Traditional Moroccan Tea Ceremony

teas.co.uk · 15 min · Serves 4

You'll need

• 4 Dragonfly Organic Moroccan Mint pyramid bags
• 600ml freshly drawn water (used at 80C, off boil and stood 2 minutes)
• A generous handful of fresh spearmint leaves, about 30g, bruised between the palms
• 4 to 5 tbsp golden caster sugar (Moroccan service is properly sweet)
• 1 tbsp pine nuts (optional, the traditional Maghrebi garnish)
• 4 small Moroccan tea glasses on a metal tray
• 1 small teapot of 700ml to 1L capacity, ideally a Moroccan tin pot

Method

1. Fill the kettle with freshly drawn cold water and bring to a true rolling boil, then take the kettle off the heat and let it stand for two full minutes to drop to 80C.
2. Rinse the teapot with hot water from the just boiled kettle to pre warm it, then tip the rinse water away. A pre warmed pot keeps the temperature steady through the multi glass service.
3. Take the fresh spearmint leaves in both palms and bruise them lightly by clapping the palms together once. This breaks the surface cells of the leaves and releases the spearmint oils into the steam.
4. Drop the 4 Dragonfly Moroccan Mint pyramids and the bruised fresh spearmint into the pre warmed teapot, then add the 4 tablespoons of golden caster sugar straight into the pot. The sugar belongs in the pot rather than each glass; this is how Moroccan service distributes the sweetness evenly.
5. Pour the 600ml of 80C water (now cooled from the two minute stand) over the bags, the mint and the sugar in the pot. Cover with the lid and leave to steep for four full minutes; longer than a single glass steep because the volume and the leaf load are both higher.
6. After four minutes, lift the bags from the pot with a teaspoon and discard. Leave the fresh mint leaves in the pot for the service.
7. Perform the back pour leaf washing step: pour one small glass from the pot, then immediately pour that glass back into the pot from a height. Repeat the back pour once more. This step mixes the sugar evenly through the pot and integrates the fresh mint and the bag character.
8. Set the four small Moroccan glasses on a metal tray (the tin tray is the traditional service vessel). Holding the teapot by its handle, raise the spout to a height of about thirty centimetres above each glass, and pour the brew in a steady stream from height into the glass.
9. The falling stream is what creates the small foam crown on top of each glass; pour gently but from height, into the centre of the glass, never against the side. The foam is the visual signal that the ceremony is done right.
10. Float a few pine nuts on the foam of each glass for the traditional Maghrebi garnish. Serve straight away. The Moroccan tradition serves the cup in three rounds from the same pot with a short re steep between each; for the second and third rounds, top up the pot with another 200ml of fresh 80C water and steep for two more minutes before the next pour.

Recipe: https://teas.co.uk/recipes/green tea/traditional moroccan tea ceremony/