Calabash for Mate Tea - assorted colors

The Calabash for Mate Tea is used exclusively to prepare this tea from Brazil and drunk throughout South America. Traditionally it is made from gourd, dried and hollowed out: because of this, the size and color may vary, your calabash is unique.

Our calabash:

• Hollowed-out gourd with aluminum border, marbled
• Hollowed-out gourd with red leatherette and linen decoration, with aluminum border

Maintenance

Since calabash is made from a dried gourd, a special cleaning and maintenance method must be used:

1. Get rid of the yerba in your gourd. Ideally, use our bombilla spoon to scrape the yerba.
2. Now, you will still have some yerba in your gourd. Just rinse the gourd under warm water. While you're doing this, take the bombilla back and gently scrape along the walls of your gourd.
3. Once you're done, check again to make sure there are no leaves in your gourd. Take a paper towel and place it inside, pressing against the bottom and walls of your pumpkin with the bombilla. This will absorb excess water.
4. This step is not necessary but it helps. To shorten the drying process a bit more, point a hair dryer at idle toward the inside of the gourd, rotating it as you dry. Make sure it is on a cooler setting to avoid damaging your pumpkin. Again, this is optional.
5. Store your pumpkin in a cool, dry, well-ventilated area. Placing the gourd on its side allows air and light to flow through, which further prevents mold growth.
6. If you have done everything correctly, just wait until it is 100 percent dry and it will be ready to use again!

Drying time varies among gourds.