Mint tea is Moroccan

Yesterday I went to out for dinner in Amsterdam with some colleagues. This is sort of the theme now that the teaching semester is over, all the lecturers start to get the feeling that we have time on our hands. I, for one, feel like I'm getting more sleep than my students for the first time all semester! Of course in reality, none of this is true because yesterday 70 students spent two hours writing my exam and the "results administration" office expects all those grades to be entered into the computer by this coming Wednesday. So there are actually mountains of things that need to get done.

Dinner yesterday evening was a great diversion, though. Delicious Turkish food full of fresh vegetables. There were about 10 different dishes and each one of them had a distinct flavor and even texture. It was delightful - until it came time to order coffee and tea. Lately, I've developed a taste for mint tea after meals. It's probably all in my head, but it makes my tummy feel good. Lucky for me, though, I live in a country where fresh mint tea is currently all the rage and you can get it in every cafe. Naturally,when it was my turn to order I asked the waitress/owner/cook's wife if they happen to have fresh mint tea...

"This is a Turkish restaurant, mint tea is Moroccan."
"Yes, but you can even order it in Belgium! Do you have any kind of mint tea?"
"Mint tea is Moroccan, this is a Turkish restaurant."
"Um, OK then..."
(switching to English) "You see? This is a Turkish restaurant, mint tea is Moroccan."

The 50+ Dutch woman finally helped me understand... mint tea is Moroccan.