Burundian tea

Ingredients

The tea

• 4heaped teaspoons Burundian black tea
• 500 mlwater
• 500 mlwhole milk
• sugar, to taste

Sometimes added

• 2cm ginger, sliced
• a small piece of cinnamon bark

Equipment

• a saucepan
• a strainer
• small glasses or cups

Directions

1. Pour the water into a saucepan. Bring it to a full rolling boil. Add the ginger and cinnamon if you want them.
2. Let them boil for two minutes first. Add the tea leaves to the boiling water. Use more than you would for a steeped pot.
3. Let it boil hard for two minutes. The water should turn deep red-brown. Pour all the milk into the pan.
4. Bring it back up to a full boil. It boils over in seconds if you look away.
5. Lift the pan off the heat as it rises. Set it back on and let it rise again. Let it simmer for about three minutes. The colour should be a deep tan.
6. Adjust the milk and water ratio to suit you. Sweetening it is done in the pan or the cup.
7. Add it and stir until it dissolves. Pour it through a strainer into cups. Serving it is done while it is very hot.

Technique

• Tea planting expanded in Burundi from the nineteen sixties on ridges above eighteen hundred metres, and it became the second export crop after coffee.
• Boiling tea and milk together in a pan rather than steeping is the standard method across much of East Africa.

Substitutions

• Any strong East African black tea works, and Kenyan or Rwandan tea is very close.
• Water alone in place of some of the milk gives a lighter drink.

Variations

• Some households add ginger or a piece of cinnamon bark.
• A version made with more water and less milk is drunk by some.
• Burundian coffee is the other great crop and is mostly exported.

History

Planted from the 1960s on cool ridges above 1,800 metres, tea became Burundi’s second export crop after coffee.

Frequently asked questions

What is Burundian tea?

Burundian tea is a drink from Burundi: strong black tea from the high ridges, drunk sweet with milk. Planted from the 1960s on cool ridges above 1,800 metres, tea became Burundi’s second export crop after coffee.

How long does Burundian tea take to make?

Burundian tea takes 5 minutes of preparation and 10 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 4. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Burundian tea?

Yes, within limits. Any strong East African black tea works, and Kenyan or Rwandan tea is very close. Water alone in place of some of the milk gives a lighter drink.

What is the most important thing to get right in Burundian tea?

Boiling tea and milk together in a pan rather than steeping is the standard method across much of East Africa.