Moroccan mint tea

Moroccan mint tea — atay in Moroccan Arabic, the "Maghrebi mint tea" of North Africa — is Chinese gunpowder green tea brewed strong with a generous bundle of fresh spearmint and a great deal of sugar. The result is a bright, sweet, intensely minty and lightly bitter cup, poured theatrically from a curved-spout teapot held high above small ornate glasses to build a crown of foam on top. Far more than a drink, it is the central ritual of hospitality across Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and the wider Maghreb: prepared and served by the host at any hour, offered to every guest, and refused only at the risk of offence. The classic saying holds that it is poured three times — the first glass gentle, the second strong, the third bittersweet — and that to decline the whole is to decline friendship itself.