Mint Tea

My first experience with mint tea in Morocco was at the restaurant we visited for our first dinner together. As the man lifted the teapot high above his head and poured it into our cups, I thought it was all just for show. Later on, I learned that while his performance was a little dramatized, lifting the teapot up higher serves a purpose. We all know now that doing this creates bubbles at the surface of the tea. When I inquired about this at Dar Gnaoua in Khamlia, one of our drummer friends told me that it simply isn't tea without the bubbles.

The ritual of having tea with people became for me a sort of comforting constant. In Rabat, whenever our host mother broke out the teapot, we all smiled together because we knew it was something we were all familiar with and enjoyed. I was also quite amazed that hosts never seemed intimidated by the number of guests when it came to preparing tea and snacks to go along with it. Throughout the trip, we were told many times that Moroccan families are very accommodating when it comes to guests and having extended family or friends stay overnight, While we never slept in large numbers in a family home, the act of having tea together was enough to demonstrate the generosity of hosts.

I also remember the first time we visited a cafe after learning how to order coffee and tea in Arabic class. The smile on the waiter's face as some of us stumbled over the words was priceless. I don't think he was laughing at us. I believe it was the typical appreciation that someone shows when another person makes the effort to learn their language.

Something as simple as tea was, therefore, a means of making deeper connections with people. It was a conversation starter, a reason to smile and laugh together, and something we could count on wherever we went.