East Africa · Drink
Shai bi Habib (Cardamom and Clove Black Tea)
A fragrant, intensely spiced South Sudanese black tea steeped with crushed green cardamom, cloves, and ginger for vibrant late-afternoon gatherings.
The story
Across Equatorian town squares and urban markets in Juba, late afternoons are marked by community gatherings centered around the communal tea ritual. Prepared by street tea-makers (sittat al-shai) over glowing charcoal braziers, this drink provides refreshment and social cohesion after the blistering midday heat. A crucial technical detail known to traditional brewers is that adding whole spices to cold water and bringing them up slowly to a simmer extracts delicate volatile terpenes without developing the astringent tannins found in rapidly boiled black tea leaves.
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