What Moroccan drinks (non-alcoholic) should I try?

No drink defines Morocco like mint tea — atay, affectionately called "Berber whisky." It is green gunpowder tea steeped with a fistful of fresh spearmint and a startling amount of sugar, then poured from height into small glasses to build a frothy crown. The pour is a performance and a sign of hospitality; refuse a glass and you decline friendship. I have been handed mint tea in carpet shops, riads, mountain villages and desert camps, and each one tasted slightly different — that is the charm.

On hot days the juice carts are salvation. Fresh orange juice, squeezed in front of you, is everywhere and absurdly cheap, especially in Marrakech’s main square. But seek out the avocado shake — a thick, almost dessert-like blend of avocado, milk, sugar and almonds — and panaché, a layered mix of avocado, banana, apple and dried fruit served in a tall glass with a spoon. Freshly pressed pomegranate in season is jewel-bright and tart-sweet.

For something more traditional, almond milk (sharbat bil looz) is silky and floral, often scented with orange-blossom water, served at celebrations. Spiced coffee, qahwa harra, comes laced with warming notes of cinnamon, nutmeg, black pepper and sesame, especially in the south. And in the countryside you may be offered raïb, a cool, slightly sour set fermented milk, or lben, a thin buttermilk that locals drink with couscous to cut the richness.

My advice: accept the tea every time, even when you are full — it is the social glue of the country, and the ritual matters more than the thirst. Try the avocado shake at least once even if it sounds odd; it converts everyone. On our culinary journeys we include a proper tea ceremony so you learn the pour, the mint-to-sugar balance, and why three glasses, as the saying goes, carry you from life to death.