Mint tea (atay b'naânaâ)
Chinese green tea brewed strong with a large handful of fresh mint and plenty of sugar, poured from a great height to crown it with fine foam. Served piping hot in small glasses, in three successive services that grow progressively sweeter.
Chinese green tea brewed strong with a large handful of fresh mint and plenty of sugar, poured from a great height to crown it with fine foam. Served piping hot in small glasses, in three successive services that grow progressively sweeter.
Come, sit down, don't refuse: in our home we don't discuss, we don't reconcile, we don't even rebel without a glass of tea in hand. I pack the green tea, I rinse it once to remove bitterness, then I marry it to a whole bunch of mint and a sugar cone. Pour from high, higher still, so the foam forms — that's what we call the tea's shirt. In Kenitra, believe me, a single one of those glasses was worth all the freedoms outside.
- •Chinese green tea (gunpowder) — a generous pinch (base)
- •Fresh spearmint (naânaâ) — a generous bunch (flavor)
- •Sugar cone — to taste, abundant (sweetness)
- •Boiling spring water — one teapotful (infusion)
Mint tea (atay b'naânaâ)
Chinese green tea brewed strong with a large handful of fresh mint and plenty of sugar, poured from a great height to crown it with fine foam. Served piping hot in small glasses, in three successive services that grow progressively sweeter.
Why this dish? Mint tea accompanies all of Laâbi's Moroccan life: the Fez medina of his childhood, the long discussions of the journal Souffles, and even the rare and precious gesture of a glass of tea snatched from the grayness of detention. It is the drink of friendship and quiet resistance.
Come, sit down, don't refuse: in our home we don't discuss, we don't reconcile, we don't even rebel without a glass of tea in hand. I pack the green tea, I rinse it once to remove bitterness, then I marry it to a whole bunch of mint and a sugar cone. Pour from high, higher still, so the foam forms — that's what we call the tea's shirt. In Kenitra, believe me, a single one of those glasses was worth all the freedoms outside.
Ingredients (period version)
- Chinese green tea (gunpowder) — a generous pinch (base)
- Fresh spearmint (naânaâ) — a generous bunch (flavor)
- Sugar cone — to taste, abundant (sweetness)
- Boiling spring water — one teapotful (infusion)
Ingredients
- Gunpowder green tea — 1 tbsp (base)
- Fresh mint — 1 large bunch (flavor)
- Sugar — 4 to 6 lumps (sweetness)
- Water — 50 cl (infusion)
Method
- Scald the teapot, add the tea and a splash of boiling water; swirl and discard this first water to remove bitterness.
- Add the sugar and the mint, well packed, then fill with boiling water.
- Let steep 3 to 4 minutes over low heat without letting the mint boil too long.
- Pour a first glass, pour it back into the teapot to mix, then fill the glasses by pouring from a height to create foam.
How it was made : Green tea arrived massively in Morocco in the 19th century through English trade; married to local mint and sugar, it became within a few generations the national drink and the quintessential welcoming rite. The three services were said to be "gentle as life, strong as love, bitter as death."
The contemporary twist : A dash of orange blossom water or a few leaves of wormwood (chiba) in winter, for a tea that warms reading evenings.
Abdellatif Laâbi · Charactorium