24th October, 2008: A Look Into Moroccan Tea Culture
Moroccan tea preparation (called Atai) is extremely unique. While many tea drinkers prefer some amount of sweetener in their tea, Moroccans take it to a whole different level. In most tea preparations, “A large quantity of hard sugar cones or lumps (5 tea spoons for every spoon of tea) is used”. This obviously produces an extremely sweet tea. Along with the sugar, mint is also added to the tea for extra flavor. Morocco is considered the number one importer of Green Tea from China and it is used routinely as their tea of choice.
To begin the tea drinking session, the tea is boiled in a special style of teapot that has a long, arched spout. After it is boiled for some time, the sugar and mint are added. Once the tea is ready to be served, it is poured out of the teapot roughly two feet above the glass. This results in a foam layer that builds at the top. It is also not uncommon for the tea to be poured back into the pot once or twice for the process to be repeated to combine all the flavors even better.
Bigelow offers a few different kinds of teas that can give you a taste of the Moroccan tea experience. A Green Tea with Mint, a Plantation Mint Tea and a Caffeine Free Moroccan Mint Tea are just some of the varieties offered.
For a live demonstration, check out this YouTube video: Moroccan Tea Preparation.
Posted by Ross at 6:00 am |
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This is great! I would love to see more video blogs showing different cultural uses of tea!
Comment by Darcy — October 27, 2008 @ 12:08 pm