Maghrebi mint tea
Green tea brewed with plenty of fresh spearmint and sugar, poured from a height into small glasses to form a foamy top. It is sweet, refreshing and a sign of welcome.
Tunisian Tea with pine nuts: sky#walker, CC BY-SA 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
Where it comes from
Mint tea is the national drink of Morocco and widely served in Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Western Sahara. Serving tea is a ritual of hospitality, and guests are usually offered three glasses.
Explore the cuisine of Morocco.
Recipe
Make Maghrebi mint tea at home
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp gunpowder green tea
- 1 large bunch fresh spearmint
- 3 to 4 tbsp sugar, to taste
- 4 cups boiling water
- Optional: a few pine nuts or a pinch of orange blossom water
- Small glasses
- A teapot
How it's made
- Put the tea leaves in the teapot and add a cup of boiling water; swirl for 30 seconds and pour off the liquid to rinse the leaves.
- Add the mint and sugar.
- Fill the pot with boiling water.
- Let it steep 3 to 5 minutes.
- Pour a glass and return it to the pot to mix.
- Pour from a height into small glasses to create foam.
- Serve hot.
Variations
- Sage tea: With sage in winter.
- Wormwood tea: Uses a bitter herb in place of mint.
- Pine nut mint tea: Pine nuts floating in the glass.
Cook’s tip: Pour from a height to aerate the tea, which gives it a pleasant foam and cools it slightly.
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About this page
Description and method written by Intercontinental Chef. Home-style method; quantities are a starting point, so adjust to taste.
Photo credit
- Tunisian Tea with pine nuts: sky#walker, CC BY-SA 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons)