Mate Gelado Vendors: A Living Heritage of Rio’s Beaches

Amidst the white sands of beaches of the famous city of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), the soothing sound of the waves is broken by sellers advertising the product that became part of the city’s cultural Carioca heritage in 2012, or rather, it is the vendors themselves who represent this wealth. Carioca is the term for people born in the city of Rio de Janeiro, and they love enjoying cold mate at beach, an old habit completely dependent on traditional sellers, truly beach long walkers. 

A cold drink is  perfect at beach , since in Rio de Janeiro  the climate is predominantly hot, with temperatures that almost always approach 30°C, but in the summer, they easily exceed 40°C. The beach is frequented by residents and tourists as it is an inexpensive , since it´s completely free. 

The landscape is filled with a constant stream of vendors selling a variety of products, from swimwear and sunscreen to food and drinks. Among them, one stands out so much that its vendors have been recognized by the municipality as Cultural Heritage of the city of Rio de Janeiro.

Wearing bright orange clothing, men and women walk for miles along the seafront of Brazil’s most famous city.

As they walk, they use their voices to announce their presence. On their shoulders, straps support shiny steel barrels. Inside the containers are liters of a refreshing drink that beachgoers have decided to associate with their stroll: mate.

Yerba mate

Originating far away from the well-known scenery of Copacabana and other beaches, an American plant gives rise to the drink. The indigenous people who inhabited what is now Brazil before the arrival of the Portuguese colonizers already drank tea made from the leaves of the “yerba mate” plant.

After industrial processing, the chopped leaves are packaged in a pumpkin-colored box, which cariocas easily associate with a certain brand. Just put the leaves in hot water, and in minutes, you get a dark and delicious infusion. After adding sugar (or not!), just drink it, preferably very cold.

The mateiros

The famous beaches of the Marvelous City drive an important economic engine. Families depend on the capital that is raised there. Beach vendors licensed by the municipalities sell food, drinks, coconut water, and rent beach chairs and tents. Beachgoers, in turn, benefit from these services.

The day has not yet dawned, and fans cool giant pots of mate, which have been resting since the herb was boiled at 11 p.m. the night before. It is three in the morning in distant Anchieta, 40 km from Leblon beach.

Gabriel Lourenço , a 28-year-old bachelor, is getting ready for his seventh day of work in a seven-day week. It is a sunny Sunday, and he expects to earn as much in two days over the weekend as he needs to work for twenty days in a month as an operational assistant in a factory.

All to contribute to the household budget and pay for what he calls a luxury: “eating at the mall once a month.” Gabriel defines himself as a “homebody.” The son of a single mother, has two brothers, as his sister has passed away. Part of the money he earns from selling mate on the beach will be given  to his mother.

While many beachgoers are still asleep, a car with his coworkers heads toward the beach under the scorching sun of Rio de Janeiro. Each of them carries the “mother mixture” which, after being diluted with ice water, will fill the barrels. There will be several trips back and forth on the sand, carrying two barrels, weighing a total of approximately 40 kg, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

It has been like this for three years, says the former bricklayer’s assistant, who has also worked at McDonald’s. “I like selling,” he adds, feeling better rewarded financially with informal work than with a “formal job.”

“I used to wear the classic pumpkin-colored uniform, but today I work for ‘Bigode’s mate,’ who wears different clothes,” explains Gabriel.

Customers call him by raising their arms or through a WhatsApp group that brings them together and informs them which vendors are nearby.

From a tap attached to a barrel, like the ones we have in our gardens at home, a dark, cold, sugar-free liquid pours out. Or as Gabriel says: “It will be sweetened with lemon,” he says, if that makes any sense.

Mixing it with fruit juices is a hit: lemon, passion fruit, and, more recently, alcoholic beverages. It is mate, heritage, and tradition being reinvented right there on the beach, in the sand. We can´t imagine the next creation for this 2026 summer.