5 Souvenir Tips To Bring Home From Brazil
When traveling abroad, people back home like family or friends often expect a little souvenir when you get back. Shopping for souvenirs isn’t always easy though because you want to find items that are difficult to get outside of the country that you are traveling to, but that are also small and light so they don’t add too much bulk and weight to your suitcase. If you are traveling to Brazil, it shouldn’t be too hard to find some great souvenirs to bring back for your loved ones. If you want to get some ideas for what to look for once you get to Brazil, read on for some great Brazilian souvenir tips.
Cachaça
If you have friends or family who like to have a drink now and then, cachaça might be the perfect gift for them. This sugar cane liquor is the alcoholic drink that is used to make the world famous Brazilian cocktail caipirinha. While you can buy cachaça in the U.S., there aren’t many different brands available, so buy a bottle of a good brand that you can’t find back home. Tell your friend or family member to take it easy with the caipirinhas however, because they go down deceivingly easy.
Moqueca Pot
A great gift for friends or relatives who enjoy cooking and are interested in foreign eating culture. The moqueca pot is a clay cooking pot that is used to make moqueca, which is a traditional Brazilian fish stew. You’ll want to buy a small pot though, because being made of clay, moqueca pots are quite heavy.
Coffee
Being the largest coffee producer in the world, there is a great variety of good quality coffee to be found in Brazil. You’ll likely have some friends or relatives who can’t live without their cup of coffee in the morning, for which some gourmet Brazilian coffee beans would make a nice present.
Havaianas
If you have a flip flop loving friend or family member, some funky Havaianas may be a great gift for them. While you can buy Havaianas flip flops all over the world, in Brazil you can get a lot more different styles than in most countries, especially at their flagship store in São Paolo or other big stores in large cities in Brazil.
Cangas
Cangas are Brazilian sarongs that are mainly used for sitting on the beach. Most Brazilian beaches have such fine sand that they are really comfortable to sit on, so you don’t need any thick towels to be comfortable on the beach. While you may not live at the beach at home, a woman could use a canga as a skirt or dress and it could also be used on a bed or chair for decorative purposes. Cangas are available in different types of material with all types of prints. You can buy a canga at just about any popular beach in Brazil.
There you go, plenty of options for buying souvenirs in Brazil. Just walking around browsing through different shops you’ll find lots more original gifts that you could take home.
Zane Schwarzlose is a writer at Estancia Churrascaria, an Austin Brazilian steakhouse. Zane thinks that coffee would be a great gift to bring back.