A drinking problem?

Yerba Mate is an everyday obsession with me, and I drink it continuously throughout the day, and I love it strong and in the traditional mate (calabash cup). I think some days I might even rival Argentinians, who have had laws passed to stop them from drinking and driving (drinking mate that is). Oolongs are about special times, but the yerba is everytime. To give you an idea of the love I have for the tea, let me take you with me (in thought ) to the average meeting I might have.

“Hi mr/mrs/notsurewhatyouare blab bla, thanks for taking the time to meet me, can I interest you in some tea? mate?” by this stage I’m either pouring or commandeering the persons staff to get cups, water, no not so hot (get it to the “crab eye” bubble stage – in my head)not hot enough, and generally ignoring any protests about how they may or may not have drunk enough for the day.

We talk, more often than not, I talk more than them, examine some tea, smell it, poke around the leaves, the pros and cons, slam CTC a little. Now comes the embarrassing part, if the person leaves their cup partially un-drunk. My eyes keep skipping down to the yerba simmering in there cup, getting stronger, and inevitably heading for over infused status. If it’s a delicate green tea in their cup, the whole episode plays out the same way but with a frantic pace as my heart beats out the 3 minutes infusion time, while the cup remains undrained.

By this time the client/supplier/whatever is starting to notice my repeated warnings of “ why don’t you finish up that mate?” or “don’t you like the tea?” “its going to get too strong” rising in tempo and progressively peppering the conversation more and more. Conversation starts to break down as concentration on the topic erodes, and any pretense of my interest in anything other than the cup slips away.

Now you may think, this guy is exaggerating, but there are quite some number of people out there, by now, who may slowly shake their heads and be reminded of the broken sentences ending with “ are you going to drink that already? Cause if you aren’t I will!” followed by my slurping down the remainders of their cup.