We’ve discussed my predilection for caffeine addiction before, which is why I find it somewhat amusing that the latest drink that has sucked me in isn’t caffeinated (which means I can drink it at home in the evening, heh heh … )
I still haven’t managed to get through my photos from Morocco yet — Spain is uploaded, but I’m not going to make them that easy for you to find yet — so the photo above isn’t one I shot, but I do have photos from a tea break. Like the rest of the Arab world, Moroccans drink tea so loaded down with sugar that anyone I know who’s an afficionado of the “delicate” tea drinking cultures like Japan or China turns slightly green with nausea at the thought, but unlike the countries of the mashriq (“east” — in this case the Fertile Crescent or countries of the eastern Mediterranean) the Moroccans got access to Chinese green tea and added whole sprigs of mint.
The result is a delightfully refreshing after-meal concoction that’s sweet and minty and not overly strong, and moreover, it’s decaf, which means you can safely drink it after any meal and not worry about losing sleep, which you definitely can’t do with black tea or Arab/Turkish/Greek coffee. In fact, I have to stop drinking those around 11 am if I want to get any sleep anymore, as I’m ever so slightly more sensitive to caffeine in my old age.
I bought some green tea at the supermarket last weekend and this morning I remember to put a few bags in my lunchbox and went out to the garden and clipped some fresh mint. My garden, at the moment, is experiencing the War of the Herbs — I’ve got a gigantic bush of rosemary attempting to take over one end, while the mint guerilla warriors are making serious inroads on the other end. Eventually they’re going to meet and probably destroy the oleander between them in the process.
It’s ever so simple to make Moroccan Mint Tea. If you’re inclined, here’s a simple recipe:
1 bag green tea (if you have the choice, choose Chinese instead of Japanese)
1 or 2 sprigs of fresh spearmint (leaves on)
2 cubes of sugar
boiling water
Note that no self-respecting Moroccan would serve tea in anything other than a clear glass. Boiling water goes in mug, add mint sprigs (whole) and tea bag. The tea bag only needs to steep for a couple of minutes, and then you leave the mint in while you drink (add the sugar first). It’s a little weird having to push the mint out of the way at first, but it’s a real conversation starter, just like this conversation that I just started. (Not to mention it helps you control the mint that’s overrunning your garden … because if you have mint in your garden, it’s overrunning it. That’s just what mint does.)
I can sit inside and pretend I’m back in Morocco … where it was 75 degrees, instead of the high 90s. Sigh.
At least it’s Friday!
