Libya: Coffee & Tea

The worlds of coffee and tea are not foreign to me by any means. I drink my weight in coffee most weeks at work and I grew up brewing English tea for my mother daily. In Libya there is more of a formality to tea and coffee though. Not ceremony mind you, but definitely more importance.

The three staples that we were offered with great consistency while in Libya were:

• Turkish coffee
• Touareg tea or green tea with mint
• Karkadé Tea or red tea

I mostly partook in the Turkish coffee and green tea with mint, not that there was anything wrong with the red tea. Turkish coffee is served in the tiny coffee cups seen above and it is very strong and very sweet. Which is perfect for the small portions you drink, usually with a cookie or phyllo treat. Green tea with mint or Touareg as the internet helped me term it, was by far my choice of the three. Served in what looks like a shot glass, with or with out a handle, and the same treat mentioned above.

I have consumed plenty of green tea in the states, but it never really hooked me. Add some mint and a healthy amount of sugar and I feining for it. I have made it a goal in the this month to start to brew my own Touareg at work. I need to get the right tea and portions down and give it a go.