Thursday, August 28, 2008

Recipe: Moroccan Mint Tea

I just returned from a trip to Casablanca, Morocco; Matemwe and Stone Town, Zanzibar; and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

In Casablanca everyone seems to be drinking thé à la menthe marocain all day. It's wonderful, and I could easily drink it all day, too. I saw shopkeepers making cups of it for other neighboring shopkeepers in the middle of the afternoon, and it was available everywhere and every time I had a meal.

Moroccan Mint Tea (Thé à la Menthe Marocain)

1 big bunch fresh mint leaves (remove from stems)
3 tsp green tea leaves (they seemed to be using Chinese gunpowder tea)
3 tbsp sweetener (I've been making it with raw turbinado sugar; Whole Foods makes it with agave syrup; in Morocco they were using white cane sugar)
~4 C water
Boil water. Add some hot water to the empty teapot and swish a few times to warm the teapot, then pour out the warming water. Put the mint leaves - reserving 4 for garnishing later - and the tea into the teapot, add the sweetener, pour the rest of the hot water over the leaves and sweetener, and muddle a little bit. Brew, covered, stirring once or twice, for 5 minutes. Pour the tea (through a strainer if necessary) into tea glasses to serve. Garnish with remaining mint leaves.

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