When wandering the streets of Dakar, or anywhere else in Senegal, don’t be surprised to see people gathered at the entrance of their houses, talking and drinking what appears to be shots of a suspicious-looking dark liquid. But fear not, as it is nothing suspicious at all.
Mostly from China, Gunpowder is a variety of Green Tea that resembles black tea with a sweet foam similar to espresso from a machine. Despite being labeled as “black tea,” Gunpowder’s actual classification is Green Tea. The reason behind the peculiar name remains a mystery.
The actual name of this Gunpowder green tea is “chunmee”. This variety of tea is cultivated in the Province of Jianxi in China. It is known for its acidic taste. Hence, you will find the grade number of chunmee tea. In Senegal, for ataya we mostly use the 4011 which has not a bitter taste. But I have seen some jasmine black tea on the market. But the 4011 Chunmee is mostly used.
Tea time is part of many cultures. In England, they call it “tea time”, in India & Lebanon it is “Chai” and in Senegal, we call it “Ataya”.. Funny fact, it is said that Ataya came from the verb “to give” in Arabic. Coincidence or not, in Morocco & Mauritania, the word for tea is “Atay” or أتاي which is not far from Ataya. Maybe there is a link between the word Ataya and the fact that tea is widely consumed in North Africa (or the Maghreb)?
Ataya is the moment when you can sit with a bunch of strangers and have the best conversation ever in the middle of the street or on some corner and leave therefore. Or you just move on with your day. It is also that time when you hear the latest gossip about the neighborhood. Besides, knowing who is rooting for who in the political scene.
Let’s call the person making the tea by the name of “ataya brewer”. There is a consensus that is a century old around the ataya brewing. First, the ataya brewer is not whoever because he got to be experienced in tea brewing and known by the people around him. His age matter because, in the group, it is the youngest who make it. Besides, the ataya brewer, if used to the group, has to be aware of how they want it.
Senegalese often take pride in being designated as Ataya brewers for their elders in their childhood. This role allows them to listen to the conversations of their elders on unfamiliar topics. When preparing Ataya for a large group, friends typically assist by distributing the shots to everyone, starting with the eldest person. If alone, one must be crafty, going around with the teapot in one hand and the plate of Ataya shots in the other, serving progressively.
Sometimes it can be a woman, only if it is a group of friends visiting their married friend and his wife makes ataya after they had lunch. But ataya doesn’t only happen in the afternoon. Depending on the period, like in the cold season or holidays, friends gathered at someone's house and spend the night drinking tea and talking. You got it, tea is a way to gather people, just like beer commercials for soccer or football season.
The making of Ataya obeys unspoken rules of 3 steps/stages/levels. The first one does not need you to be sweet, you leave it bitter, just like the irony of death passing by. The second one has to be sweet, but not too sweet, since death was here, just shots ago, as a sudden great sweetness of life after death may be suspicious, so you look for perfection for the reason, that’s life's purpose. The 3rd one is just like love in your life; it sweetened it. The Ataya brewer is the one leading the group's mood, no one knows it, it is an unstated gift that will influence how He will be able to have an influence on people in the future. In fact, he has learned to dose the sweetness of life through Ataya brewing.
Ataya is not only defined by its origin or social construction, but also by the type of teapot used. The Vintage Cobalt Blue Enamel Kettle Metal teapot is the most commonly used because it preserves the ataya taste. Ataya with porcelain teapot is only tea. The website adirondackgirlatheart explains that enamel is created by applying powdered glass to metal and melting it at high temperatures, which prevents metallic taste and rust contamination.
Let us end with the design of that blue enamel teapot. There is no proper explanation for it. My theory is that its rounded shape is influenced by the design of the Yixing (during the Yuan Dynasty of 1271–1368) teapot from China which is the first on the market and also by the “brown Betty teapot” originated in the Stoke-on-Trent region of England in the 17th century and widely spread by Queen Victoria. So centuries later, here we are; sipping tea in the most suitable way for our culture.
Bonus: The Mauritanians are well-known consumers of meat in the form of “mechoui”. They always drink ataya after eating grilled meat. It is not advised to drink cold drinks afterward for this reason, they said, it can disturb the digestion. That’s why the prefers to drink a hot tea shot and wait later to drink something cold.
