Traveling abroad should be viewed as an adventure! Adapting a little and trying new things should all be a pleasurable part of visiting another culture, so when you sit down at a local café and they don’t have a ‘Grande, one Shot, no foam, decaf latte’ look on it as a golden opportunity to try something new.

Tunisia’s favorites local drink is mint tea. It is offered in shops to show hospitality to customers, so if you are offered ‘Thé a la Menthe’, you should graciously accept. It is complimentary.

The cups are so tiny that even if you do not like it, it is only one gulp long! Tunisians drink mint tea at the end of a spicy meal or after a heavy plate of couscous as it aids the digestion. It is also light, refreshing and thirst quenching.

The art of tea making is fine, but basically dry or fresh mint leaves are added to a warmed teapot along with sugar and green gunpowder tea leaves. Add boiling water, stir and leave to infuse, then pour. Occasionally Tunisians will heat the metal teapot and boil the mixture creating a more syrupy brew.

The tea is served in pretty glasses garnished with fresh mint leaves, and occasionally a few pine nuts too. Further south, mint may be substituted with almonds or verbena. To order English-style tea, you need to order ‘Thé Anglais’ or ‘Thé au Lait’.

Coffee is also popular in Tunisia and is served as café crème (a large cup of strong coffee with a lot of milk) or a tiny Turkish coffee, short and thick, flavoured with cinnamon and sugar. Espresso and cappuccino can also be found in some tourist centres. Mineral water is widely available as it is unwise to drink the local tap water. The really daring traveller may finish the experience with a narguileh (water pipe). This is tobacco , sweetened with molasses and is very common in this region.