Introduction To Attaya:
 This
denotes a type of green tea, but certainly connotes
more than the actual beverage. Attaya is a ritual, a
favourite pastime of Gambians, especially young men.
Brewing Attaya involves Chinese Gunpowder Green Tea
from a box, lots of sugar, a small teapot, a small charcoal
stove, 3 or 4 small Maghreb-style glass cups, dexterity
for making frothy bubbles, and a circle of friends.
 Each
brewing yields three pots of tea, drunken from small
glasses of froth and hot liquid. The first round is
the most potent and the third the sweetest and weakest,
with the second falling somewhere in between.
 These
young men can be seen drinking the potent Attaya brew
along the roadsides of Gambia and in particular the
Kombo areas and they are derisorily known as the 'Attaya
Boys'.
How to Make Attaya:
 First
you take half a small glass cup of the green tea which
is known locally as warrga. The leaves themselves a
small rolled balls when dry. It is poured into a small
enamel teapot called a barrada of boiled water
and left to stand away from the fire for a approximately
3 minutes.
After 3 minutes the leaves would have un-rolled themselves
and the green tea has infused into the water
giving it a thick dark green colour. Some of the liquid
is then poured back into the teapot at a height of about
1/2 a metre and vice-versa in order to begin the
frothing process. After about 7 cycles of this frothing
sugar is added it is re-heated and ready to serve. Each
person is served half a cup and this first serving is
called the 1st round. In all there are 3 rounds and
the tea gradually looses it dark colour with each successive
serving.
 The
large box comes in a 500 gram pack however, smaller
boxes are also sold which suffices for one drinking
session with a group of friends. The most popular brand
is called Temple of Heaven, Special Gunpowder Green
Tea produced by the Shanghai Tea Import & Export
Corporation in China. |
