Cocido Paraguayo

Cocido is the drink that starts the Paraguayan day: yerba mate and sugar toasted together in a pot until the sugar caramelizes and smells like toasted nuts, then boiled with water and strained. It’s served in a gourd or glass — black, or with hot milk — alongside reviro or chipa, and it’s pure morning comfort.

Toasted sugar and mate, brewed like a warm hug

The caramelization is everything: it gives the cocido a deep, toasty, almost smoky sweetness that mellows the earthy bite of the mate. With a splash of warm milk it turns into the kind of drink you want to curl up around.

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