HOW TO MAKE MOROCCAN MINT TEA

FlavoursOfPlaces, Morocco

Wherever you travel in Morocco, you’ll see people sipping the wonderful mint tea. It’s packed full of flavour, extremely sweet & I’d never turn down the offer of a cup. It truly is the flavour of the country (hence our Moroccan chocolate bar) from the riads to the deserts & the Atlas Mountains, where we were kindly shown how the tea was made in a welcoming Berber household. Here’s a step by step guide to making tea, kindly demonstrated by Menuka.

1. Add a couple of teaspoons of green tea leaves into the teapot & then fill a quarter of the pot with hot water.

Moroccan Mint Tea

2. Add a nice bunch of fresh mint leaves…

Moroccan Mint Tea

3. Followed by a lot of sugar!

Moroccan Mint Tea

4. Cover & leave to stew for several minutes

Moroccan Mint Tea

5. Now fill up the teapot with hot water. Pour a small glass back & forth into the pot to further blend the flavours.

Moroccan Mint Tea

6. Finally serve by carefully pouring from a height to add a nice froth to the top of the drink.

Moroccan Mint Tea

7. And enjoy – thankyou Manuka!

Moroccan Mint Tea

DANCING THROUGH MORNINGS IN MEXICO

Chocolate, Mexico

mornings in mexicoI really enjoyed spending a few lazy days in the company of DH Lawrence as he savours life in one of his favourite countries. It was a sunny delight to follow him on his trip to Hueyapa in the hills, experience his haggling for cherry pie heliotrope at the Sunday market & relax with Corasmin the dog on the veranda.

I loved to read about the local flavours of Tepache, a fermented drink of pineapple rind & brown sugar (which sounds like the Mexican equivalent to Keralan Toddy), Cherimoyas, the sweet green custard apple (which I’m dying to taste) & Mezcal which goes so well with our Mexican Chipotle Chilli Luxury Chocolate.

The author also provides a fascinating insight into the weird & wonderful dances of this ancient country – there’s the comical Deer dance, the germinating dance of the Sprouting Corn & the bizarre Snake dance of the Hopi Indians. The latter is especially intriguing, & people would trail for hundreds of miles to watch men moving to pounding rhythms whilst holding live rattlesnakes in their mouths. A fascinating adventure through old Mexico!

THE DOORS OF MARRAKESH

Cocoa Hernando discovers..., Morocco

Doors of Marrakesh

As I walked around the manic medina of Marrakesh, I became fascinated with the endless rows of doors sunk into the walls of the city’s bustling narrow streets. There were blue doors, green doors, wooden doors & doors painted in ornate arabic shapes. Door after door appear along the salmon pink walls as I weave in & out of the constant flow of street sellers & curious travellers. Some doors were open – revealing cafes, piles of spices & old men spinning wool. Others remained firmly shut, leaving me to imagine ancient houses of worship, secret restaurants, opulent riads, lush gardens & families chatting whilst supping mint tea behind these countless facades. What a mysterious city this is……CH