Tea customs in Saharan Africa

For people in Saharan Africa, tea is as indispensable as love in life. However, they never use boiling water to soak tea, but add fresh mint leaves to boil it. Every morning, vegetable farmers in the vegetable garden transport fresh tender mint grass to the market, bundle more than ten pieces into small handfuls and sell them to customers. Whether people are at home, at work or at work, mint tea is indispensable. Get up in the morning and drink a cup of mint tea and add some bread to serve as breakfast. People with a slight status simply skip breakfast. As soon as they go to work and walk into the office, they call the tea maker to deliver tea and buy breakfast on their behalf. This special amount is included in the administrative expenses of the unit.

Drinking peppermint tea is an ancient tradition in the Sahara region. There is also a proverb rich in philosophy among the people: "Love is as sweet as honey, life is as bitter as mint, and death is as ruthless as desert." These have become the origin of the tradition of serving three cups of mint tea to entertain guests.

People in the Sahara region are always very happy when guests come to visit. The host usually walks out of the courtyard door or goes outside the tent to welcome them. After meeting, he embraces and welcomes them very affectionately. When a guest enters the door, the host and guest sit on the ground. Before talking, they usually invite the guest to drink three cups of mint tea to show the host's true feelings. According to the ancient proverb, serving three cups of tea suggests "blessings, advice and tips." The first cup wishes love as sweet as honey, the second cup reminds us that life is as fragrant and bitter as mint, and the third cup reminds us that life is limited and death is ruthless.

In front of the guests, the owner put tea leaves and a few fresh mint leaves into the small teapot, put them on the small stove to boil, and then poured the tea into a small tea cup with only sugar added. The tea was as strong as coffee, and there was also a layer of white sugar foam with shredded tea leaves floating on it. At this time, the house exuded a unique fragrance and sweetness.

In fact, the custom of drinking mint tea by Saharans was accumulated in their struggle with the natural environment. The Sahara region has a large temperature difference between day and night, and it is also a place to "wear leather coats in the morning and wear gauze in the afternoon, and eat watermelon around the stove." People live in tents in the wild all year round, with sand under a thin layer of carpet or a piece of sheepskin. The invasion of underground moisture often makes them sore back and weak legs and feet. Tea can refresh the mind, sugar can provide energy, and mint has the effect of relieving fever and dispelling cold. It can be seen that mint tea is the most suitable health beverage for them.

Saharans love to drink green tea, and its consumption is among the best in the world. Although nomads live relatively poor, they like to drink original China green tea most. In tea shops, China green tea packed in wooden boxes is piled up in mountains. All countries in the Sahara region have stationed green tea purchasing teams in our country. However, Saharans do not like to drink new green tea, but prefer old green tea. Even if they were given the most advanced new green tea, added with mint, it would taste like a "traditional Chinese medicine soup".