drinking tea through a metal straw!

[bookerman]

I've just discovered that south Americans drink a totally different type of tea to us, AND they drink it through a straw! Intrigued, I tried it and quite liked it, but I do feel like a bit of a hippy doing it. Have I stumbled across something cool, or am I having amidlife crisis?

I should've said, the 'tea' is called yerba mate and there is a while industry around it, loads of brands etc. I'm puzzled that I've not seen it before. Maybe its just not appeared in Scotland yet. Still feel like ahippy.

Do you put milk and sugar in it?

I didn't, but then I never do with tea. I'm sure sugar would work, don't know about the milk. Apparently in countries like Brazil they share it between friends. I just had it to myself, I did offer dw but she declined.

When I first knew my ILs ( early 80s) they drank mate tea - a less cool, hippyish pair you couldn't imagine. I think DHs granny had been on some health cure which was quite outre for its time (even earlier) - yoga, yogurt and beans so I'm guessing that's how they aquired the habit.

They drank it out of china teacups - never a mug and certainly not with a straw! Can't remember what (if anything) they put in it.

Somewhere in the intervening years they switched to Yorkshire Gold though

Sorry Bookerman, but if you can't add milk & sugar, but can drink it through a straw, it isn't tea in my book.

I think there are the usual claims of health benefits associated with herbal concoctions, I can imagine folk sitting around in the lotus position clutching their gourd,supping away etc. It's tea dione, but not as we know it

Why is this in pedants' corner?

The cup of Yerba mate in south America is usually carried about all day and topped up from a flask of hot water. It's horribly bitter IMO. The straw often has a sort of little strainer built into the top.