Moroccan mint tea is a simple yet refreshing blend of green tea and fresh mint leaves, lightly sweetened for a perfect balance.
It’s a fragrant and flavorful tea that’s perfect for unwinding or sharing with friends.
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TL;DR
We have long been enjoying a cup of freshly brewed Moroccan mint tea at home, and our love for this herbal brew only increased over the years.
This tea is commonly prepared in the Maghreb region in Northern Africa, in Morocco, Algeria, Mauritania and other neighboring countries.
Fresh Moroccan mint is left to steep in boiling water with dried green tea leaves. The result is a pure herbal tea.
Ingredient Notes
- Green Tea — In the Maghreb, gunpowder green tea is used, but a good quality green tea of your choosing is fine too.
- Mint — Fresh mint leaves. Look out for the Moroccan mint variety (spearmint called nana) and use that if possible.
- Water
- Sugar
Process Overview
Step 1
Boil water. Place the green tea into a small bowl, and pour a small quantity of boiled water over the green tea.
Steep briefly and then strain the tea leaves, discarding the infused water with the bitter tea-leaf flavors.
Step 2
Place the wet green tea leaves into your serving tea pot.
Pour boiling water over your tea leaves.
Step 3
Stir in sugar and pack the fresh clean mint leaves into the tea pot. Make sure the mint leaves are submerged.
Step 4
Allow the tea to steep for a few minutes, and then serve hot.
📖 Recipe
Fresh Moroccan Mint Tea Recipe
Instructions
- Place the green tea leaves into a small bowl and pour a small quantity of hot boiling water over the tea leaves. Briefly steep and then strain the leaves and discard the liquid. This process helps in removing some bitterness from the tea leaves.2 Teaspoon Green tea
- Place the wet green tea leaves into the tea pot with the sugar and boiled water. Mix with a wooden spoon.2 Teaspoon Green tea, 3½ Cups Water, 2-3 Tablespoon Sugar
- Push the bunch of fresh mint leaves into the tea pot and make sure they are submerged.Bunch Mint Leaves
- Allow to steep a few minutes to release the flavors.
- Pour tea into small glasses and serve hot.
Nutrition
Tips
- Rinsing the green tea leaves first in hot water helps to remove some bitterness. This is technically an Asian tradition, but this trick will help you prepare a more homogeneous pot of tea.
- The mint leaves are never boiled in water, as this would destroy the tender flavors of this tea. Just steep the mint and green tea in boiling hot water.
- The people in the Maghreb region traditionally don't stir the mint leaves in the tea pot with a metal spoon. I recommend using a wooden spoon instead.
- You can use a Moroccan tea pot for the process or any other large enough tea pot. I recommend a tea pot with a filter so that the leaves don't clog the spout.
- You can try different flavor variations by adding some other herbs with the mint, such as lemon verbena or lemon balm herb.
Serving
Interestingly, there are a few customs when serving and drinking this tea.
The traditional serving tea pots in the Maghreb have a long curved pouring spout which helps in pouring the tea evenly into the small glasses.
The higher you hold the tea pot to pour into the glasses, the better. Little foamy bubbles form on the surface of the tea, and that's usually a good sign.
Pouring it from a distance helps in aerating and cooling the tea. They generally use small colorful glasses so that the tea cools down faster.
Each person typically gets about 3 rounds served, and they enjoy this herbal tea all day long.
FAQs
Skip adding the green tea if you want to make this Maghrebi tea without caffeine, but then it's not a proper Moroccan mint tea anymore. Green tea mostly doesn't contain as much caffeine compared to black tea.
For a cold, iced version, follow the preparation as per instruction. Infuse the tea for at least 5 minutes, then strain and leave the infusion aside to cool. Place into your fridge and cool it further there. Serve cold as is or with the addition of ice cubes.
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