Morocco

In the 20-something years that I've been visiting Morocco – from travelling as a student backpacker through leading tour groups and writing travel guides to having my own front door key to a medina house – it's always the first mint tea that grounds me in the place. The ceremonial pouring and re-pouring from silver teapots. The tall glasses stuffed with viridescent leaves that scald to the touch. The impossible sweetness that would be cloying anywhere else in the world. At first, mint tea was the taste of somewhere new. Now, it's the reassurance that I'm back in a country I love. For me, there's nothing more Moroccan.