Global Tea Time

"Berber Whiskey" What do you make on a Saturday afternoon when you're tired? I mean really tired. Like you just woke up from a 3 hour nap, and all you want to do is go back to sleep. I will admit I was a bit leery of this one when I found out how it was made, but this is wildly popular so I had to try it. This version of tea has many names, and some sources say that this is used like alcohol in cultures that forbid drinking and using drugs.  Ataya (or attaya - I've seen it spelled both ways), also known as Tuareg tea (so named for the Tuareg tribe), is a very social tea ceremony in West Africa. Most reviews say to expect to take at least 3 hours and have several rounds of tea. Over time, each round of tea is supposed to get milder and sweeter. Sometimes instructions say that mint is added. It is popular in many countries: The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau , Senegal (The Gambia is actually inside Senegal with a small border on the Atlantic), Sierra Leone , Mali , Mau...

 I have long associated lemongrass with Asian cooking. I didn't know it was also in West Africa. I've also noticed it as an occasional ingredient in bagged tea. I haven't had much success with cooking with dried lemongrass. It has a nice scent when simmered, but I never really noticed the flavor in broths and soups. Now we'll see how it does on its own. There are several options for buying lemongrass. If you are feeling flush with cash, it is sometimes available in the fresh herb section of the grocery store. Thanks to the popularity of the university with Asian students, the grocery store near where I work does have fresh lemongrass available on occasion. It costs a lot. I also found it chopped up in short pieces in the bulk spice section of a different grocery store. It definitely needs to be strained out of whatever you are putting it in. Then at one of the Asian markets I found powdered lemongrass. I got a jar thinking that it might help boost the flavor when I wa...

Benin Today we are heading to the south coast of West Africa. Benin . Benin has a tiny coastline in the south. In fact, the southern provinces make up about 1/4 of the country's area, but hold 2/3 of the population. They were once a French colony, and French is the official language. They don't grow tea, but they do export coffee. However, that doesn't mean that they don't drink tea. Popular Tea Moringa - this is a plant from India that is used in both leaf and powder form in cooking. It is a popular tea around the west African region. According to the internet, it has also been dubbed a "super food" (eye roll). Cassia - this is a tea that is brewed from a seed. According to the internet, this is marketed as a weight loss tea. That is always a red flag, so I did some more research. Apparently it is a powerful laxative when used "incorrectly". I think I'll steer clear. Lipton with lemon and honey - pretty self explanatory. Lipton brand tea...

Cinnamon tea - Sudan In wrapping up our tour of the Middle East and North Africa, we come to Sudan. Sudan is south of Egypt, but was still included in the list of countries considered North Africa (according to the Encyclopedia Britannica). The northern part of the country is in the Sahara desert, with a tropical climate in the south. It has a small coast on the Red Sea, and is reported as mostly flat with mountains in the east and the west. Most people think of the African continent as being all the same (or even one country in extreme cases). It is actually a very diverse continent. I had some trouble figuring out how to divide it up at first. I didn't want to define the continent by the colonial rulers, so I decided to break it up by ordinal directions. North Africa considers itself to be more part of Europe or the Middle East. The Sahara desert is a natural barrier that divides the north from the south. I remember flying over the Sahara. I'm not sure which countri...