Drinking Chimmaron - Brazilian Tea/Mate

My friends from the US, Cristiano and Deise, are here in Brazil. They are Brazilians living in the US and became very close friends of mine. I met them while I lived in the US and now they are here visiting for a few weeks. 

They are "gauchos", which is similar to a Texan cowboy. They have some special words they use and some traditions unique to their culture. One of them is drinking chimmaron, which is a tea or mate. You put the tea or mate into this cup, called a "cuia" and then drink the tea/mate through a "bomba" or pump. The pump actually is like a straw, but it filters the loose tea out. You pour hot water over the tea and drink!

It is a sign of friendship to share with other people and it's very common to see people EVERYWHERE with their cuia!! There are also special stores where you can buy accessories and unique cuias. I have two, both were gifts from John Deere. 

They showed me how to prepare it and here is my first time drinking it in my house!!!

Me drinking chimmaron from my John Deere cuia

Two friends...Deise/Mollie

Cristiano preparing the drink