Spain is a coffee drinking country. As a result, tea does not have a great tradition in Spain, though demand for it is rising (while coffee sales fall). There is an especially good range of teas in the Moroccan tea rooms of Granada (see below).
Cafeterias in Spain all have a few boxes of teabags gathering dust next to the their abacus, quill and pocket watch, but it is invariably of very poor quality. However, there are some fruit and herbal infusions that are quite popular.
Though the quality is poor, the variety is surprisingly good. This is what you will find:
- Té Negro - Black tea. Much weaker than tea ought to be. As a British person, I find this stuff sacrilegious. Doesn't come with milk - try adding it and it will cease to even vaguely resemble tea anymore.
- Té Rojo - Red tea.
- Té Verde - Green tea.
- Té de Fruta - Fruit tea.
- Manzanilla - Chamomile tea.
- Menta Poleo - Mint tea.
- Tila - Lime blossom tea.
Tea in Granada
The Moroccan influence in Granada has created a bit of a tea culture in the city. There are Arabic 'teterias' (tea houses) throughout Granada with menus that are often five pages long. It is also common for the streets outside these tea houses to sell packs of the most common teas you can buy in the shops. A word of advice - try the tea in the tea houses but don't buy it from there. Instead, go to the spice stalls around the Cathedral (there are two of them). The tea here is of a much higher quality than that sold in the Arabic areas and it is also cheaper.
The menus in the teterias are rarely in English: just pick something at random! My favourite is Té Pakistani, a black tea taken with milk and mixed with vanilla, cinnamon and cardamom pods.
