Green tea, with mint, spearmint… there are many ways to call the most popular drink of Morocco, with which we will be receive in many places, as a sign of respect and hospitality abroad.

Ourselves will, more than once, make a stop on our way to give rest to our throat and quench the thirst. However, more than a practical function, the tourist evokes with this simple act, a moment of pleasure, almost of spiritual tranquility, repeating an action that evokes moments of ceremony and mysticism of far eastern tales.

However the history of the traditional drink of Morocco is, in fact, fairly recent, as it does not begin until the 19th century, when the British introduced in the Maghreb the Indian tea from its colonies, in an attempt to search new markets.

Certainly those Victorian English got the success they sought… and much more. Few of them would have imagined the success the Indian herb roots would have in the Arab countries.

Westerners love this Moroccan tea ceremony, in which the small balls of green tea are introduced into the solemn silver teapots, to soon be open in contact with boiling water.

The first water is throwed away to ‘wash’ the tea and remove the bitter momentum of its nature. Then they add a good amount of sugar and spearmint leaves, to flood again the kettle and make the delicious liquid that promotes human relationships and the fraternization with the newcomer.

Accompany the drink with exquisite Moroccan sweets, product of one of the oldest and most delicious pastries in the world. ¡Salam aleikum!

Creative Commons Image: Flickr/rafaparadela