Drinking in Rio de Janeiro
In rio I stayed with my good friend Marcella, who I met in Iceland 1992 (she was in Iceland for two year). I stayed in a part of Rio called Catete which is pretty central between the city center on one side and the beaches (Ipanema and Copacabana) on the other. The first couple of days were used for relaxation as well as tasting the local food and drink. Brasilians produce their own wine, but to be honest with you...it is not very good. The brazilians love to drink beer. They have draft beer or choppies as they call them, and if you ask for one you always get one in a small glass. The reason for this is that it is so hot that beer gets warm quickly and so they drink it quickly and then get another. The first time I had one, the waiter came to me when I still had about one third left in the glass and asked if I wanted another one...yes please I said (or " si uma mais por favor") and when he came back with the new one he removed the old one even if I was not finished with it!!! So do Brazilians not like to drink warm beer that it is normal to remove it when the glas still has some beer in it. In Denmark as in Iceland and other european countries removing a man´s beer before it is finished is one of the deadly sins so I was a bit upset obviously.
After I had the facts explained to me I made sure that when the waiter asked me if I wanted another one, I just finished the glass very quickly. They also have another funny custom: When they ask for their last bill they ask for a "saideira" which both means one for the road and that the waiter should bring the bill over (you never pay the beer right away, everything is on a tab untill you leave). Then you finish the saideira and go home...NOT! Then you ask for saideira number 2 and 3 and 4 and so on so sometimes you have 4 or 5 last beers. Anyway, enough about the beer habits of the Brazilians. Oh...before I leave the subject of beers, the best beer in Rio is a PILSNER beer that was actually started in the early 1800's it is called Itaipava.
The most famous alcoholic drink in Brazil is without a doubt a Caipirinha. This drink that tastes a little bit like the Cuban Mochito and it is dangerously good. To make the drink they use Cachaca,a brazilian liquor distilled from pure sugarcane juice. I had three once and I had to call it a day...wow! Later in Ihla Grange a scottish friend had four and the next day she had the worst hangovers of her life(more about that later);). Now if you don´t feel lika having a big hangover then I reccomend Guaraná.
It is made from a berry that grows in Venezuela and the northern parts of Brazil. It is getting more and more popular in countries outside of brazil and can even be bought in Copenhagen :).well enough for now, just one last thing to say:
Saúde!
posted by Nonni @ 7:59 e.h.
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