Moroccan Tea

The national drink is mint tea (atay deeyal naanaa in Arabic, thé a la menthe in French, “Whisky Marocain” as locals boast), Chinese gunpowder green tea flavored with sprigs of mint (naanaa in Arabic: the gift of Allah) and sweetened with a minimum of four cubes of sugar per cup, or four lumps knocked off a sugar loaf – something you won’t find nowadays in many other parts of the world. It tastes a little sickly at first (you can ask for it with little or no sugar ­ shweeya soukar or ble soukar) but is worth getting used to. Moroccan tea is perfect in the summer heat and a ritual if you’re invited into any­ one’s home or if you’re doing any serious bargaining in a shop. In cafés, it is usually cheaper to ask for a pot (une théiére) for two or three people.

In winter, Moroccans often add worm­ wood (chiba in Arabic, absinthe in French) to their tea “to keep out the cold”. You can also get black tea (atai ahmar in Arabic, thé rauge in French, literally meaning “red tea”) ­ inevitably made with the ubiquitous Lipton’s tea bags, a brand fondly believed by Moroccans to be typically English. Herbal infusions include aniseed (anis) and verbe­ na (verveine).

Other Drinks in Morocco

Also common at Moroccan cafés and street stalls are a range of wonderful fresh-squeezed juices: orange juice vus d’orange in French, ‘asir burtuqal in Arabic – if you don’t want sugar in it, remember to say so, almond milk vus d’amande or ‘asir louze), banana “juice”, meaning milk-shake vus des bananes or ‘asir mooz) and apple milk-shake vus de pomme or ‘asir tufah). Also common is ‘asir panaché, a mixed fruit milkshake often fea­ turing raisins. Leben – soured milk – is tastier than it sounds, and does wonders for an upset stomach.

Other drinks in Morocco inevitably include Coke, Fanta and other fizzy soda pops – all pretty inexpensive and sold in large bottles. Mineral water, which is a worthwhile investment throughout the country, is usually referred to by brand name, ubiquitously the still Sidi Harazem or Sidi Ali (some people claim to be able to tell one from the other), or the naturally sparkling Oulmes. The Coca-Cola company is marketing filtered, processed non-mineral water in bottles under the brand name Ciel.

Coffee (café) is best in French-style cafés – either noir (black), cassé (with a drop of milk), or au lait (with a lot of milk). Instant cof­fee is known, like teabag tea, after its brand – in this case Nescafé.

Lastly, do not take risks with milk: buy it fresh and drink it fresh. If it smells remotely off, don’t touch it.

Wine and beer

As an Islamic nation, Morocco gives drinking alcohol a low profile. It is in fact not generally possible to buy any alcohol at all in the Medinas, and for wine and beer you always have to go to a tourist restaurant or hotel, or a bar in the Ville Nouvelle. Outside of tourist hotels, bars – which are often called brasseries, though they serve no food – are very much all-male preserves, in which women travellers may feel uneasy (bar­ tenders may occasionally be female, but female Moroccan customers are likely to be on the game).

On the drinks front, Moroccan wines can be palatable enough, if a little heavy for drinking without a meal. The best to be found is the pinkish red Clairet de Meknés, made purposefully light in French claret style. Beauvallon is another good one, but usually reserved for export. Other varieties worth try­ ing include the strong red Cabernet, and Ksar, Guerrouane and Siraoua, which are also red, the rosé Gris de Boulaoune and the dry white Spécial Coquillages.

Those Moroccans who drink in bars tend to stick to beer, usually the local Stork or Flag, which are about fifty percent cheaper than imported European brands. Flag and Stork from Fes are held by many to be superior to the versions brewed in Casablanca (the label will tell you which it is). The most popular imported beer is Heineken from the Netherlands.

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Filed Under: Morocco Food - Tags: Alcohol in Morocco, Beer in Morocco, drinking in Morocco, Drinks in Morocco, Moroccan juices, Moroccan tea, tea in Morocco, Wine in Morocco