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Moroccan Mint Tea
Gunpowder green tea rinsed, steeped and poured from a height over fresh mint and sugar until every small glass wears a crown of foam. In Morocco it is poured for guests at any hour — after iftar it settles the stomach and stretches the evening.
Drinks · Morocco · Ready in 15 minutes · Serves 4
Moroccan Mint Tea comes from Morocco and belongs on the drinks table. The quantities below are written for 4 servings and scale cleanly: double them for a family iftar or halve them for a quiet suhoor for two, keeping the proportions — and especially the seasoning — in the same balance. It is tagged hot, ceremony, after-iftar.
Hydration is the quiet work of Ramadan evenings, and a proper Ramadan drink does more than quench thirst: it restores, refreshes and gives the table something festive between Maghrib and taraweeh. Serve it cold, in generous glasses, and keep a jug ready for refills.
Timing matters in a Ramadan kitchen, and this recipe asks for 15 minutes from start to finish. That makes it a genuine last-minute option: you can begin after the Maghrib adhan is close, or at suhoor when every extra minute of sleep counts, and still sit down on time. For a gathering, multiply every quantity by the number of guests divided by 4, round spices down very slightly on large batches, and taste before serving — big pots season differently from small ones.
Make the drink ahead and chill it thoroughly — a Ramadan drink served merely cool is a disappointment on a fasting table. Stir before pouring, taste for sweetness after chilling (cold dulls sweetness slightly), and set out extra glasses: drinks disappear faster than any dish at iftar. Anything remaining keeps a day in the fridge, covered.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp gunpowder green tea
- 25 g fresh mint
- 4 tbsp sugar
- 800 ml boiling water
- 5 piece lemon verbena leaves (optional)
- 0.25 tsp orange blossom water (optional)
Method
- Put the tea in a teapot, pour over a glass of boiling water, swirl for 30 seconds and pour that rinsing water away — this washes off the bitterness.
- Add the mint sprigs, the verbena leaves if using, and the sugar to the pot, and fill with the remaining boiling water.
- Set over low heat and bring just to a simmer for 2–3 minutes; do not let it boil hard. Stir in the orange blossom water at the end if you like a floral note.
- Pour one glass from a height to create foam, then return it to the pot — repeat twice; this mixes the tea and builds the famous crown.
- Taste and adjust the sugar, then pour all the glasses from a height and serve immediately.
Tips
- The pour is functional, not theatre: it aerates the tea, cools it slightly and creates the foam that signals a well-made pot.
- In winter, Moroccans add wormwood or verbena leaves alongside the mint for a deeper flavour.