Data Module 072 — Food & Cultural Intelligence

The Anatomy
of Moroccan Tea

Three ingredients from three continents. Chinese gunpowder green tea, Moroccan spearmint, sugar deepened by colonial economics. Morocco imports 60,000 tonnes of tea a year and grows none.

~60,000tonnesAnnual tea imports

95%From China

1.85kgPer capita / year

3Glasses minimum

001 — The Ingredients

Three Things

Atay requires three ingredients: tea from China, mint from the garden, sugar from the souk. Water and fire do the rest. The proportions vary by household, by region, by season. The structure does not.

Gunpowder green tea

اتاي / atay

Origin: Zhejiang Province, China

Chinese green tea rolled into small pellets resembling gunpowder — "Zhu cha" (pearl tea) in Chinese. Strong, slightly astringent, full-bodied. The smaller and shinier the pellets, the higher the quality. Morocco imports ~60,000 tonnes annually from China, 95% from Zhejiang Province, with Shaoxing supplying half. Morocco absorbs 46% of China's gunpowder exports and 16% of all Chinese tea exports. The country does not produce its own tea.

Mint (Nanah)

نعناع / na'na'

Origin: Morocco — grown domestically

Spearmint (Mentha spicata), called "nanah" in Darija. Sweeter and milder than peppermint. Most Moroccans grow their own rather than buying it. Commercially insignificant but aromatically essential — the dominant flavour of the drink. Hides the slight bitterness of the relatively low-quality green tea. Regional variations: flio (pennyroyal) in some areas, chiba (wormwood/absinthe) in the south, sage or verbena in winter, sometimes saffron.

Sugar

سكر / sukkar

Origin: Imported — historically French colonial supply

Traditionally sold in large hard cones (pain de sucre), broken by hand. Moroccans add generously: 6–8 teaspoons per pot is normal. Sugar consumption deepened under the French Protectorate (1912–1956), which made it cheap and widely available to serve French commercial interests. Sugar rounds off mint's sweetness and brings out its aromatic compounds. The combination of foreign tea, local mint, and colonial sugar is the drink itself.

The first glass is gentle as life, the second strong as love, the third bitter as death.

— Moroccan proverb

002 — The Ritual

How It Is Made

The head of the household pours. The preparation is performed in front of guests. Each step has a name.

The Rinse

Boiling water poured over gunpowder pellets in the berrad (teapot). Swirled. Discarded. Removes dust and excess bitterness.

003 — How It Arrived

A Trade History

c. 9th C

Tea known in the Muslim world

Arab and Muslim merchants active across trans-Saharan and Indian Ocean trade networks bring knowledge of tea's medicinal properties to the Maghreb.

c. 1700

Queen Anne's gift

Queen Anne of England sends chests of green tea to Sultan Moulay Ismail as a diplomatic gesture, hoping to secure release of English captives. The sultan, already a lover of sugar, establishes a "tea division" at court.

18th C

British merchants arrive

British traders introduce Chinese gunpowder tea through Moroccan ports. Morocco already consumes mint infusions (decoctions of nanah leaves). The two meet.

1850s

Crimean War — the flood

Ports in the Baltic region close. The British East India Company diverts Chinese green tea meant for Northern Europe to Morocco. Availability surges. Consumption spreads beyond the court to the general population.

Late 19th C

Sufi resistance

Muhammad Bin Abdul-Kabir Al-Kattani and other Sufi leaders urge followers to boycott European-imported tea and sugar. The boycott fails. Tea is already too embedded.

1912–56

French Protectorate deepens sugar

French colonial rule makes sugar the cheapest, most available caloric source. Moroccan sugar consumption rises sharply — serving French commercial interests disguised as cultural respect for the Moroccan "sweet tooth."

Early 20th C

Atay is established

Mint tea is now the national drink. The ritual is codified: berrad, sinia, three glasses, the pour from height, the foam.

1993

Market liberalisation

Morocco liberalises its tea market. Number of brands grows rapidly. Tea consumption becomes a significant household expense.

2023

China's top customer

Morocco imports ~60,000 tonnes of Chinese tea annually. Remains China's single largest tea-export partner. Per capita consumption: 1.85 kg/year.

Moroccans often say that half of their bodies are green tea.

— Zhejiang Chunli Tea Co.

004 — Key Numbers

The Data

46%

Of China's gunpowder exports

Morocco absorbs nearly half of all gunpowder green tea China ships worldwide. Also 54% of Chunmee variety.

~82,000

Tonnes average annual import

Making Morocco one of the world's leading tea importers despite growing none. $207M in 2021.

1.85 kg

Per capita consumption

Per year. Tea is not a luxury — it is a staple consumed from dawn to dusk, in every season, at every occasion.

Glasses served

Minimum. Traditionally: the first is gentle as life, the second strong as love, the third bitter as death.

6–8 tsp

Sugar per pot

Moroccan atay is sweet. Some prefer more. The large sugar cone (pain de sucre) is still sold in souks.

Tonnes produced domestically

Morocco grows mint, not tea. Experimental plantings in Larache (1970s) never scaled. All tea is imported.

005 — Sources

The Anatomyof Moroccan Tea