Whisky Berbère - Moroccan mint tea
Mint tea is a staple beverage in Morocco and is a served to guests as a gesture of hospitality and a symbol of togetherness, kindness and gratitude.
Atay b’n’naana (tea with mint) is jokingly referred to as Whisky Berbère (Berber whisky), a playful nod to the tea's cultural significance and the prohibition of alcohol in the region. It is made with Chinese gunpowder green tea (so called as each tea leaf is rolled into a small round pellet resembling gunpowder), fresh mint leaves of the variety Mentha spicata var. crispa Moroccan and sugar.
It is believed the ritual of drinking mint tea began in the late 17th/early 18th century after Queen Anne sent tea to Sultan Moulay Ismail in return for releasing captured British citizens. For Moroccans mint tea is as important as earl grey is to the British and green tea to the Chinese and is prepared at least three times a day with or without food; the first glass being ‘as bitter as life’, the second ‘as strong as love’ and the third ‘as sweet as death’. The tea contains minerals that boosts the immune system.
I’m not a tea drinker but I find there is nothing more refreshing than sitting down in a rooftop café overlooking Jemaa el-Fnaa square with a glass of mint tea post bartering in the medina. Moroccans are so proud and eager to show how to make mint tea ‘properly’. The preparation is ritualistic passed down through generations. This is the recipe from a Berber home in the Atlas mountains. Great with Moroccan cookies. #CA2025
Whisky Berbère - Moroccan mint tea
Mint tea is a staple beverage in Morocco and is a served to guests as a gesture of hospitality and a symbol of togetherness, kindness and gratitude.
Atay b’n’naana (tea with mint) is jokingly referred to as Whisky Berbère (Berber whisky), a playful nod to the tea's cultural significance and the prohibition of alcohol in the region. It is made with Chinese gunpowder green tea (so called as each tea leaf is rolled into a small round pellet resembling gunpowder), fresh mint leaves of the variety Mentha spicata var. crispa Moroccan and sugar.
It is believed the ritual of drinking mint tea began in the late 17th/early 18th century after Queen Anne sent tea to Sultan Moulay Ismail in return for releasing captured British citizens. For Moroccans mint tea is as important as earl grey is to the British and green tea to the Chinese and is prepared at least three times a day with or without food; the first glass being ‘as bitter as life’, the second ‘as strong as love’ and the third ‘as sweet as death’. The tea contains minerals that boosts the immune system.
I’m not a tea drinker but I find there is nothing more refreshing than sitting down in a rooftop café overlooking Jemaa el-Fnaa square with a glass of mint tea post bartering in the medina. Moroccans are so proud and eager to show how to make mint tea ‘properly’. The preparation is ritualistic passed down through generations. This is the recipe from a Berber home in the Atlas mountains. Great with Moroccan cookies. #CA2025
Open in Cookpad AppSteps
- 1
In a teapot suitable for the stove or in a saucepan, add the loose gunpowder tea leaves. Add just enough boiling water to cover the tea and let it brew for 30 seconds – 1 minute. Strain the tea into a cup and keep aside. This will be caramel in colour and flavour-rich from the initial infusion. It is called the spirit of the tea.
- 2
The tea leaves will have unfurled in the teapot. Add water into the teapot, again just covering the tea leaves. Swirl it around for 20 – 30 seconds and throw the strained water away as this is just to clean the tea.
- 3
Fill the pot up with the remaining water (around 4 cups) and place on the heat. Add the sugar. It sounds like a lot of sugar but it counteracts the bitterness of the tea. The timing of the sugar is important as adding it at this stage it will undergo a process similar to caramelisation which is key to the characteristic sweet taste of the tea. Give it a good stir. Heat until around 90 degrees – do not boil as this will oxidise and cause bitterness.
- 4
Remove from the heat and add the first cup (the spirit) back into the pot. Add a large bunch of mint. Let it sit for a few minutes.
- 5
Pour the tea into a warmed pot and pour back three times. This aerates the tea making it more aromatic and makes the sediments fall to the bottom. Place a few mint leaves in each glass and pour the tea from a height to create a slight foam into a glass.
- 6
Note: A gradual change in taste occurs with each glass as the sugar is added at the beginning of the tea making process and not separately in each glass as is usual with other teas.
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