A few years ago my daughter Eve and I were fortunate enough to be able to travel to Spain and Portugal and have in our itinerary an added excursion by ferry to Morocco. To this day I can still envision the tea house in Tangier where we sat at a low table sipping hot sweet mint tea from tall thin ornate glasses while enjoying the instrumental music of local musicians dressed in their flowing Moroccan attire.

• My daughter Eve and I overlooking the Mediterranean on the northern coast of Africa right before we go into Tangier, Morocco
• Musicians performing in the tea house in Tangier
• A traditional Moroccan tea service

With the current summer days of extreme heat and brief spurts of torrential rain, I’ve still been trying to grow spearmint plants right outside my kitchen door again this year although without the success of the past. Keep reading and permit me to share with you my Moroccan-Style Mint Tea. I say “Moroccan-Style” because I would not pretend that it has the same preparation as traditional Moroccan Mint Tea.

Just a couple of spearmint plants in my “Kitchen Garden” when they start. But they quickly regenerate to fill the entire container, giving me plenty of leaves for making mint tea.

My creation is close enough to what I remember to steer my mind back to the narrow streets of the old quarter of the city of Tangier in northern Africa and back to my first smell and taste ever of Moroccan Mint Tea. Maybe you will want to try the following recipe for yourself! If it is too sweet for your taste buds or has too many calories, adjust the amount of sugar as you see fit!

Moroccan-Style Mint Tea Recipe

Ingredients

2 1/3 cups water
2 individual size green tea bags
3 tablespoons sugar
a handful of fresh spearmint, washed

Preparation

1) Bring 4 2/3 cups of water to a boil in a pan on the stove. Transfer 2 1/3 cups of the hot water to your china teapot (this is the amount my china teapot holds) in order to heat up the teapot and hold it hot while preparing the mint tea.

2) Add green tea bags to the remaining hot water in the pan and allow to steep for 5 minutes.

3) Remove tea bags from pan of water, stir in sugar and bring water back up to the boiling point so sugar is completely dissolved.

4) Add spearmint leaves and allow to steep another 5 minutes. Then remove tea leaves but don’t discard.

5) Empty teapot of plain water and pour in hot tea.

6) Place tea leaves in strainer of teapot and serve tea hot.

7) Add a small sprig of fresh mint, if you wish, to each individual teacup or tea glass. Now breathe in deeply the distinct spearmint aroma. And take a sip of pure tea enjoyment!

Moroccan-Style Mint Tea Recipe and Photos
Connie Carlisle Polley, 2020-2025
ConnieCarlislePolley.com
NonnyDay.com

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