before handing it back to the server. The cup will once again be filled and handed to the next person, who does the same. This process will continue, going around the circle many times, until there is no flavor left in the infusion.