Name: Moroccan Mint Tea
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 10 min
Yield: 2
Cuisine: Moroccan
Ingredients: bouquet of mint (+one sprig for each glass for serving); 2-4 tsp Gunpowder green tea; 2-4 tsp sugar; 400 ml water

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Moroccan mint tea is sweet, fragrant, and usually served piping hot. This is the Moroccan mint tea recipe my Moroccan husband taught me to make at home. Across North Africa, this beloved drink is known as Maghrebi mint tea, or atay bi nana, and it’s made by gently brewing green tea with fresh mint until the aroma fills the room. In this post, I’ll show you how to make Moroccan mint tea with simple ingredients, along with a few traditional tips for serving and enjoying it the way it’s done in Moroccan homes.

Moroccan tea set with Moroccan teapot and two tea glasses filled with mint sprigs and mint tea on a tray. Mint bush on the side of the tray and a blue tea tile as a pot coaster underneath the teapot.

My husband grew up drinking Moroccan mint tea daily, and when we visit his family in Morocco, a pot is almost always on the table. I will not lie, if I say that mint tea was brewed even three times a day.

Moroccan breakfast table with Moroccan mint tea, fruits, baked eggs, bread, and orange juice.

Watch How to Make Moroccan Mint Tea

Key Ingredients of Authentic Maghrebi Mint Tea

The traditional Moroccan mint tea, the staple of Moroccan Cuisine, has only four ingredients:

Mint (nana)
Green tea
Sugar
Water.

That’s it.

It is easy to brew at home to enjoy this sweet and delicious hot drink with your family and friends. The benefits of Moroccan mint tea are plenty, starting from its stress-relieving and immune-boosting properties, so there is one more reason to fall in love with this amazing drink. If you prefer iced tea, try my iced Moroccan mint tea recipe,

I have gathered for you the Tea-making cheat sheets to have easily on hand the temperatures, steeping times, and all in detail for steeping hot tea or making iced tea.

You can download your own copy below.

Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links, which means if you click on a product or a service and decide to purchase it, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you. For more information, you can read my full disclaimer.

Tips for Making Traditional Moroccan Mint Tea

Use fresh mint sprigs if you have them; if you don’t, dried ones will do just fine as well.
Green tea has the best flavor when infused at 75-80°C (167-176°F). If you use water that is too hot, it creates bitterness, which we don’t want to!
For the best result, use quality loose-leaf green tea, but green tea bags will work if needed.
If you feel you are not a tea drinker, try this one out; many say it is the best tea for people who do not like tea at all!

Does Moroccan Mint Tea Contain Caffeine?

Yes. In the Moroccan mint tea recipe, one of the main ingredients is green tea leaves, which come from the camellia sinensis tea plant. The tea plant leaves do contain theine, the caffeine in tea.

If you want a caffeine-free Moroccan Mint tea, you can modify it by leaving the green tea out.

What Tea Kettle is Used for Brewing the Moroccan Mint Tea?

The best and most traditional option for making Maghrebi tea is the silver-colored Moroccan tea kettle made out of brass. The tea kettle, berrad, is heat-proof and can be used on a gas stove too, which is very common in Moroccan kitchens.

Moroccan teapot on a blue tea tile and a fabric tea mitten.

You can also use a ceramic teapot with boiled water from the electric kettle or a stainless steel kettle on the stove.

When using the brass one, the whole pot heats up, so remember to use the special tea mitt (like we have in the photo above). It usually comes with the Moroccan teapot when you buy one, so as not to burn your hands. When you pour, hold with the other hand the black rubber part to keep the teapot lid closed.

Tools for Making Moroccan Mint Tea

Moroccan tea kettle (I use one similar to this one) or other heatproof tea kettle to use on the stove
Measuring spoons
Tea sieve
Spoon for stirring
Small Moroccan tea glasses, or other heatproof glasses for serving
Tray (optional) for tea glasses and teapot

Choosing Ingredients for Moroccan Mint Tea

Moroccans know the quality, especially when it comes to the ingredients. Mint tea is the most common drink in Moroccan everyday life alongside Moroccan coffee. Though mint tea is mundane, it is never bad or boring when served in Morocco.

