Maghrebi mint tea

Lore & Background

Gunpowder tea was introduced into North Africa by the British in the 18th and 19th centuries via Morocco and Algeria. According to food historian Helen Saberi, the drinking of green tea infused with mint spread from Morocco to Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, and to nomadic tribes of Berbers and Tuareg in the Sahara. Sugar and tea arrived from Europe to the port of Essaouira, where Jewish merchants managed their passing through the interior of Morocco. James Richardson recorded a description of a Moroccan tea ceremony in the 1840s, noting that tea was drunk widely and all day long.

Tea consumption became associated with power and prestige in Morocco, and Ahmed Bin Mubarek, officer of Sultan Suleiman (r. 1792–1822), became the first mūl atay ('master of tea') in the Makhzen. After the Anglo-Moroccan Treaty of 1856 and during the Crimean War, tea imports quadrupled, but consumption remained an urban practice. Among urban populations, the tea ceremony became a symbol of status, while rural farmers used it to emulate the urban class. Tea spread further during the famines of the 1880s, when it served as an emergency calorie substitute and appetite suppressant. In the late 19th century, some Sufi orders told adherents not to drink tea, attempting to boycott European imports. By the early 20th century, mint tea was well established in Morocco.

Reader's Guide

Maghrebi mint tea is significant as a cultural and social cornerstone across the Maghreb, embodying hospitality and tradition. The serving often takes a ceremonial form, especially when prepared for a guest, and is traditionally made by the head male in the family. At least three glasses are served, each with a distinct flavor due to steeping time, described in a famous Maghrebi proverb: the first glass is as bitter as life, the second as strong as love, the third as soothing as death. The tea is consumed throughout the day as a social activity. Its preparation uses boiling water, unlike East Asian methods, and the leaves remain in the pot, changing flavor from glass to glass. The tea is poured from high above to aerate and swirl leaves. In winter, tree wormwood or lemon verbena may substitute for mint. The drink's legacy includes its spread from Morocco to other regions, its role in urban-rural dynamics, and its mention in popular culture, such as in Nass El Ghiwane's song 'Es-Siniya,' where the tea tray symbolizes migration hardships. The name 'atay' diverges from the typical Arabic 'shai,' possibly originating from the Dutch 'thee.'

Did You Know?

• The word for tea in Mauritania, Morocco, and Algeria is tay, atay, or lātāy, diverging from the typical Arabic shai; it may originate from the Dutch word thee.
• During the famines of the 1880s, tea consumption spread as an emergency calorie substitute and appetite suppressant.