How to Escape the Summer Heat... Paraguayan Style

It is HOT in Paraguay, we`re talking over 100 degrees almost every day of the week! Most people have fans, but when its this hot, they just blow around the hot air, yuck! So what do we do to escape the heat?! We sit around all day drinking Terere. What is terere you ask? Its a tea made from yerba maté. In Argentina they drink the hot variety called maté. We do that here too, when its cold out. But in the summer we try to make it as cold as possible. Now it sounds simple, we just brew some tea, ice it and drink it, right? Wrong! Tereré is highly ritualized and if you don´t do it right you usually just get laughed at, but there also might be some old timer who gets mad! In order to drink Tereré you must have the proper equipment. That includes a guampa, the cup which is traditionally made from a cow horn but now comes in the wood and metal varieties as well, a bombilla, a metal straw with a filter attached to the bottom, and a pitcher. The yerba maté comes in many varieties, some are flavored with stuff like mint and lemon others are just plain. The yerba is poured into the guampa and the bombilla is then insertered into the yerba. To prepare the water Paraguayans typically use water and ice and also add some yuyos. Yuyos? Thats Spanish for weeds, they put weeds in their water? Yep? Makes it taste yummy! Different weeds have different uses. Most are said to be some sort of natural remedy. The most common are mint and boldo which are said to reduce acid and aid in digestion. They are also very refreshing. So they ground up the yuyos and put them in the water with some ice. The water is poured into the guampa with the yerba and the first pour is soaked up by the yerba, they say this is Saint Christopher´s turn, I think. Once the water is soaked up the person serving pours some more in and hands it to the person to his or her right. That person drinks the tereré and then hands the guampa back to the person serving. The server is often the host or the youngest person in the group. Traditionally the guampa is only touched by the right hand. Only the server can touch the bombilla with his or her hand and the bombilla should never be touched by teeth while drinking. The order in which the guampa is passed to drink is always the same even as people may enter or leave the circle. The server will continue to serve to each individual until they say Gracias or the water runs out. Drinking tereré is a very ritualized and traditional Paraguayan custom, and is one of the best ways that a Peace Corps Volunteer can integrate into the community. Most Paraguayans have their own equipment and often will get a really nice set as a gift for graduation from college or from collegues. Its amazing the work that goes into drinking this tea, but it is definitely worth it! Its delicious!