Bombilla facts for kids
A bombilla is a special kind of drinking straw. People use it to drink a popular South American tea called mate. You might also hear it called bomba in Portuguese or massasa in Arabic.
The bottom part of a metal bombilla has tiny holes. This part works like a metal filter. It helps separate the mate tea from the leaves and stems. It's a bit like the filter you find in a teapot. Some filters can be taken apart for cleaning, while others are fixed. Bombillas come in different sizes, but many are about 18 centimeters (7 inches) long.
Traditional bombillas are often made from metal mixes. These can include a mix of copper and nickel called alpaca silver or German silver. They are also made from stainless steel or 800 silver. Sometimes, the top part might even be covered in gold plate. Simpler bombillas can be made from hollow cane stems.
Silver bombillas were once very popular, especially among wealthier people. People with less money often used ones made from straw. Today, many people use stainless steel bombillas instead of silver ones.
Silver is a good conductor of heat. This means silver bombillas and mate cups can get very hot quickly. You need to be careful when drinking hot mate tea to avoid burning yourself.
What Does "Bombilla" Mean?
The Spanish name "Bombilla" literally means "little pump." This Spanish word is also used for electric lightbulbs. In that case, it's short for bombilla eléctrica, which is a smaller version of the word bomba (pump).
Different Bombilla Designs
Bombillas come in many different shapes and styles. The pictures below show some of these designs. They also show how bombillas are used.
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Different types of bombillas. A matchstick is shown for size.
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José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia, a leader from Paraguay in the 1800s. He is shown with a mate cup and its bombilla.
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Silver Bombillas from around 1840. These are at a museum in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
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A bombilla in a gourd (a type of dried squash) with mate tea inside.
