The Novice’s Guide to Moroccan Mint Tea
By Emma Schneck
Morocco is a country that prides itself on incredible cuisine, generous hospitality, and most importantly, great tea. All across the North African country, tea is a cultural cornerstone that shapes the typical Moroccan way of life. Whether you visit a traditional Riad guesthouse in Marrakech, busy sidewalk café in Casablanca, or a Moroccan friend’s home in the countryside, you’re sure to be welcomed with a glass of piping mint tea.
How do you make a cup of this famed mint tea, you might ask? This question is hotly debated in the country, and every city, town, and family in Morocco has their own unique, perfect way of brewing the beverage. While the tea preparation varies depending on preferences, it generally adheres to a set of basic procedures, which you can follow along here.
Let’s make some Moroccan tea, Yalla!
First off, you’re going to have to find your tea, Gunpowder green to be exact. In Morocco, just about every little corner store or hanout carries the tea. A fun fact that many Moroccans might not want you to know is that their famous gunpowder tea is actually an export from China! Morocco is the world’s largest importer of Chinese gunpowder tea, which is the staple ingredient in their famous mint beverage.
Next comes the mint. You can locate some fresh mint from any fruit and veggie market or grocery store near you. Make sure to grab a full bunch on your way out, you never know how many pots of tea you may crave!
For the tea, you will need both a kettle for boiling water and a stove-top friendly metal teapot. After placing your kettle to boil, you can put your ingredients in your metal teapot all together. Start with 2 generous scoops of gunpowder tea, and then add your mint.
After placing your mint in with your tea, you can add your sugar. Typical Moroccan mint tea that you order in a café is very very sugary, so much so that the tea can have consistency of syrup. My personal compromise is 2 spoonfulls of table sugar to add a sweet accent to the tangy tea.
Then, add in your boiling water from your kettle. After you let it set for a bit, you can place the teapot on the stove and simmer over a low heat. Once the teapot starts to boil again, take it off of the heat and let it cool a little.
And now for the first pour. For a typical cup of tea, you never pour just once. After you fill your cup for the first time, you pour the tea back into the pot and repeat 1-2 times. This helps mix the flavors of the tea together and gives the tea a lighter consistency.
The art of Moroccan tea is all in the pour. It’s about “catching as much air” as you can, and showing off while you do! Skilled tea pourers can raise their teapot high above their head without spilling a single drop, and this performance can be quite a spectacle to watch. The high-altitude drop allows the tea to air out and cool down a bit before being served.
There you have it! A steaming glass of Moroccan Mint tea ready to be sipped. Whether you’ve been invited into someone’s home, or you’re taking a quick early afternoon tea break, Moroccan mint tea pairs best with an assortment of almond pastries or dwaz atay (literally, ‘to be washed down with tea’).
How do you know that your Moroccan tea is up to standard? Follow the 4 H’s (7’s in Arabic).
A good cup of tea is:
7aar حار -- Strong
7lou حلو-- Sweet
7mr حمر -- Red
7aami حامي-- Hot
Now you’re ready to welcome guests the Moroccan way!