--- title: 'Tea in the Middle East and Central Asia' url: 'https://howtotea.me/traditions/middle-east-and-central-asia' markdown: 'https://howtotea.me/traditions/middle-east-and-central-asia.md' lang: en date: '2026-11-03' description: 'Tea in the Middle East and Central Asia: the Turkish çaydanlık, the Iranian guri, sweet Arab tea, mint atai, the chaikhana piala and salted steppe tea.' --- # Tea in the Middle East and Central Asia From the Maghreb to Mongolia people drink a lot of tea and take their time over it, but each place makes it differently: held over steam, diluted in the glass, poured into a bowl or simmered in a cauldron. ![A tulip glass of black tea, a glass of mint green tea and a handleless bowl](https://howtotea.me/images/c/o/v/e/r/cover-5316c3b2.webp) Illustration [Turkey and Azerbaijan](https://howtotea.me/traditions/middle-east-and-central-asia/turkey) drink [black tea](https://howtotea.me/teas/black) they grow themselves; Turkey has grown it around Rize since 1938. A strong concentrate from the upper pot of the çaydanlık is topped up with boiling water right in the glass, an ince belli that holds about 125 ml. In [Iran](https://howtotea.me/traditions/middle-east-and-central-asia/iran) the tea steeps in a guri set on a ketri or samovar, and people sip it through a lump of sugar held in the mouth. Afghans add cardamom. [Arab countries](https://howtotea.me/traditions/middle-east-and-central-asia/arab-world) grow almost no tea yet drink it by the ton: Egypt went through 86,104 t in 2022, nearly all of it drunk strong, sweet and black from a small glass. In the Maghreb the tea is [atai](https://howtotea.me/traditions/middle-east-and-central-asia/atai), Chinese gunpowder green with mint, poured from a height to raise a foam, and the custom is at least three glasses. In Central Asia the tea is green. In the [chaikhanas](https://howtotea.me/traditions/middle-east-and-central-asia/chaikhana) of Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan the brew goes from pot to piala and back three times, and a guest gets a bowl a third or half full. [On the steppe](https://howtotea.me/traditions/middle-east-and-central-asia/steppe) Mongols, Buryats and Kalmyks boil their tea instead of steeping it: brick tea, milk, salt and butter simmer together in a cauldron for about 15 minutes. In this section - [![](https://howtotea.me/images/c/o/v/e/r/cover-c95124f0.webp) Turkey and Azerbaijan Turkish and Azerbaijani tea: the stacked çaydanlık teapot, ince belli and armudu glasses, Rize black tea, tea stands, jam, and lump sugar for biting. ](https://howtotea.me/traditions/middle-east-and-central-asia/turkey) - [![](https://howtotea.me/images/c/o/v/e/r/cover-8f784f05.webp) Iran and Afghanistan The guri on a samovar, estekan glass and saucer, sugar held in the mouth, Gilan tea, the coffeehouse and Afghan cardamom tea. ](https://howtotea.me/traditions/middle-east-and-central-asia/iran) - [![](https://howtotea.me/images/c/o/v/e/r/cover-01e33034.webp) Arab world Tea in the Arab world: Egyptian koshary and sa'idi, the Iraqi istikan and qouri, Gulf karak, sage and mint in the Levant, and the tea ladies of Sudan. ](https://howtotea.me/traditions/middle-east-and-central-asia/arab-world) - [![](https://howtotea.me/images/c/o/v/e/r/cover-4631207c.webp) Atai Atai is the mint tea of the Maghreb and the Sahara: Chinese gunpowder green, fresh mint, plenty of sugar, a high pour for foam, three glasses and a berrad. ](https://howtotea.me/traditions/middle-east-and-central-asia/atai) - [![](https://howtotea.me/images/c/o/v/e/r/cover-be58ee8e.webp) Chaikhana and piala Central Asian tea: green kok-choy, qaytarish pour-backs, the half-filled piala, the chaikhana, shir-choy of the Pamirs and Soviet pakhtagul porcelain. ](https://howtotea.me/traditions/middle-east-and-central-asia/chaikhana) - [![](https://howtotea.me/images/c/o/v/e/r/cover-4a50c7b1.webp) Steppe tea Milk tea of the Mongols, Buryats and Kalmyks: brick tea boiled in a cauldron with milk, salt and butter. Customs, vessels, Kazakh and Tatar tea, fluoride. ](https://howtotea.me/traditions/middle-east-and-central-asia/steppe) --- ## Navigation - Parent: [Tea traditions](https://howtotea.me/traditions.md) - Previous: [Tea in Europe and Russia](https://howtotea.me/traditions/europe-and-russia.md) - Next: [Tea in South and Southeast Asia](https://howtotea.me/traditions/south-and-southeast-asia.md) - Children: - [Tea in Turkey and Azerbaijan: the çaydanlık and the armudu](https://howtotea.me/traditions/middle-east-and-central-asia/turkey.md) - [Tea in Iran and Afghanistan](https://howtotea.me/traditions/middle-east-and-central-asia/iran.md) - [Tea in the Arab world: the glass, the sugar, the qouri and karak](https://howtotea.me/traditions/middle-east-and-central-asia/arab-world.md) - [Atai: mint green tea of the Maghreb](https://howtotea.me/traditions/middle-east-and-central-asia/atai.md) - [Chaikhana and piala: tea in Central Asia](https://howtotea.me/traditions/middle-east-and-central-asia/chaikhana.md) - [Steppe milk tea: cauldron, brick, salt and butter](https://howtotea.me/traditions/middle-east-and-central-asia/steppe.md)