West Africa is located in and around the Sahara Desert, the world's largest desert, with a climate and dietary characteristics similar to countries like Morocco in North Africa. Therefore, most of the people here also enjoy drinking tea. They are accustomed to adding white sugar and adding mint leaves (or juice) to their tea.
The tea culture of Mauritania is very typical. Mauritania is located in the western Sahara Desert, with over 90% of its territory being desert areas. It is a country primarily focused on animal husbandry. It is said that the history of tea drinking in Mauritania dates back to the 16th century and was first introduced from Spain.
In the local area, the dry and hot climate can make people easily fatigued, and the habit of relying on beef, mutton, and camel milk as staple foods can lead to uneven nutrition. Tea can help digestion, invigorate the mind, eliminate fatigue, and supplement vitamins. Therefore, drinking green tea has become a deeply rooted habit in Mauritanian life.
In Mauritania, there is also the etiquette of "guests come to offer tea". When guests come to visit, the host will prepare tea in advance. In traditional customs, tea is usually brewed by adding tea leaves to a small pot of water, along with white sugar and fresh mint leaves, and then boiling them on a charcoal or kerosene stove to create a tea soup with a mint flavor.
It takes three rounds of tea between the host and guest to complete the basic etiquette. The first round is a tea soup with a small amount of mint flavor, very strong and bitter, followed by a slightly sweet tea soup with more mint flavor, and finally a cup of sweet and mint flavored tea soup. A small cup of tea usually requires 3 to 4 sugar cubes.
Three rounds of tea "is a traditional tea drinking custom, but now some Mauritanians no longer have such attention to it. Drinking tea is generally based on individual needs, with more emphasis on brewing.
Due to the high temperature and dryness, Mauritania is not suitable for growing tea, and so far there is no self-produced tea. All tea leaves rely on imports.
Most of the tea is imported from China. In Mauritania, locals refer to Chinese tea as "8147", in other words, "8147" is almost the name and brand of Chinese tea, and they consider it to be the best tea. The so-called chunmee"8147" is a code for China's exported green tea, which is actually Rain Tea, a variety formed during the refining and processing of Pingshuizhu tea. Due to its stable quality, "8147" has always been popular in Mauritania.