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Drinks · 10 minutes · By Amira

Moroccan Mint Tea (Atay B'nana)

Atay b'nana is not a drink in Morocco — it is a welcome. The moment you sit down anywhere from Fes to Marrakech, someone appears with a silver pot, a tray of decorated glasses, and a slow, theatrical pour. In Fes, where I learned to pour, we say the first glass is gentle like life, the second strong like love, and the third bitter like death — so you are always offered three. The tea itself is deceptively simple: gunpowder green tea, a generous bunch of fresh spearmint (nana), and enough sugar to make the glass sing. The ceremony is the technique — the high pour that builds the foam, the three rounds of taste, the pause in the middle of the afternoon that the whole country takes together. This is the recipe that runs through everything else on the site: it is the glass you serve with sellou and chebakia at Ramadan, the pot that sits next to the amlou at breakfast, and the reason every Moroccan table conversation lasts two hours longer than planned.

Moroccan mint tea poured from an ornate silver teapot into a decorated tea glass with fresh mint leaves and steam
5 minutes prep5 minutes cook10 minutes total8 servingsEasy
By AmiraFounder & Editor-in-Chief · Mediterranean & Moroccan
✓ Tested by our team

Ingredients

  • 6 cups water (1.4 liters)
  • 2 tablespoons loose gunpowder green tea (about 2 heaped teaspoons per liter)
  • 2 large bunches fresh spearmint (nana), leaves plus a few stems — about 2 cups packed leaves
  • 1/2 to 3/4 cup sugar (start with 1/2 cup, adjust to taste)
  • Extra mint sprigs and sugar cubes, for serving

Instructions

  1. Bring the water to a full rolling boil in a kettle or pot.

  2. Rinse the teapot with some of the boiling water, swirling it around and pouring it out — a hot pot keeps the tea from shocking.

  3. Add the gunpowder tea to the hot pot, pour in about 1 cup of the boiling water, swirl gently for a few seconds, and pour it out. This "washing" rids the tea of dust and softens its initial bitterness.

  4. Add the remaining boiling water to the pot, cover, and steep for 2 minutes.

  5. Add the mint leaves and stems, push them down gently with a spoon, cover, and steep 2–3 minutes more. The mint goes in after the tea, never boiled with it.

  6. Add the sugar, stir well, and let the pot rest off the heat for 1 minute so the sugar fully dissolves and the flavors marry.

  7. Pour a glass of tea from a height of about 30 cm (12 inches) back into the pot — this aerates the tea and builds the foam. Repeat the pour 2–3 times.

  8. Serve in decorated tea glasses, poured from height into each glass with a small mint sprig, and always offer at least three glasses.

Tips for Success

  • The high pour is not showmanship — it is technique. Pouring from 30 cm adds oxygen, which softens the tea tannins and raises the foam (the ke’sra) that every Moroccan host is proud of.
  • Use gunpowder tea if you can. Its rolled, smoky-sweet leaves are made for the sugar and mint; a mild Chinese green or jasmine tea works in a pinch but tastes noticeably different.
  • Sugar is traditional and structural, not just sweetening — it balances the green tea bitterness. If you are cutting back, reduce gradually over a few pots rather than dropping it all at once, and keep the mint generous.
  • For a second pot (Moroccans always make two): refresh with a handful of fresh mint and a spoonful of sugar; the tea leaves keep their strength for a second round.
  • Spearmint (nana) is the classic mint. Peppermint works but is sharper and more menthol — use fewer leaves and taste as you go.

Perfect pairings

These recipes belong on the same table — cook them together for a full spread, or swap in a variation next time.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does "atay b'nana" mean, and when is it served?
Atay b'nana is Moroccan Arabic for "tea with mint" — the national drink of Morocco. It is served at every hospitality moment: greeting guests, after meals, in shops, at Ramadan iftar, and endlessly throughout the afternoon. In Morocco it is a ritual, not a beverage: the host pours from a height, tastes the first glass, and offers three rounds.
Can I use a different type of mint or add other herbs?
Fresh spearmint (nana) is the classic choice — mild, sweet, and clean. Peppermint is sharper, so use fewer leaves. Moroccan hosts also add a sprig of fresh verbena or a leaf or two of geranium for a fragrant variation. Dried mint does not work — the fresh bunch is the soul of the tea.
How much sugar is actually traditional?
Traditional Moroccan mint tea is very sweet — often 1/2 to 3/4 cup of sugar per liter of water, which makes the glass syrupy and glossy. Guests are asked first ("tayem?" — is it sweet?), and hosts often adjust per glass, dropping a sugar cube in for each sweet tooth. Start at the lower end and let everyone tune their own glass.
Can I use a regular loose green tea instead of gunpowder?
Yes, but it will taste noticeably different. Gunpowder's rolled, smoky-sweet leaves are bred for the sugar-and-mint ceremony — they stay strong across the high pours and balance the sweetness with a gentle bite. A mild Chinese green or jasmine tea goes lighter and slightly floral, so use a touch more tea or less mint to keep the flavor from watering down. The key is to pick a green that can hold up to a long, sweet steep; delicate young green teas can turn bitter or flat.
Why is my mint tea bitter or astringent?
Almost always over-steeping, or too-hot water poured directly over the tea. Gunpowder needs just 2 minutes for the first steep and 2–3 more once the mint goes in — beyond 5 minutes total the tannins slide into bitterness. Also pour the boiling water in a couple of pulses rather than dumping it all at once, and always do the quick "washing" pour (in, swirl, out) to shed the tea dust. If a batch does turn bitter, sweeten generously and pour from a good height — the air softens it.
How do I make it less sweet without losing the flavor?
Sugar in Moroccan mint tea is structural — it balances the green tea's bitterness — so cutting it all at once leaves a thin, sharp pot. Reduce gradually over consecutive pots (3/4 cup to 1/2 cup to 1/3 cup) while keeping the mint generous, since the fresh spearmint carries a lot of the sweetness forward. Another trick is to stir in the sugar but serve with sugar cubes on the tray, letting each guest dose their own glass instead of pre-sweetening the whole pot.

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