Below, you will find my suggestions for the ingredients to obtain the best result.

The ingredients for Moroccan mint tea on the table: a bouquet of mint, loose green tea, water, and sugar.

Gunpowder Green tea

Use good-quality, unflavored green tea. I prefer the Chinese Gunpowder Green Tea. The name comes from the tea leaves used in it, which are rolled into tight, tiny pearls. In fact, in Mandarin, it is called “pearl tea”, which is a kind of cute name. It is aromatic and naturally slightly sweet. The color of this rolled tea is greyish, so the English started calling it gunpowder.

You can use any type of green tea if you do not have Chinese gunpowder tea at home. Moroccans always use loose tea leaves, but feel free to use tea bags if you have them on hand.

| TRY THIS: Gunpowder Green tea by Art of Tea

Nana Mint

In Arabic, nana means mint. Usually, the Moroccan spearmint is then called Nana mint, so “mint mint” to be specific! It is strong in flavor and scent, and the best choice for mint tea. And I can tell you, Moroccans use A LOT of mint. Other mint varieties will do fine as well, taste, and increase the amount if needed.

Use fresh mint sprigs to make the tea the traditional way.

Sugar

Generally, in Morocco, white sugar is used in the mint tea. They even have bigger blocks of sugar (like super huge ones!) that melt fast in the teapot.

You can choose a sweetener of your liking, but notice that some might add a different flavor to your tea. I have tried at least with cane sugar, and it turned out great, too!

Water

Use always fresh water for the best result.

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A woman holding a Mint bush against the wooden surface.

How to make Moroccan Mint Tea Step-By-Step

Here is how you can make the traditional Moroccan mint tea.

Step one: Brew the tea

Pour water into the tea kettle, set it on the stove, and let it simmer, but not boil. If you do not have a kettle or teapot that can be used on a stove, use an electric kettle to boil water and pour it into the teapot for steeping.

Step two: Add the green tea

Add the green tea to the tea kettle and let it brew 1-2 minutes on a low heat.

Step three: Sweeten the tea

Then add sugar, mix with a spoon, and let it brew for 1-2 minutes. Moroccan mint tea is VERY sweet. You can start with less sugar and adjust it to your liking. But the traditional recipe uses the same amount of sugar as loose-leaf tea!

Step Four: Add Moroccan Mint

Add plenty of Moroccan mint to the tea kettle and let it steep for an additional 2-5 minutes.

Step Six: Serve the Homemade Moroccan Mint Tea

Set the tea kettle on a pot coaster, like our blue Moroccan tile as a tea coaster (and btw that’s where the name of the blog comes from!), and place it on a tray with tiny tea glasses.

How Moroccan Mint Tea is Traditionally Served

Serve the tea from the Moroccan tea kettle when it is still piping hot. Use a tea serving tray where you can set the small glasses, tea kettle, and some biscuits and sweets to enjoy with the tea.

Moroccan mint tea in a tea pot and poured into Moroccan tea glasses with mint sprigs on a silver tray.

Mix the tea the Moroccan way before serving

Pour the first glass full of tea and then pour it back into the teapot to mix the tea well before serving. Then place some fresh mint sprigs in the glasses. Now you are ready to serve your tea like at home in North Africa.

The woman pours Moroccan mint tea from the tea glass back into the Moroccan teapot to mix the tea.

A woman pouring tea from the Moroccan teapot to the Moroccan-style tea glasses with mint sprigs inside.

You can try pouring from high, the Arabic style, and start pouring close to the rim of the glass and then lifting the teapot very high up and lowering it down to finish up the pour. That pouring movement mixes and slightly cools the tea as well!

