Māmaki Tea

Māmaki, Pipturus albidus, is a native Hawaiian forest shrub of the nettle family, and its leaf has long been steeped as a drink in Hawaiian households. It is written here as a drinking tradition of the Native Hawaiian table, carried by families who gather the leaf from the wet forest and by growers who now cultivate it under shade. The tradition belongs to the plants of the uplands rather than to the canoe plants of the lowland loʻi and the shoreline, and it stands beside ʻawa as a drink of the islands that predates the plantation kitchens and the imported teas.

The drink is an infusion of the dried leaf of Pipturus albidus, a broad, soft, toothed leaf with a pale underside and red veining along the stalk and midrib. The leaf is picked, dried whole or torn, and steeped in freshly boiled water, the colour passing from pale amber to a deep russet-brown. The cup is clear and without milk, and its flavour is mild, earthy and faintly malty, with none of the bitterness of a long-stewed black tea. It is served hot, or cooled and poured over ice, and is sometimes blended with other dried leaves, mint or lemongrass, which belong to the blend and not to the māmaki itself.

Māmaki tea is drunk on its own, hot in the morning or iced through the afternoon, and it stands beside a plate of kūlolo, haupia or a simple sweet of coconut and kalo. Its mild, dry, malty character cleans the palate after rich or sweet foods, and it does not compete with the fats of pork or the sweetness of coconut. A touch of honey or a slice of citrus suits it, but the cup is built to be drunk plain beside food rather than to carry heavy additions.