Blog #18 Drinking Tea Everyday

Dinner in Rabat at Zayanne

I had never drank so much tea in all my life. Drinking tea during all times of the day and for any occasion is something new to me. It's interesting how the concept of tea changes. For me, lemon tea and honey are a great combination to recover from a cold, a sore throat, or seasonal allergies. For Moroccans, tea is a lifestyle.

The first time I had tea in Morocco was at a restaurant in Casablanca. The waiter brought out a beautiful silver tray with a tea kettle and a teacup. He grabbed the tray and with his right hand started pouring the tea into the teacup but each time he’d go higher up. This created bubbles on the top layer of the tea. These bubbles are called Lkchkocha in Darija/Tachlhit language.

Tea at Zayanne restaurant in Rabat

I've also had tea for many of our meetings and class lectures. Usually, a staff member will come around with a tray of tea and provide a cup of tea to everyone in the room.

Tea at our meeting with INRA

We also had tea at one of our site visits with an argan cooperative. The women were so welcoming! We learned about the process of making argan oil and even had the opportunity to try it ourselves. Close to the end of our site visit, the women invited us in for tea and snacks. The snacks were bread with different types of dips like almond amalou and peanut amalou—made with argan oil.

Tea at the cooperative in Alma

I also had tea with my host family—they did not let us leave from their home without drinking some tea with a pastry lk3ka3. During our time with our hosts, we (Jakai, Andy, and I), learned how to make Moroccan tea in the tea kettle. First, boil a few tea leaves with water up to halfway of the kettle. Next, put the water that boiled with the tea to the side and rinse the leaves out. Put the tea leaves back in the kettle along with the boiled water. Add more water to the kettle and wait for it to boil. Once it boils, let the tea cool down before adding the desired sugar and mint.

Tea with the host family

Of course, all teas are made differently depending on the family recipe. There is no one way of making tea. Throughout the pictures above you will also see that there are different sizes, shapes, and colors of the teacups and kettles that make them unique. There are many to choose from and are certainly a perfect way to socialize with others.

-Written by Kim Sanchez, PhD Public Health student at UC Merced