TRAVEL
Marrakech: Visiting the home of Beldi glass
"This is the traditional glass of Morocco.It's the symbol of Morocco; all Moroccan people use this glass for tea."
Milouda - La Verre Beldi Marrakech
There's not a cafe in Morocco that you won't find Beldi glassware. First hand blown in 1940 Casablanca , Beldi - meaning 'local' in Arabic - because synonymous with daily Moroccan ritual. It's since become the national vessel for fresh mint tea, cafe noir and nous-nous coffee, which means half-half, a common mid-morning drink of half milk, half coffee.
Recycling two tonnes of flat glass and bottles collected from around the city, local artisans re-melt it in a furnace of up to 1,600 degrees. Colourful cylinders of green, blue or red are hand blown with a signature ridge towards the top of the glass to make the typical drinking glass, but Beldi comes in a wide range of table settings like carafes for wine or lemon water and tumblers for a late night cap.
Beldi glass nearly disappeared when the owner of the last Beldi factory in Morocco abandoned it in 2013. The Beldi group gathered the displaced artisans and built a modern factory inside the Beldi country club so they could continue their traditional and inherently sustainable craft.
Exported over the world, Beldi Glass is revered for its versatile aesthetic and function. The simple shape and different shades of glass compliment a range of interiors, as a handy vessel for wine, water, coffee, candles, a small vase and of course, Moroccan Tea.
How to make fresh mint tea (the traditional Moroccan way):
Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon of gunpowder green tea
- 1 large handful of spearmint leaves, washed
- Boiling water
- 3-4 tablespoons of sugar
Method:
- Steep the gunpowder green tea in water
- Add sugar and mint leaves
- Serve in Beldi glass with an extra sprig of mint leaves