Welcome Ritual · Tea with Pine Nuts
Thé aux Pignons (Tunisian Pine Nut Tea)
Photo: Henning Leweke / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0
The pine nuts float on top, so each sip passes through them, and the softened nuts left in the glass are eaten at the end.
This is strong tea, often green tea with fresh mint, heavily sweetened and topped with a scattering of pine nuts in the glass. It's served everywhere from home living rooms to street cafés across Tunisia, and is a common welcome offered to guests.
Why it's made this way: Offering a glass is considered an essential gesture of Tunisian hospitality, and the pine nuts (sometimes swapped for almonds or peanuts) mark it as distinctly Tunisian rather than generic North African mint tea.
More from Tunisia
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