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Attaya (Senegalese mint tea)
Attaya: gunpowder green tea boiled strong with sugar and mint, foamed by pouring from height, in three rounds
Attaya is less a drink than an afternoon. In Dakar courtyards, Banjul markets and village shade trees across Senegal and the Gambia, someone, usually the youngest man present, sets a tiny enamel teapot on a charcoal burner after lunch and makes three rounds, slowly, for an hour or more while everyone talks. The first glass, lewel, is strong and bitter; the second, naani, is sweeter and softer; the third, ñetteel, is the sweetest and most minty. The saying is that the first is bitter like death, the second gentle like life, the third sweet like love. Each tiny glass carries a thick, pale foam made by pouring the tea back and forth from height. The tea is boiled very strong, so it is high in caffeine: keep the glasses small and do not give it to children. The common mistake is rushing the foam; pour slowly and patiently, from as high as you can control, until a 1 cm head stands on the glass. A round is ready when the tea is dark amber, very sweet-bitter and the foam holds. Chef's tip: warm the empty glasses with a little hot tea first; foam lasts far longer in a warm glass.
- Total time
- 60 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
For three rounds
- ⅞ oz gunpowder green teaChinese green tea, sold in small packets in West African shops
- 3 ¼ cups water
- 6 ½ oz white sugar
- 1 bunch fresh mintspearmint (nana) if you can find it, leaves and tender stems
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Method
0/7 doneStep 1: First round (lewel): put the ⅞ oz gunpowder green tea and 250 ml of the 1 cup water in a small enamel or metal teapot. Bring to the boil and boil gently over a low flame until it is dark and very strong.
12 minStep 2: Add 40 g of the 1 ⅜ oz white sugar and a few sprigs of the 0.3 bunch fresh mint, return to the boil and turn off the heat.
2 minStep 3: Pour the tea into a glass from as high as you can control, then pour it back into the pot. Repeat 10–15 times, then pour from glass to glass, until each small glass has a thick, pale foam of about 1 cm on top. Fill the glasses only a third full with tea under the foam and serve straight away.
6 minStep 4: Second round (naani): keep the leaves in the pot and add another 250 ml of the 1 cup water. Boil gently until amber again, then add 60 g of the 2 ⅛ oz white sugar and more 0.3 bunch fresh mint.
12 minStep 5: Foam and serve as before. This round should taste softer and sweeter.
5 minStep 6: Third round (ñetteel): add the last 250 ml of 1 cup water, boil again, then add the remaining 80 g of 2 ⅞ oz white sugar and the rest of the 0.4 bunch fresh mint. Boil briefly so the mint perfumes the pot.
10 minStep 7: Foam and serve the last, sweetest round. Discard the leaves.
5 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 120 kcal
- Protein
- 0 g
- Carbs
- 30 g
- Fat
- 0 g
- Fibre
- 0 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does attaya (Senegalese mint tea) take?
- About 60 minutes in total: 10 minutes to prepare and 50 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of white sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
- What can I use instead of fresh mint?
- Fresh coriander, same amount (different but just as fresh).
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