I just bought the most marvelous little tea tool from Cargo and James!
http://www.cargoandjames.com/ It a metal sipping device that has a flat but
round mesh end in that goes in the cup and it allows you to use loose tea
leaves in your cup without swallowing them when you sip your tea. (Not that
I mind tea leaves occasionally but this is just fun.) Now some of you
probably already knew that things like this existed but I sure didn't and
I've been drinking loose tea since I was a few years old. Are there any
other nifty tea tools out there I should know about? I want to own them
all!

Giselle (having fun with my new tea-tasting experiments)

While intrepidly exploring rec.food.drink.tea, Volfie "Scary
Poppins" Jackson rolled initiative and posted the following:

> I just bought the most marvelous little tea tool from Cargo and
> James! http://www.cargoandjames.com/ It a metal sipping device
> that has a flat but round mesh end in that goes in the cup and
> it allows you to use loose tea leaves in your cup without
> swallowing them when you sip your tea. (Not that I mind tea
> leaves occasionally but this is just fun.) Now some of you
> probably already knew that things like this existed but I sure
> didn't and I've been drinking loose tea since I was a few years
> old. Are there any other nifty tea tools out there I should
> know about? I want to own them all!
>
> Giselle (having fun with my new tea-tasting experiments)

What you are describing (and from visiting the site) is a Mate
Bombilla. It is used with Yerba Mate and a gourd - a South
American "thing."

Basically, the gourd is filled with Mate, possibly some sugar, and
hot water. The bombilla is used to drink from the gourd, which is
often refilled so multiple steeps are common.

It's also often a communal experience, with one gourd and bombilla
being passed around.

--
Derek

It could be that the purpose of your life is only to serve as a
warning to others.

"Derek" > wrote in message
...
> While intrepidly exploring rec.food.drink.tea, Volfie "Scary
> Poppins" Jackson rolled initiative and posted the following:
>
> > I just bought the most marvelous little tea tool from Cargo and
> > James! http://www.cargoandjames.com/ It a metal sipping device
> > that has a flat but round mesh end in that goes in the cup and
> > it allows you to use loose tea leaves in your cup without
> > swallowing them when you sip your tea. (Not that I mind tea
> > leaves occasionally but this is just fun.) Now some of you
> > probably already knew that things like this existed but I sure
> > didn't and I've been drinking loose tea since I was a few years
> > old. Are there any other nifty tea tools out there I should
> > know about? I want to own them all!
> >
> > Giselle (having fun with my new tea-tasting experiments)
>
> What you are describing (and from visiting the site) is a Mate
> Bombilla. It is used with Yerba Mate and a gourd - a South
> American "thing."
>
> Basically, the gourd is filled with Mate, possibly some sugar, and
> hot water. The bombilla is used to drink from the gourd, which is
> often refilled so multiple steeps are common.
>
> It's also often a communal experience, with one gourd and bombilla
> being passed around.
>
> --
> Derek

Ah, yes, I remember it did come with a name but it didn't mean anything to
me. Now, just like Paul Harvey, I know the rest of the story. Thanks.

Now what is "Mate"?

Giselle (my family loves the bombilla, too, and will be getting them for
stocking stuffers next Xmas)

While intrepidly exploring rec.food.drink.tea, Volfie "Scary
Poppins" Jackson rolled initiative and posted the following:

>
> "Derek" > wrote in message
> ...
>> While intrepidly exploring rec.food.drink.tea, Volfie "Scary
>> Poppins" Jackson rolled initiative and posted the following:
>>
>> > I just bought the most marvelous little tea tool from Cargo
>> > and James! http://www.cargoandjames.com/ It a metal sipping
>> > device that has a flat but round mesh end in that goes in the
>> > cup and it allows you to use loose tea leaves in your cup
>> > without swallowing them when you sip your tea. (Not that I
>> > mind tea leaves occasionally but this is just fun.) Now some
>> > of you probably already knew that things like this existed
>> > but I sure didn't and I've been drinking loose tea since I
>> > was a few years old. Are there any other nifty tea tools out
>> > there I should know about? I want to own them all!
>> >
>> > Giselle (having fun with my new tea-tasting experiments)
>>
>> What you are describing (and from visiting the site) is a Mate
>> Bombilla. It is used with Yerba Mate and a gourd - a South
>> American "thing."
>>
>> Basically, the gourd is filled with Mate, possibly some sugar,
>> and hot water. The bombilla is used to drink from the gourd,
>> which is often refilled so multiple steeps are common.
>>
>> It's also often a communal experience, with one gourd and
>> bombilla being passed around.
>>
>> --
>> Derek
>
> Ah, yes, I remember it did come with a name but it didn't mean
> anything to me. Now, just like Paul Harvey, I know the rest of
> the story. Thanks.
>
> Now what is "Mate"?
>
> Giselle (my family loves the bombilla, too, and will be getting
> them for stocking stuffers next Xmas)

Yerba Mate (pronounced "yerba mahtay") is a medicinal and cultural
drink of ancient origins. Introduced to the world by the Guarani
Indians of South America, Mate contains ingredients that help keep
its drinkers healthy and energetic.

