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Learning how to make Moroccan mint tea is the experience and recipe every home cook didn’t know they needed. Made with just 4 simple ingredients, this North African-inspired tea is simple to make and perfect for cold or warm days.
save this recipe!As with most places I’ve traveled, the food in Morocco stands out as the most memorable part of my trip years ago (the spices inspired my drool-worthy Moroccan Chickpea Bowls!). For the uninitiated, Moroccan mint tea, or Maghrebi mint tea, is a simple yet refreshing tea commonly served in the region. It is often ceremonial and serves as a gesture of hospitality to guests.
Today I’m showing you how to make an inspired version of this minty tea in a method more suited for most Western kitchens, using pared-down supplies and creating a single-serving option. For an authentic version of this Moroccan mint tea, be sure to try this recipe from Safa at Moroccan Zest!
Here’s what you’ll need
- Gunpowder Green Tea: A Chinese-style tea in which the leaf has been rolled into a small round ball resembling gunpowder (buy it online here).
- Fresh Mint: The mint of choice here is fresh spearmint, which is most commonly found in gardens and supermarkets.
- Sugar and Water: White table sugar is the most common sweetener for this tea, though you can substitute honey or agave. Finally, bring it all together with boiling water!
a note about herbs
The basic tea recipe just uses mint, and I’ve chosen spearmint due to its slightly sweet nature. However, while traveling, I learned that most households have their own unique mint tea recipes. They might use peppermint and/or spearmint or add other herbs like sage or orange blossoms, depending on the season. You can test a few combinations to see what you enjoy most.
Enjoy a glass, or 3
When drinking this tea, the tradition is to drink three glasses, and the flavor changes as it steeps longer. This ritual comes from a Moroccan proverb that says:
“The first glass is as bitter as life,
The second glass is as strong as love,
The third is as gentle as death.”
So, I highly recommend enjoying an extra cup to get the most flavor and two extra cups to get the full experience.
How To Make Moroccan Mint Tea
Ingredients
Traditional Moroccan Mint Tea (serves 4)
- 4 tsp gunpowder green tea
- 5 cups water, 1.2 L
- 4 tsp sugar
- 4 sprigs mint
Single-serving (serves 1)
- 1 tsp gunpowder green tea
- 1 ½ cups water, 350 mL
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 sprigs mint
Instructions
Traditional Moroccan Mint Tea
- Boil: Boil water in a kettle or pot.
- Clean: Add gunpowder green tea leaves to your teapot, then add 1 cup of boiling water to cover the leaves. Swirl it around then strain and discard the water.
- Steep: To your teapot with the cleaned gunpowder green tea leaves, add fresh mint and sugar. Fill the pot with remaining boiling water, allowing tea to steep for 5 minutes.
- Serve: Pour tea into serving glasses from a height, which creates a frothy “head” on top of each glass.
Single-Serving Moroccan Mint Tea
- Boil: Boil water in a kettle or pot.
- Clean: Add gunpowder green tea leaves to your tea infuser. Fill a serving glass with ½ cup of boiling water, then dip the tea infuser into the water for a few seconds. Discard the water.
- Steep: Fill serving glass with remaining hot water, then add the infuser filled with the cleaned gunpowder green tea leaves, along with fresh mint and sugar. Let tea steep for 5 minutes. Before enjoying.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information calculated by Sarah Bond, degreed nutritionist.
did you make this?Leave a comment below and tag @liveeatlearn on social media! I love seeing what you’ve made!
