A drink made from crushed leaves and shoots of Paraguayan holly, called mate, has long become popular not only in those countries where this Paraguayan holly grows. Many people prefer to drink mate from cups, but connoisseurs and admirers of this drink use it from special vessels called kalabas or calabash. There are kalabas made of wood, ceramics, metal, but the most common are pumpkin kalabas. Naturally, a drinking vessel made from a material such as dried pumpkin requires some processing before consumption.
It is necessary
- - Calabas;
- - mate;
- - cognac;
- - wooden spoon or scraper;
- - tea spoon;
- - waffle towel.
Instructions
Step 1
Using a wooden spoon or scraper, carefully, taking care not to damage the walls of the vessel, scrub the pumpkin fibers from the calabas.
Step 2
Fill three quarters of the container with a good mate. Fill the grass with slightly cooled boiling water so that the water does not reach the top of the calabash by one centimeter. The water temperature should be no higher than eighty to ninety degrees. Leave the pumpkin with grass in a cool dark place for three hours.
Step 3
Check the water level in the Calabas. For some time, water will be actively absorbed into the walls of the vessel and must be refilled to the previous level. When you are sure that the water level has stopped dropping, remove the brewed herb from the pumpkin.
Step 4
Remove soaked pumpkin fibers from the calabash with a teaspoon. In some cases, it is recommended to heat a spoon over a fire. The remaining fibers should be cleaned out carefully, but thoroughly, otherwise the taste of the drink will be spoiled. A waffle towel is good for polishing the inside of the Calabas walls. Turn the vessel upside down and dry thoroughly. After the kalabas is completely dry, you can brew mate in it.
