Yerba Mate

Herbal Tea

The first thing to explain about yerba mate tea is that it's not pronounced like one of Australia's favourite words: it's "matay." A French-style accent would make that clear but it is often overlooked, so here you go, just so you know. Ask for yerba matay. To add to the confusion, mate is from South America, which is mainly Spanish and Portuguese-speaking. It's big in Brazil and Argentina, where they drink it in bowls with a sort of thin tube like a straw through which you suck up the liquid and avoid the floating leaves.