Traditional Moroccan Mint Tea: Try This Authentic Recipe! (2024)

Authentic Moroccan mint tea made with fresh nana mint (spearmint) and Chinese gunpowder tea is a deliciously sweet and refreshing beverage. In Morocco, it’s an important part of the culture and social life, and it has become common throughout North Africa.

So go ahead, read this guide, and try my recipe for traditional Moroccan mint tea!

Mint is definitely one of my favorite herbs. I love its aroma and fresh taste, and it can be used in many beverages and dishes. In addition, it’s known for its many health benefits including improved digestion, helping with colds, and preventing nausea and stress.

The Tradition of Mint Tea in Morocco

Hot herbal teas made with mint, sage, and other ingredients have been consumed in Morocco for thousands of years. However, these infusions did not include sugar or green tea. It’s not known when exactly green tea was introduced to Morocco, but it was probably during the 17th or 18th century.

What is sure, is that today tea is the most beloved drink for Moroccans, and the day usually starts and ends with it. And it’s not just any tea, but the famous Moroccan mint tea, which is often consumed by people from all social classes.

It’s also a symbol of hospitality and is almost always served to guests, with or without food. Especially in the Maghreb area, it is a central part of social life and the serving of the tea often takes a ceremonial form.

Ingredients

Gunpowder tea from China is usually preferred for making the Moroccan tea. It consists of dried and compressed tea leaves that are in the form of pellets. You can order it from Amazon at a very affordable price.

In addition to the gunpowder tea, you need a generous amount of fresh nana mint.

Nana mint, also known as Mentha spicata, is the Moroccan variety of spearmint.

But you can very well use the normal spearmint found in most groceries. In addition, you could add a small amount of sage, thyme, lemon verbena, or various other herbs, if you wish to do so.

If you don’t have fresh mint available you can also use dried mint, or for example a ready-made Moroccan mint tea blend. You can find some great mint tea products in this guide.

Then there is one more important thing, and that is, of course, sugar!

Moroccans use a lot of it, but if you don’t want to use sugar, you can leave it out or replace it with raw organic honey (or stevia, etc.)

Equipment

All you need to prepare some delicious Moroccan mint tea is a teapot and some cups or glasses to serve it.

However, to prepare an authentic Moroccan tea experience, you’ll need a Moroccan teapot and tea glasses. If you get a proper set, you can really surprise your guests when serving them the tea!

You can order a Handmade Moroccan Silver Plated Teapot and a Set of 6 Moroccan Tea Glasses from Amazon.

How to Prepare Moroccan Mint Tea

There are many different ways to prepare Moroccan mint tea depending on the region and preference. The one I will introduce here is one of the traditional ways.

Here is a great video instruction about making Moroccan mint tea (the method is a bit different than what I described above):

How to Serve It

Now your tea is ready to be served. You will need small glasses for the tea since it’s very strong and sweet and will be sipped slowly. You can add some fresh mint sprigs to the glasses for extra flavor and visual appeal.

The tea should be poured from an arm’s length above the glass to achieve a nice foam on top. Don’t pour the glasses full, about two-thirds is a good amount.

Moroccan mint tea can be served at any time of the day. It can be enjoyed just as it is, or with dried fruits and sweet pastries. It’s also common to serve it with a meal.

Alternative Versions of Moroccan Mint Tea

I recommend that you try the traditional way of making and serving Moroccan mint tea at least once. It is a nice experience, and I’m sure that you will enjoy it!

However, I understand that many people might want to avoid consuming too much sugar. So you can lessen the amount of sugar, use organic raw honey instead, or leave the sweetener out completely.

Also, if you don’t have the necessary equipment, a Moroccan teapot with a built-in strainer, and suitable small glasses for serving the tea, you could try it first in a Moroccan restaurant. Or you can use a regular teapot and pour the tea into the glasses through a separate strainer. If you don’t have fresh mint at hand, you can make it with dried mint.

Egyptian Mint Tea

Egyptian mint tea, while similar to the Moroccan version, often does not include green tea. It’s usually just fresh mint leaves and perhaps other herbs, steeped in hot water, with or without sugar. The focus is more on the mint flavor rather than the combination of mint and green tea.

This tea tends to be more straightforwardly minty and can be less sweet, especially if sugar isn’t added. The absence of green tea makes it a purely herbal drink.

Adding More Herbs

As mentioned earlier, you can add several other herbs into the tea as the Berbers from the High Atlas mountains are accustomed to.

When adding the mint, you can also add almost any herb you feel like could fit in: sage, thyme, marjoram, wormwood, or your local wild herbs.

Iced Mint Tea

One great option closely associated with Moroccan mint tea is the Spanish version of it. It is basically the same tea, but it is chilled and served as an iced tea during a hot day. You can also add a dash of lemon or lime juice for extra freshness!

I hope this recipe inspired you to try and prepare traditional Moroccan mint tea. Remember that you can always modify it to suit your preferences. Mint is a delicious herb with many health benefits, and you can also prepare fresh mint tea without any sweeteners.

I really enjoy having some sweet Moroccan mint tea after a home-cooked North African or Middle Eastern type meal.

Another one of my favorite ways of enjoying mint tea on a hot day is by making it into an iced tea with lime juice and just a little bit of honey. So refreshing!

After trying out this recipe, please post a review below. Any other comments and questions are also welcome.

Ps.If you liked my Moroccan mint tea recipe, please share it with your friends as well. Thanks!

Enjoy your tea!

-Joonas