Cafe et Crepe and Moroccan Mint Tea

I spent about 2.5 hours working from the Cafe et Crepe (a coffeehouse and crepery) in my home town today. (For local folks, it's the one near the post office and fire house downtown.) I really enjoyed it! The place had free wireless internet, and it wasn't too crowded. It had good light from lots of windows.

I spent $12 on lunch (including tip), which is a little more than I usually spend on a quick lunch for myself. (The DH thought that was rather much for "just flour and water.") However, the meal was good and plenty of it! I had the Spinach Blanc crepe (spinach, garlic and swiss cheese) and a nice pot of "Algerian" tea. The rest of the menu was a little light on the tea offerings, but it did include steamers and hot chocolate as non-coffee choices.

The "Algerian" tea hit the spot. You might also know this as Moroccan Mint tea. Basically, it's a green tea base (usually gunpowder) mixed with mint and heavily sugared. Sometimes it includes subtle spices, my favorite being clove.

Here is my recipe for Moroccan Mint tea. I prefer to use fresh mint, when it's in season.

A handful (~1 cup loosely packed) of fresh mint sprigs, plus a few extra for garnish
3 teaspoons green tea (traditionally, gunpowder green)
3 tablespoons sugar
4 cups water
4-5 whole cloves to taste (lightly crushed or whole - not ground)

This isn't a precise recipe, so taste and adjust to suit your preferences. Also, I should preface this by saying I prefer mine pretty minty....so that drives how I concoct this brew.

Add the mint leaves and cloves into the water and bring to a boil. Let boil for ~2 minutes to get a good mint base. (Once it starts to boil, bring it down to a rolling simmer.)

After the mint base is ready, bring the heat down so that the water is barely boiling and add the sugar and tea. Cook for another 1-3 minutes, depending on how strong you like the tea flavor.

Pour through a filter into a teapot or teacups and serve. Small glass cups are traditional, but be careful! They get very hot and, if there is a crack already, the hot liquid can pop the glass open. Garnish with remaining sprigs of mint. Enjoy!