one of the very first things visitors will notice on rio de janeiro beaches, are the orange dressed vendors, walking on the hot sand among the sun tanners and carrying a silver barrel on one shoulder - they are mate vendors, now formally recognized by the city as part of rio's cultural heritage and patrimony.

popularly called mate, this is a cold tea drank by just about any carioca, everywhere during the hot months - in fact, mate was the very first drink to be sold on rio sandy beaches starting in the 1960's.

mate is an herb native to southern brazil, northern argentina, and eastern paraguay - yerba mate, or ilex paraguariensis, is a perennial plant.