Tea's for Me

So I went to Spain a month ago.

It was great. All over the country - Barcelona, Granada, Sevilla, Ronda, Madrid - and even a quick stop in Paris.

I had some nasty food. In some little inn in Granada, my whole family decided to order the same meal - beans with ham. Sounded good after a day of flying. No-hoooo. It was a PILE of something like Northern Beans in a soup of vinegar. Ick. The rest of our day was a disaster.

But then there was the most amazing food. Churros y chocolate in Madrid, shfancy cheap gourmet in Barcelona, Moroccan delights in Granada.

But what I brought home from all of it was the tea.

We were in the Moroccan quarters of Granada, checking out all the fashionable genie sweats and bracelets made out of pasta...fantastically interesting wares, might I add. There was a store at the very end that had this tea pot with a portrait of a Persian sultan on it. What? And two feet from the teapot was a Victorian glass lamp with the same image. Huh? Who does that and who is this guy? (As you can see, I bought it and it's now sitting in my house. The Sultan's happy to be in America.)

Well, we went to dinner at this Moroccan restaurant where the shop owner (with the tea pot) suggested. He said "I trust Mustafa with the pouring of my tea." I liked that he judged a restaurant by the quality of tea they served and that a man named Mustafa ran the place.

It was the best meal we ate the entire trip.

Mustafa began to linger at our table as the night went on. We kept asking for more mint lemonade and for him to bring out his favorite dishes. Soon my mom offered to become his assistant for a week and I think they made a deal at some point in the night. We were giddy.

By the end of the night, I got the recipe for the best tea I've ever had. It was ridiculously sweet but so refreshing after a big dinner.

So, here's the recipe for the best tea. Keep in mind that you need a teapot that has a drain/filter thing. (You know, before it gets out through the mouth. Otherwise, you'll be drinking leaves like it's a wilted salad.)

Moroccan Tea!!
serves about 4-6 small teacups

What you'll need:
-Loose green tea*
-Fresh mint
-Orange blossom (if you can get it)
-Granulated tea
-Boiling water
*If the green tea is a little dirty (or if you got it from some outside vendor like they do in Granada), put the tea leaves in the pot, fill with boiling water, swish around and pour out the water. This will clean the tea leaves while still keeping them in the tea pot. At that point, put in the rest of the ingredients and continue on.

What you'll do:
-Put about 1 - 1.5 tbs of green tea in the tea pot, along with a half-handful of fresh, washed mint leaves. Add 1/2 tsp of orange blossom and 1 tbs of sugar (more or less, depending on how sweet you want it).
-Add the boiling water and stir.
-Let it sit for 2-5 minutes.
-Pour into small teacups and enjoy.