See this video from Best Of Rally Live of shakedown for Rally Argentina 2013 – it opens with some atmosphere setting shots of a spectator pouring water onto some dried herbs in one of these cups, then we see shots of churro vendors, sausages and bread being sliced, and spectators drinking out of the distinctive cup through the distinctive metal straw.
So, what is that drink? It’s Yerba mate . Which is a hot caffeinated drink made from the dried leaves of a species of holly that grows in South America. The gourd cup is called a mate , and the metal straw is a bombilla . The bombilla has a filter at the bottom end, to keep out bits of leaf and twig. There is an appealing ritual to the preparation of Yerba mate, involving much careful shaking of the gourd to ensure the leaves settle properly. One cup of yerba mate is often passed around several people, with
And that’s what the spectators were drinking on the stages as they waited for the cars to go past.