Where it comes from
The North-African preparation of gunpowder green tea with mint and sugar; in Algeria the word for tea is atay, and it is offered to guests as a ritual sign of welcome.
On the plate
Bright, grassy green tea sweetened to a syrupy edge and lifted by cooling spearmint, with a soft foam on top. Hot, refreshing and aromatic, it lingers sweet then faintly bitter.
How it works
Pouring from a height aerates the tea and creates the prized foam, while repeated pouring back into the pot evenly distributes the dissolved sugar and mint oils throughout the brew.
Variations
More or less sugar; with pine nuts added to the glass; absinthe/wormwood (chiba) added in winter; brewed stronger or weaker across the three traditional pourings.
On the Palate
Ingredients
Serves 4How it's made
8 steps · Show ↓15 min active · 5 min waiting
How it's made
8 steps · Show ↓- 12 min
Rinse gunpowder green tea leaves briefly with a little hot water to remove bitterness, then discard that water.
- 24 min
Add fresh boiling water to the tea in a metal teapot and let it steep gently.
- 31 min
Add a generous handful of fresh spearmint sprigs to the pot.
- 41 min
Add sugar to taste and stir to dissolve.
- 53 min
Warm the pot briefly so the tea, mint and sugar infuse together.
- 62 min
Pour a glass and return it to the pot two or three times to mix and aerate.
- 72 min
Pour from a height into small glasses to raise a layer of foam.
- 82 min
Serve very hot, traditionally in three successive rounds.
