Como preparar um chimarrão: Or, in other words, on how not to drink powder.

Yesterday I was the grateful recipient of a kilo of erva mate, directly from Rio Grande do Sul.

I love "erva mate". I think the Brazilians have perfected the flavor of the Ilex paraguariensis in a gourd. But I learned my love of it by drinking "yerba mate". The Argentinians, though, have made their yerba so easy to pour and prepare that I haven't had to learn the ritual dance, shake, and incantation that seem to be necessary to make a good "erva mate" work well.

For the life of me, I still can't figure out how to prepare um chimarrão without drinking powder or stopping up the bomba.

This morning, I spent it over the sink, sipping and spitting wet powder. Haha! Once it got working right, it was so stopped up, I would have needed an air pump to extract that delicious hot tea.

They make it look so simple. But there is a secret I am still to learn. What is your trick to preparing "um legítimo chimarrão gaúcho"?