Chimarrão is Brazil’s yerba mate. Distinctly different from all the others in taste, effects, and appearance. Yet preparing it is quite similar.

However, this needs to be more carefully prepared. With it’s vibrant green powder, it’s a lot easier for you to mess it up. So if you want to have an enjoyable and easy time drinking chimarrão, this post will serve you well.

Below, I’m going to show you exactly how to prepare chimarrão.

There are two ways. One that’s super easy, and one you should be familiar with. But both do require more attention than any other type of yerba.

Preparing mates that contain lots of leaves is very simple.

But with chimarrão, you need a bit of technique.

Now, before I show you step-by-step how to prepare chimarrão, you’ll need a few things first…

What You Need For Chimarrão

Chimarrão, like other yerba mates, is still traditionally drunk from the usual calabash gourds. But the calabash gourds for chimarrão are very different.

In Brazil, these gourds are called cuias.

They’re typically much larger, have a wider opening, with a narrowed neck and bowl-like bottom. These are the traditional (and recommended) gourds used to drink chimarrão because of its shape. If you want to get one for yourself, just click here to check out our entire collection!

Next, you need a bombilla (or in Brazil, a bomba). But not just any bomba, a spoon bomba.

Use any other straw and you’ll have a rough time drinking. The reason for a spoon bomba is because you can mold the yerba (more on this later). The spoon bomba I use, you can get here.

Lastly, of course, you’ll need some fresh chimarrão.

The one I’m using today is Ximango (Review) – a popular brand of Brazil.

Now that you have everything you need, here’s how to prepare chimarrão…

How To Prepare Chimarrão

There are two ways to prepare chimarrão. I’m going to show you both ways. First, being the easiest. Here’s how…

Step 1:
Pour hot water (never boiling) into your cuia, up to around the neck.

Step 2:
Now, dump a good amount of chimarrão on top.

Step 3:
Take your spoon bomba, and slide the chimarrão to one side. You want to move the chimarrão until you get to the water.

Step 4:
Once you see the water, fill the gourd with more.

Step 5:
Now, with your thumb covering the opening of the straw, place it into your cuia. And twist it to the side once you reach the bottom. This creates better filtration so you don’t clog your bomba.

And that’s it! Easy isn’t it?

For those who need more clarification, just watch this video starting at 1:46 to see how it’s done…

 

This method is the quickest, easiest, and most effective way to prepare chimarrão. You should have no problem with clogging or sucking up too much herb.

However, you will get a few particles here and there. That’s expected and inevitable. And don’t worry… it’s completely OK to consume it.

Now, let me show you the second method to preparing chimarrão…

Another Way To Prepare Chimarrão

This method is pretty much the same way you’d prepare all yerba mates.

Watch our video below or read the steps below it.

Step 1:
Pour in your chimarrão up to around the neck of the cuia.

Step 2:
Cover the opening of the cuia, flip it over, and shake. This gets the larger stems to the bottom to help with filtration. As well as form a mountain of chimarrão.

Step 3:
Now, pour room temperature water into the empty side of the cuia. And wait for the chimarrão to absorb it.

Step 4:
Once absorbed, take your bomba, cover the opening with your thumb, and place it into your cuia. When you reach the bottom, like before, twist it to the side.

Step 5:
Fill the rest of your gourd with more water and drink!

I found this method to be a bit harder to do than the previous one. However, with practice, either way works. But for beginners, the first method is definitely the easiest.

But wait…

We’re still not finished. You need to know this last thing before you go off and start making your chimarrão…

How To Finish Your Chimarrão

This is a crucial step you need to know when drinking chimarrão. Otherwise, you waste a bunch of herb.

As you know, when refilling your gourd, you only pour on the wet side. Leaving half the yerba dry. And eventually, the rest of the leaves will get used as you keep refilling. Right?

Not with chimarrão.

Because of its powdery and cake-like consistency, only some of the chimarrão will be used. The water simply can’t penetrate throughout the entire mountain of powder you created.

Now you might be thinking, Can’t I just pour water onto the dry side?

Good question, but that’s a common mistake. Doing that doesn’t work. The water will slide right off because of how packed the herb is.

So if that doesn’t work, what do you do?

What you’re going to do is take out your bomba. Then use it to move the entire mountain of chimarrão onto the other side. And just like that, you have new, dry, unused chimarrão, ready to go!

When watered down, move the mountain to the other side

Although I’m making it sound very simple, it will take some practice to get it down. It’s very easy to clog your bomba doing this. But it’s clearly better than wasting all your chimarrão.

Final Words

And there you have it!

You now know exactly how to prepare chimarrão. And are ready to impress all your friends and family with your new skill!

Again, this will take a bit of practice. But once you get it down, you’ll never have to worry about clogging or drinking a bunch of dust.

I know how annoying it is when either of those things happen.

It’s stressful and frustrating. Especially when you’re just trying to enjoy a delicious and healthy drink in the morning.

But hopefully this was helpful to you!

P.S. If you enjoyed this post, you might also want to check out our store because we offer yerba mate, gourds, and bombillas you might like!

P.P.S.For an even easier way to prepare chimarrao, you might be interested in this cool product – Chimafacil.