Chefchaouen Tea Ceremony - Rif Mountain Herbal Teas

Chefchaouen, the famous blue-washed town of the Rif Mountains, drinks its tea the mountain way - the standard green tea and mint often joined by the wild herbs that grow on the surrounding slopes. This tea ceremony teaches the Moroccan ritual with that highland character, in a calm blue-lane setting, a gentle cultural experience distinct from the tea of the plains and cities.

You learn to brew atay the proper way - rinsing the gunpowder green tea, packing in fresh spearmint, sweetening, and the pour from height that builds the prized foam - and then the Rif variations: blending in wild sage (salvia), verbena, pennyroyal or other mountain aromatics that flavour and, locally, are said to soothe. The host explains the etiquette of hospitality, the three glasses, and how the herb-rich mountains shape what goes in the pot.

Around the tea you taste local sweets and the fresh goat's cheese, honey and bread that Chefchaouen is known for, and hear how the Rif's Andalusian roots and mountain setting shape its food and drink. Set behind a blue facade or on a terrace with the peaks around, it is a tranquil, scenic hour, a lovely counterpoint to a busy medina. You leave able to brew a proper Moroccan tea and to blend it with mountain herbs at home.