Moroccan tea culture
Encyclopedia
Tea
Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by adding cured leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant to hot water. The term also refers to the plant itself. After water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world...
(exclusively green tea
Green tea
Green tea is made solely from the leaves of Camellia sinensis that have undergone minimal oxidation during processing. Green tea originates from China and has become associated with many cultures throughout Asia. It has recently become more widespread in the West, where black tea is traditionally...
) is prepared and consumed in Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
, where it is widely consumed with food. The tradition has also spread throughout North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
, parts of the Sahel
Sahel
The Sahel is the ecoclimatic and biogeographic zone of transition between the Sahara desert in the North and the Sudanian Savannas in the south.It stretches across the North African continent between the Atlantic Ocean and the Red Sea....
, and southern Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. Tea occupies a very important place in Moroccan culture
Culture of Morocco
Morocco is a country of multi-ethnic groups with a rich culture, civilization, and etiquette. Through Moroccan history, Morocco hosted many people in addition to the indigenous Berbers, coming from both East , South and North . All of which have had an impact on the social structure of Morocco...
and is considered an art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
form. Morocco is one of the biggest tea importers of the world.
Moroccan mint tea is a green tea
Green tea
Green tea is made solely from the leaves of Camellia sinensis that have undergone minimal oxidation during processing. Green tea originates from China and has become associated with many cultures throughout Asia. It has recently become more widespread in the West, where black tea is traditionally...
with mint leaves.
Moroccan-style mint tea is now commonly served all through the West Arab World
Maghreb
The Maghreb is the region of Northwest Africa, west of Egypt. It includes five countries: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Mauritania and the disputed territory of Western Sahara...
(North Africa). It is served not only at mealtimes but all through the day, and it is especially a drink of hospitality, commonly served whenever there are guests. Unlike Moroccan food, cooked by women, this tea is traditionally a man's affair: prepared by the head of the family. It is served to guests, and it is impolite to refuse it.
Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
, Tunisia
Tunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
and Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
, countries where it is most often drunk, consume respectively 1.4, 1.5 and 0.7 kg of tea
Tea
Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by adding cured leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant to hot water. The term also refers to the plant itself. After water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world...
yearly per capita.
Origins
It is believed that green tea was first introduced to Morocco in the 18th century, and began spreading through the country in the mid-19th century at the time the trade between the MaghrebMaghreb
The Maghreb is the region of Northwest Africa, west of Egypt. It includes five countries: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Mauritania and the disputed territory of Western Sahara...
and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
started flourishing. It is reported that Sultan Moulay Ismail received many bags of tea and sugar as gifts and recompenses given by European envoys in order to release European prison
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
ers.
The main provider of tea to Morocco remains China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
. According to the Moroccan trade ministry, Morocco imported more than $56 million worth of Chinese tea
Chinese tea
The practice of drinking tea has had a long history in China, having originated there. The Chinese drink tea during many parts of the day such as during meals for good health or for simple pleasure.-History:...
during the first half of 2006. Morocco is considered the first importer of Chinese green tea
Green tea
Green tea is made solely from the leaves of Camellia sinensis that have undergone minimal oxidation during processing. Green tea originates from China and has become associated with many cultures throughout Asia. It has recently become more widespread in the West, where black tea is traditionally...
worldwide.
Preparation
The method of preparation of atai is relatively complex and varies from region to region. It is normally sweeter in the north of Morocco than in the south, and in some places, pine nutPine nut
Pine nuts are the edible seeds of pines . About 20 species of pine produce seeds large enough to be worth harvesting; in other pines the seeds are also edible, but are too small to be of great value as a human food....
s are added. In the winter, if mint is rare, sometimes leaves of wormwood
Artemisia absinthium
Artemisia absinthium is a species of wormwood, native to temperate regions of Eurasia and northern Africa....
(chiba or sheeba in Moroccan Arabic) are substituted for (or used to complement) the mint, giving the tea a distinctly bitter flavor. Lemon Verbena
Lemon verbena
Aloysia citrodora is a species of flowering plant in the verbena family, Verbenaceae, that is native to Argentina, Paraguay, Brazil, Uruguay, Chile, Bolivia, and Peru. Common names include Lemon Verbena and Lemon Beebrush. It was brought to Europe by the Spanish in the 17th...
(louiza in Moroccan) is also used to give it a lemony flavor.
Gunpowder tea
Gunpowder tea is a form of green Chinese tea produced in Zhejiang Province of China in which each leaf has been rolled into a small round pellet. It is believed to take its English name from the fact that the tea resembles blackpowder grains...
variety imported from China. A simple and practical method runs as follows:
- In a teapot, combine two teaspoons of tea-leaf with half a litre of boiling water. Allow it to steep for at least fifteen minutes.
- Without stirring, filter the mixture into a different stainless steel pot, so that the tea leaves and coarse powder are removed.
- Add sugar (about one teaspoon per decilitre).
- Bring to boil over a medium heat. This important step in the preparation process allows the sugar to undergo hydrolysisHydrolysisHydrolysis is a chemical reaction during which molecules of water are split into hydrogen cations and hydroxide anions in the process of a chemical mechanism. It is the type of reaction that is used to break down certain polymers, especially those made by condensation polymerization...
, giving the tea its distinctive taste.
- If desired, add fresh mint leaves to the teapot or directly to the cup. Remember to remove the mint within two minutes, as it can give some people acid reflux.
Nowadays many Moroccans choose to drink green tea without mint because of health concerns related to the large quantities of pesticides used in mint cultivation.
Traditionally the tea is served three times, and the amount of time the tea has been steeping gives each of the three glasses of tea a unique flavor, described in this famous proverb:
| Le premier verre est aussi amer que la vie, le deuxième est aussi fort que l'amour, le troisième est aussi doux que la mort. |
The first glass is as bitter as life, the second glass is as strong as love, the third glass is as gentle as death. |