From tea to atay... How did Moroccans create their magical drink?

If your destiny leads you one day to Morocco as a tourist or a resident, your visit or your knowledge of the Kingdom and its people will not be complete unless you enjoy a cup of famous Moroccan tea, with its distinctive foam, and embraces the smell of mint, to reserve a place in your aromatic memory, then savor the sweetness of taste.

Since tea entered the lives of Moroccans from the doors of the palaces of their sultans, and it became entrenched in their lives as a daily ritual, they assigned it a sacred place, so the “cubes” of coffee were raised, and the “fridge” replaced it. Hospitality is such that family sessions are incomplete without a silver tea tray around which everyone gathers, hearing their stories and recording their laughter.

With this, the Moroccans’ fondness for tea reached an extent, so they wrote it as poetry and sang it, and it became a companion to their sessions and a companion to the times of summer and people.

Going back to some historical tales that tell the story of this drink, the introduction of tea to the Kingdom, according to what Abdul Kabir Al-Fassi tells in the book “Takkirat Al-Muhsinin with the Deaths of Notables and Accidents of the Years” is that Sultan Zaidan bin Ismail’s uncle was the first to taste this drink, after a doctor prescribed it to him Although it is difficult to verify the authenticity of this story, it corresponds from the chronological point of view (chronology) and the stage in which tea found its way to Morocco. Tea entered Morocco as tea, and the Moroccans touched it By their magic and adding their flavors to it, they produced “Atay” with its distinctive taste preserved for Morocco. (1)

The history of tea: a storm in a cup

Morocco was and still is a window open to Europe. Whenever the winds of change blew on this continent, Morocco gets its share wherever it is.

Food habits were no exception to this rule. After Europe opened its doors to new drinks coming from different parts of the world, tea entered Europe in response to the demands of the European bourgeoisie, fascinated by Far Eastern products. Coffee was on the tables of the British people and tea replaced it until it became one of the symbols of English culture.

Tea resumed its journey towards Morocco at the beginning of the eighteenth century, a century after its arrival in Europe.

The newcomer entered the life of Moroccans through the door of the palace of Sultan Moulay Ismail, wearing the mantle of medicine, and its use remained limited to treatment and medicine before it was consumed as a drink, similar to Asian countries.

Tea remained confined to the walls of the palace, and remained the preserve of the Makhzen community for an entire century. It was a gift that European ambassadors wooed the ruler with.

By the end of the eighteenth century, its consumption did not go out of the storehouse, but it expanded a little to include the country's rich and its super-rich.

In the thirties of the nineteenth century, tea was liberated from the bosom of the storehouse and began to spread to the common people in the cities, then moved to the valleys located in the suburbs of cities, and at the beginning of the twentieth century tea entered most Moroccan homes.

But even in villages and deserts, tea supplies and tools were only available in a few and a few homes that other homes resorted to on occasions and when needed, and this is what made the Moroccan Atay connected in the minds with interdependence and familiarity (1).

Alatay..outside the table inside history

In their book “From Tea to Al-Atay: Habit and History,” the writers Abdel Ahad Al-Sabti and Abdel-Rahman Al-Khasasi tell that after entering Morocco, tea contributed to many political and economic transformations in this country, and was the hero around whom several events revolved;

In the nineteenth century, Sultan Hassan I offered tea, sugar, and silverware as gifts to chiefs and tribal leaders who refused to submit to his authority or were reluctant to declare their loyalty, and soon this policy paid off and the Sultan extended his influence over these tribes without wars, but based on the strength of the taste of tea .

In the same century, Britain controlled the distribution of tea in Morocco, and the Moroccans borrowed from the English the habit of sweetening tea, and added mint to the ingredients as a Moroccan touch that remained registered in their name.

On the other hand, the sugar trade witnessed intense competition between France, Germany and Belgium.

After the Germans discovered that the secret of the French control of the sugar trade lies in the fact that the Moroccans were familiar with the shape of the French sugar mold, the Germans tried to imitate the shape of the product, but their goods were seized in Moroccan ports due to the intervention of the French Consulate. This event ignited a crisis that did not abate until after the countries arrived to the agreement of 1885.

The authors add that in the same period, the British brought a large load of sugar and tea and sold it to the "Ait Baamran" tribe and made agreements with tribal leaders without the approval of the central authority. This prompted Sultan Hassan I to direct his armies to the tribe and re-establish his authority.

Socially, the components of tea as a newcomer created a sharp debate among Moroccan jurists;

Some of them considered drunkenness coming from Europe, or the country of the Romans, as they call it, forbidden, and others went beyond the prohibition stage to rejecting the testimony of anyone who drinks tea.

But this controversy did not always stem from a religious reason, but sometimes stemmed from purely economic or political factors. In the year 1904, on his way to Hajj, Sheikh Mohamed Abdel Kabir El Kettani, founder of the El Kettaniy corner, visited the city of Marseille, where sugar is made, which is exported to Morocco. Sheikh El Kettani considered this visit Like a visit to enemy bases, for him, French drunkenness invades the treasury of Morocco and deprives the country of resources that should have been used to keep the colonizers out of the country.

Sheikh Kettani's opposition to the consumption of tea did not stop there, but even reached the point of forbidding his followers from drinking Al-Atay and fighting it in crowds and gatherings.

In the jurisprudence of Al-Atay.. Inherited rites and desirable rites

It is said that people follow the religion of their kings, and this also applies to the customs of kings, which are viewed in societies as an aspiration for social progress. Therefore, we can say that the religion of Al-Atay was not an exception, as the Moroccans embraced its luxurious rituals and rites as revealed in the Sultan’s house;

Similar to the rituals of drinking tea in China and Japan, the Altay in the Sultan's house were distinguished by special rituals.

A body was established to oversee the preparation of tea, headed by "Mall Atay" or "Sahib Atay", and "Ahmed bin Al Mubarak" was the first to assume this position and subsequently gained favor in the storehouse.

The tea ritual begins with the preparation of silver trays, where the cups that exceed the number of guests are arranged, in harmony with the circular edge of the tray in the center of the refrigerator.

In a smaller tray, three boxes called “al-rabi’” are placed, which include tea, sugar and mint, which we can replace with another aromatic plant such as shiba, verbena or lemon blossom.

As for preparing tea in front of the guests or those present, it is not a luxury or ostentation, but rather an important rule if you avoid it.

Aside from the rules of righteousness and taste.

The tea preparer is called a resident, and the head of the family usually undertakes this task, but in the event that the tea is prepared on an occasion, the oldest attendant or the person known to normally undertake this task is chosen.

The tray is placed in front of the resident after he is presented with a silver pail to wash his hands.

The resident takes an appropriate amount of tea after his fingers are accustomed to choosing the appropriate amount, as the process does not take long, the grains are placed inside the refrigerator and the assistant pours a little water, the grains are washed to reduce their bitterness and dust is removed from them, then the water is emptied into one of the cups, a little is added of sugar, then fill the fridge with boiling water and put it on the fire until it boils, then add the mint.

The resident pours a little tea, tastes it, then adds sugar, pours three or four cups and is returned to the fridge until the sweetness is equal and the ingredients blend well, and then the tea is ready to be served to the guests.

The tea is poured with a graceful artistic movement from the top, forming a foam that floats on the surface and occupies about a quarter of the cup, and then the process of distributing the cups begins. (3)(4)

Thus, the tea made a long journey from its cradle in China through Europe before it reached Morocco, so the Moroccans make the Atay, their magic drink, with which they rob the pulp of their visitors and fascinate with its rituals everyone who wrote to him its presence, and the Moroccan Atay became an ancient witness to the stories that woven the history of this country .