Dammann Frères, Touareg Loose Leaf Mint Green Tea (100g Tin)

🍵 The Blend — Chinese Gunpowder green tea, rolled into tight pellets by hand, combined with sweet Nanah spearmint, peppermint leaves, and a natural mint aroma for a cup of extraordinary freshness

🍵 The Liquor — Clear and bright golden-green, with an immediate, invigorating rush of cool mint and a clean, lightly smoky Gunpowder depth underneath

🍵 The Character — Boldly fresh and layered, the spearmint and peppermint working in concert with the rolled green leaf, finishing with a cool, lingering sweetness

🍵 The Ritual — Serve it very hot and generously sweetened in the Tuareg tradition, pouring from height into small glasses — the iconic welcome tea of North Africa, brought to you in a beautiful 100g tin from Dammann Frères

Dammann Frères Touareg is one of the world's most celebrated loose leaf mint green teas — a blend of Chinese Gunpowder green tea, sweet Nanah spearmint, and peppermint leaves that delivers, in every cup, a remarkable combination of power and freshness. The name 'Gunpowder' is the Western term for tightly hand-rolled pellets of green tea leaf; the Chinese name for these same pellets is rather more poetic — 'tea pearls'. As they slowly unfurl in hot water alongside the mint leaves and natural mint aroma, the infusion that results is clear, bright, and unmistakably alive.

The cultural roots of this blend run deep. Mint tea — known across the Maghreb as atay — has been the defining expression of hospitality among the Berber and Tuareg peoples of North Africa for centuries. It spread with nomadic tribes across the Sahara, from Morocco to Mali, becoming the drink offered to every guest and shared at every gathering. By tradition, three cups are served in succession, each one poured from a considerable height to create a light foam on the surface. Dammann Frères has honoured that spirit in this blend — bold, aromatic, and made to be shared.

The house of Dammann Frères carries a lineage unlike almost any other in French tea culture. The family name first entered the world of tea in 1692, when Louis XIV granted them the exclusive privilege to sell tea in France. The modern commercial enterprise, founded by Pierre and Robert Dammann in 1925, has spent a century refining its craft, and the Touareg blend remains one of its most iconic creations.

Finding teas of this quality and provenance is exactly what High Teas London has been doing since 2008. With one of the largest collections in the country — over 350 teas and infusions from the world's finest producers — we take great care in every tea we choose to stock, and this Dammann Frères 100g tin is a fine example of why.

Ingredients: Gunpowder green tea, sweet mint leaves (spearmint), peppermint leaves, natural mint flavour.

Brewing Note: Touareg rewards water that is hot but not boiling — around 80°C is ideal, as fully boiling water can draw bitterness from the Gunpowder leaf and dull the freshness of the mint. Use one heaped teaspoon per cup and steep for three to four minutes. In the traditional North African style, brew it strong, add sugar generously, and pour from a height into a small glass to create a light foam and release the full aroma. If you prefer a purer, less sweet cup, the blend stands very well on its own — the layered mint and clean green leaf are reward enough. A second infusion is possible and worth trying; it will be lighter and softer, with the spearmint particularly gentle.