Since the 1997 economic crash rekindled fashion for things traditional, herbal drinks have joined the plastic bag parade. They're ladled from enormous glass jars, or more authentically from unvarnished, decoratively scored Mon pottery in the shape of a lotus bud. Lift the pointed lid and use the coconut shell scoop to retrieve the herbal nectar. It may be the diluted, sweetened residue of boiling ambrosially smooth bael fruit, lemon grass stalks, chrysanthemum flowers or rozelle buds, which resemble currants in taste and colour. Each herbal drink harbours medicinal goodness, though the sugar negates that, and diuretic herbs like lemon- grass pose a problem since herbal drinks have become common at marathon festival shows