Got fresh mint? Make this easy Moroccan Mint Tea, a refreshing North African-inspired green tea made from gunpowder green tea and fresh mint.
As with most places that I’ve travelled, the food in Morocco stands out as the most memorable part of my trip years ago. And while I wish I could say it was the tagine or couscous that still defines my memories there, the food poisoning I had for most of the trip gets in the way of that.
But between my time spent worshipping the porcelain thrones (and less royal squat toilets) of Marrakech, there was one thing that became my saving grace…Moroccan mint tea!
For the uninitiated, Moroccan mint tea, or Maghrebi mint tea, is a simple yet refreshing tea that’s commonly served in the region. It is often ceremonial, being served 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!
Moroccan Mint Tea Ingredients
- 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: Fresh spearmint, which is the type of mint most commonly found in gardens and supermarkets, is the mint of choice here.
- Sugar: White table sugar is the most common sweetener for this tea, though you can substitute honey or agave.
- Water: Bring it all together with boiling water!
How to Make Moroccan Mint Tea
There are two ways of making Moroccan mint tea: the traditional way and the single-serving way. Here’s how to make them both!
To make traditional Moroccan mint tea you’ll need a tea pot, preferably with a built in strainer.
- Boil: Boil water in a kettle or pot.
- Clean: Add gunpowder green tea leaves to your teapot, then add enough boiling water to cover the leaves. Swirl it around then strain and discard the water. This cleans the leaves.
- 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.
To make Moroccan mint tea without a pot you’ll need a tea infuser.
- Boil: Boil water in a kettle or pot.
- Clean: Add gunpowder green tea leaves to your tea infuser. Fill a serving glass with a little boiling water, then dip the tea infuser into the water for a few seconds. Discard the water – this cleans the leaves.
- Steep: Fill serving glass with 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.
Variations on this mint tea
Don’t have gunpowder green tea? Feel free to use the same amount of loose leaf green tea in its place, or 1 green tea bag for every 1 teaspoon of loose leaf tea. Or simply nix the green tea altogether and make Fresh Mint Tea.
Make it iced! To make iced Moroccan mint tea, simply move the finished steeped tea to the refrigerator to chill for 1 to 2 hours, then serve over ice.
Love Mint?
You’ll also love these fresh mint-filled recipes!
- Mint Chocolate Popsicles
- Easy Tabbouleh Salad
- Mint Mojito Kombucha
- Bulgur Salad with Feta and Pomegranate
- Grilled Watermelon Salad
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.
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