Bombilla
A bombilla ([ bomˈbiʎa ], in Latin America [ bom'bija ], in parts of Argentina and Uruguay : [ bomˈbiʒa ] or [ bom'biʃa ], Arabic مصاصة, DMG maṣṣāṣa) is a drinking tube through which mate tea is drunk. Mate tea is especially widespread in Paraguay , Uruguay , Argentina , Syria and southern Brazil .
The drinking vessel (often a calabash in South America ) is filled with mate tea and hot water. The optimal insertion of the bombilla into the drinking vessel - especially before or after the first moistening of the mate leaves - is the subject of culinary beliefs in the traditional mate areas. So that the tea leaves are not drunk, the tea is sucked through the sieve at the bottom of the bombilla. After this sucking or "pumping" ( span. Bombear ) the bombilla should bear its name. Then hot water is filled up again and the drinking vessel and bombilla are passed on.
The bombilla is typically made of tinplate and consists of three parts: The drinking tube, the upper opening of which is flattened towards the mouthpiece, can be unscrewed from the rounded lower screen construction. Cross rings are usually attached along the drinking tube to prevent the mouthpiece from heating up too much due to the Mate temperature (usually 75 to 90 degrees Celsius ). The sieve construction at the lower end of the bombilla usually consists of two flat halves that are inserted into one another. After unscrewing the drinking tube, they can be detached from each other to clean the bombilla after use. The exact shape of the screen construction varies from region to region: in Argentina they are usually made narrower, in Paraguay and Brazil they are somewhat wider.
Simple, inexpensive bombillas are usually made of silver-colored tinplate with a few simple decorations; In some cases, for decorative reasons, parts of the bombilla are also polished to a matt bronze sheen. There are also bombillas made of stainless steel . More expensive bombillas are also made from more valuable metals such as silver or provided with more elaborate decorations. Bombillas are rarely made from bamboo, especially in Paraguay.
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- Parts of this article have been translated from the article Bombilla (utensilio de cocina) on the Spanish Wikipedia ( December 11, 2006 version ).