More than a drink, Yerba Mate has become a cultural phenomenon
throughout South America. Its benefits are obvious. In Buenos
Aires, where people carry their Mate with them throughout the day,
the site of an obese person is rare. Click on the menu items to
the left to find out if Mate could be for you.

From: http://www.noborders.net/mate/

--
Derek

It could be that the purpose of your life is only to serve as a
warning to others.

Yerba mate containes 2,000- 20,000 ppm caffeine in the leaves. There's
nothing wrong with this, but the last poster in this thread, and the website
referenced, ignore this fact. Why is that? lw
"Derek" > wrote in message
...
> While intrepidly exploring rec.food.drink.tea, Volfie "Scary
> Poppins" Jackson rolled initiative and posted the following:
>
> >
> > "Derek" > wrote in message
> > ...
> >> While intrepidly exploring rec.food.drink.tea, Volfie "Scary
> >> Poppins" Jackson rolled initiative and posted the following:
> >>
> >> > I just bought the most marvelous little tea tool from Cargo
> >> > and James! http://www.cargoandjames.com/ It a metal sipping
> >> > device that has a flat but round mesh end in that goes in the
> >> > cup and it allows you to use loose tea leaves in your cup
> >> > without swallowing them when you sip your tea. (Not that I
> >> > mind tea leaves occasionally but this is just fun.) Now some
> >> > of you probably already knew that things like this existed
> >> > but I sure didn't and I've been drinking loose tea since I
> >> > was a few years old. Are there any other nifty tea tools out
> >> > there I should know about? I want to own them all!
> >> >
> >> > Giselle (having fun with my new tea-tasting experiments)
> >>
> >> What you are describing (and from visiting the site) is a Mate
> >> Bombilla. It is used with Yerba Mate and a gourd - a South
> >> American "thing."
> >>
> >> Basically, the gourd is filled with Mate, possibly some sugar,
> >> and hot water. The bombilla is used to drink from the gourd,
> >> which is often refilled so multiple steeps are common.
> >>
> >> It's also often a communal experience, with one gourd and
> >> bombilla being passed around.
> >>
> >> --
> >> Derek
> >
> > Ah, yes, I remember it did come with a name but it didn't mean
> > anything to me. Now, just like Paul Harvey, I know the rest of
> > the story. Thanks.
> >
> > Now what is "Mate"?
> >
> > Giselle (my family loves the bombilla, too, and will be getting
> > them for stocking stuffers next Xmas)
>
> Yerba Mate (pronounced "yerba mahtay") is a medicinal and cultural
> drink of ancient origins. Introduced to the world by the Guarani
> Indians of South America, Mate contains ingredients that help keep
> its drinkers healthy and energetic.
>
> More than a drink, Yerba Mate has become a cultural phenomenon
> throughout South America. Its benefits are obvious. In Buenos
> Aires, where people carry their Mate with them throughout the day,
> the site of an obese person is rare. Click on the menu items to
> the left to find out if Mate could be for you.
>
> From: http://www.noborders.net/mate/
>
> --
> Derek
>
> It could be that the purpose of your life is only to serve as a
> warning to others.

While intrepidly exploring rec.food.drink.tea, lw rolled
initiative and posted the following:

> Yerba mate containes 2,000- 20,000 ppm caffeine in the
> leaves. There's
> nothing wrong with this, but the last poster in this thread, and
> the website referenced, ignore this fact. Why is that? lw

Actually, the website was QUOTED. Any missing information, such as
caffeine content, is a product of the lack of information on the
site and my lack of desire to do easy Google searches for other
people.

--
Derek

Mediocrity takes a lot less time and most people won't notice the
difference until it's too late.

On the really hot days I'll make refrigerated tea then add ice too a
Mason Jar with a hole in the lid to hold a plastic slurpee straw. The
straw end is inserted lid bottom first and the spoonend stirs the ice
and tea but I prefer to shake. Southerners are big on straws.
Instead of thumping a water mellon an ice pick and a straw told you if
it was ripe.

Jim

"Volfie \"Scary Poppins\" Jackson" > wrote in message >...
> I just bought the most marvelous little tea tool from Cargo and James!
> http://www.cargoandjames.com/ It a metal sipping device that has a flat but
> round mesh end in that goes in the cup and it allows you to use loose tea
> leaves in your cup without swallowing them when you sip your tea. (Not that
> I mind tea leaves occasionally but this is just fun.) Now some of you
> probably already knew that things like this existed but I sure didn't and
> I've been drinking loose tea since I was a few years old. Are there any
> other nifty tea tools out there I should know about? I want to own them
> all!
>
> Giselle (having fun with my new tea-tasting experiments)

Derek wrote:
> Yerba Mate (pronounced "yerba mahtay") is a medicinal and cultural
> drink of ancient origins. Introduced to the world by the Guarani
> Indians of South America, Mate contains ingredients that help keep
> its drinkers healthy and energetic.

There exist mainly 2 kinds of yerba mate : the green mate, only gathered
and dried; and the torrefied mate.
For those who have never tasted mate, I recommend the latter, which is
less harsh. According to me, the green mate require some time to be
accustomed to it.