Tunisia / Morocco / Algeria / Liberia – Maghrebi Mint Tea

by Yushra Mughal

DISH DESCRIPTION

Maghrebi mint tea or Tunisian mint tea is an green tea which is prepared with spearmint leaves and sugar. It is then finished off by adding raw pine nuts in the glass and then the tea is poured over it. In the northwest Africa this tea is very famous and in countries like Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria different variations of this tea is made. In these regions this tea has its own taste. The best part of this tea is not its flavor but its essence. The sweet aromatic smell attracts a person towards it and refreshes the mind of a person whoever smells its essence. It is one of the best drinks which you can serve to your guests and in the middle eastern countries this drink is served as a hospitality drink. It is said that the head of the house pours this tea for its guests and also another fact that is there is that is served in a fancy pot as well. It is an totally healthy drink and a good way of representing yourself to the others and also a good way of starting your day. It is very east to make and more easy to enjoy.

HISTORY/ ORIGIN

There are many stories regarding the origin of this tea but the story which is deemed to be true is the one which took place in the 19th century in Morocco. It is of a merchant who was British and he used to sell at those times a tea called the Gunpowder Tea but he had no luck in selling those in the Northern Europe. As ports were closed in those time due to the Crimean War he came to Morocco and there this tea became famous. People inherited this drink and started their own variations of it by adding peppermint flavor to it and making it more sweet. From that point onwards up to now this tea has written its name in the history books and in the culinary world of the African cuisine.

There were other stories as well like the Arabs traders brought this dish or Queen Anne gave it as a gift but these stories don’t matter what matters is that this tea was brought into our lives and made our world better.

INGREDIENTS REQUIRED TO PREPARE THIS TEA

• Green tea 2 tbsp.

• Mint sprigs

• Pine nuts

• Sugar

STEPS TO MAKE THIS TEA

• Take the above amount of green tea and rinse it first of all.

• Then add it in a pan with water.

• Also add some sugar and mix the pan.

• Let it boil for some time and then add your mint sprigs.

• Let them boil for 5-8 minutes.
• Take a tea pot and pour all the mixture inside it.
• Your tea is ready at this point but we want to aerate it more so to do this we have to pour the tea in a glass and then pour it back in the pot.
• Repeat this process 3-4 times.
• Once done your tea is finally ready to serve.

STEPS TO PRESENT IT

• Take some pine nuts and add it into the glass.

• Pour your green tea into the glass and make sure it is hot.

• Serve the glasses.
• Enjoy

TIME REQUIRED

• PREPERATION TIME : 2-3 minutes
• COOKING TIME : 10 minutes
• TOTAL TIME : 12-13 minutes
• YIELDS : 7-8 servings

NUTRITION VALUE

• Calories 35
• Total Sugars  10g
• Total Carbohydrate  11g
• Protein  0g
• Total fat 0mg
• Sodium  0mg