Originally published on Tuesday, 15th January 2008

Mint Tea with Orange Blossom

Serves 4

In Morocco, mint tea is drunk by everyone from morning to night and is incredibly refreshing even on a hot and crowded day. The tea is typically brewed in beautiful silver teapots and poured from several feet high into ornate tea glasses. It is believed that the raised pouring aerates the tea giving it a better flavour.

Orange blossom water is a delicate floral essence distilled from orange flowers. It can be easily be purchased in the Middle Eastern food shops along the Edgeware Road. Just remember that a little goes a long way and add only a few drops to each cup.

Ingredients

1 litre of boiling water
10 sprigs of fresh mint
3 spoonfuls of green gunpowder tea
Sugar cubes or honey to sweeten
Orange blossom water

Instructions

Using the flat side of a knife, bash the mint a few times to bruise it a little to release the fragrance.

Place the mint, green tea and boiling water in a teapot and leave to infuse for 5 minutes. Add sugar or honey to taste and stir well to dissolve.

Line up your tea glasses and pour the tea in each, raising your arm up several inches (or feet if you are feeling confident) above each glass as the tea pours so that the tea foams a little as fills the glasses.

Add a few drops of the orange blossom water and serve.

Jennifer Klinec from Eat Drink Talk has kindly agreed to provide Urban Junkies readers with mouthwatering recipes and foodtips.

To learn more, classes at Eat Drink Talk are held in Jennifer's beautiful loft in Clerkenwell, packed with information and useful tips, and you'll get to sample all of the delicious dishes prepared during class.

by JK

In collaboration with Eat Drink Talk