Enjoy the traditional Moroccan mint tea with some Moroccan pastries like harcha, msemen (rghaif), or some Moroccan sweets.

Hand pouring Mint tea from a Moroccan tea pot to the glasses with twigs of mint. Test says: Hos to do and serve Authentic Moroccan Mint Tea.

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How to Store Moroccan Mint Tea

Enjoy the hot tea right away. If you have something left, you can sieve it into a bottle in the fridge to use in Moroccan mint iced tea later. Keeps in the fridge for up to a week.

A little girl holding a tray full of mint sprigs and passing on one to a man who is reaching with his hand.

Have You Tried Yet Moroccan Mint Tea?

Have you tasted the delicious, sweet Moroccan mint tea yet? Let me know in the comments or tag me on Instagram with @blue.tea.tile, and tell me where you have tasted it or if you have made it and what you have enjoyed with it!

Try These Recipes!

Moroccan Mint Tea

Yield: 2-4

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 10 minutes

Moroccan mint tea is sweet and flavourful and served piping hot. The powerful scent of mint is to die for. With this recipe, you know how to infuse a pot of authentic Moroccan Mint tea and how to serve and savor it.

Ingredients

bouquet of mint (+one sprig for each glass for serving)
2-4 tsp Gunpowder green tea
2-4 tsp sugar
400 ml water

Instructions

How to make Moroccan Mint Tea Step-By-Step

Here is how you can make the traditional Moroccan mint tea.

Step One: Heat the Water

Pour water into the tea kettle, set it on the stove, and let it simmer, but not boil. If you do not have a kettle or teapot that can be used on a stove, use an electric kettle to boil water and pour it into the teapot for steeping.
Step Two: Add the Green Tea

Add the green tea to the tea kettle and let it brew 1-2 minutes on a low heat.
Step Three: Sweeten the tea

Then add sugar, mix with a spoon, and let it brew for 1-2 minutes. Moroccan mint tea is VERY sweet. You can start with less sugar and adjust it to your liking. But the traditional recipe uses the same amount of sugar as loose-leaf tea!
Step Four: Add Moroccan Mint

Add plenty of Moroccan mint to the tea kettle and let it steep for an additional 2-5 minutes.
Step Five: Serve the Homemade Moroccan Mint Tea

Set the tea kettle on a pot coaster, like our blue Moroccan tile as a tea coaster (and btw that's where the name of the blog comes from!), and place it on a tray with tiny tea glasses.
How Moroccan Mint Tea is Traditionally Served

Serve the tea from the Moroccan tea kettle when it is still piping hot. Use a tea serving tray where you can set the small glasses, tea kettle, and some biscuits and sweets to enjoy with the tea.
Mix the tea the Moroccan way before serving

Pour the first glass full of tea and then pour it back into the teapot to mix the tea well before serving. Then place some fresh mint sprigs in the glasses. Now you are ready to serve your tea like at home in North Africa.
You can try pouring from high, the Arabic style, and start pouring close to the rim of the glass and then lifting the teapot very high up and lowering it down to finish up the pour. That pouring movement mixes and slightly cools the tea as well!
Enjoy the traditional Moroccan mint tea with some Moroccan pastries like harcha, msemen (rghaif), or some Moroccan sweets.

Notes

Use fresh mint if you have, if you don't dried will do just fine as well.
Green tea has the best flavor when infused at 75-80°C (167-176°F). If you use too hot water it creates bitterness which we don't want to!
For the best result use loose-leaf green tea, but green tea bags will work too.
This recipe is for four servings, but the serving glases are so tiny, that we usually make it for two and take seconds. Mind still that the drink is very sweet, so one glass might just be satisfying enough. Feel free to adjust the amount of sugar to your liking!
Learn more about Moroccan mint tea benefits.
Try out my iced tea version: Iced Moroccan Mint Tea Recipe
You can use as well homemade Mint simple syrup, to sweeten the tea and for some extra minty flavor.