Make Mint Tea

Making mint tea from scratch is simple and easy, and it’s great to have on hand if someone in the family has an upset stomach. It can be as simple as two ingredients—mint and hot water—or as fancy and complex as you like. Mint tea can be served hot for a soothing and warming drink in winter, or chilled for a refreshing and invigorating drink in summer.

• Prep time (Hot): 5 minutes
• Cook time (steeping): 5-10 minutes
• Total time: 10-15 minutes

Ingredients

Mint Tea

• 5-10 fresh mint leaves
• 2 cups water (473 ml)
• Sugar or sweetener to taste (optional)
• Lemon (optional)

Iced Tea Ingredients

• 10 sprigs fresh mint
• 8-10 cups water (1.9-2.4L)
• ½ - 1 cup sugar, to taste (113-227 g)
• Juice of 1 lemon
• Cucumber slices (optional)

Moroccan Mint Tea

• 1 tablespoon loose-leaf green tea (15 g)
• 5 cups water (1.2 L)
• 3-4 tablespoons sugar, to taste (39-52 g)
• 5-10 sprigs fresh mint

Steps

Making Hot Mint Tea

1. Boil the water. This can be done in a kettle, over a fire, in a pot on the stove, in the microwave, or any other way you typically boil water. To conserve water, energy, time, and money, only boil as much water as you’re going to use in your tea.
2. Wash and tear the mint leaves. Rinse them to remove any residual dirt, bugs, or soil that may be on the leaves. Then, tear the leaves to help them release their aromas and give your tea a stronger flavor.
   • There are a variety of mint leaves you can use, including chocolate mint, spearmint, and peppermint.
3. Prepare the leaves. The mint leaves can go into a tea ball, a teapot designed for loose leaf tea, into a coffee filter, in a French press, or straight into a mug.
4. Pour the boiling water over the leaves. Some teas should be made at different temperatures so you don’t burn the leaves, but mint is hardy and you can pour fully boiling water right over the leaves.
5. Steep the tea. Mint tea should steep for five to 10 minutes, but longer is fine if you want a stronger tea. Once your tea reaches the strength you like (either take a taste or go by the smell), remove the leaves. You can also leave the leaves in and the tea will continue to get stronger. Use a strainer if desired to remove the loose leaves if you didn’t use a tea ball or special pot.
   • If you’re using a French press, push the plunger down when the tea has reached the desired strength.
6. Add additional ingredients. Once your tea has steeped, you can add honey or sweetener if you desire, or a splash of lemon before you drink it.

Making Iced Mint Tea

1. Make your mint tea. Using the ratio for a larger batch, make your hot mint tea. Simply place the mint leaves in a large heat-safe bowl and pour the boiling water directly over top. Allow to steep.
   • To make a single serving, use the same mint–water ratio and method as you would for a mug of hot mint tea.
2. Stir in sweetener and lemon. Once the tea is ready, squeeze the lemon juice into the tea, making sure you don’t get any seeds in the tea. Add your sweetener of choice, to taste, if you want sweet tea. Stir vigorously to break down the sugar particles.
   • Agave nectar also works well as a liquid sweetener and honey substitute.
3. Let the tea cool to room temperature. Once it’s cool, strain the tea into a pitcher and discard the used mint leaves. Refrigerate until it’s cold.
4. Serve over ice with cucumber. When the tea has chilled and you are ready to serve it, fill your glasses with ice. Thinly slice a cucumber and add a few slices to each glass. Pour the tea and enjoy.

Making Moroccan Mint Tea

1. Rinse the tea leaves. Place the green tea in a teapot and add one cup of boiling water. Swirl the water to rinse the leaves and warm the pot. Pour out the water, leaving the green tea leaves in the teapot.
2. Steep the tea. Add four cups of boiling water to the teapot and steep the tea for two minutes.
3. Add sugar and mint. Steep for an additional four minutes, or to taste, and serve.

Preserving Fresh Mint

1. Freeze your mint leaves in an ice cube tray. Leftover mint from the store or garden can be preserved for later use. To freeze your mint, place two washed mint leaves in each basin of an ice cube tray. Fill each with water. Freeze them until you’re ready to use the mint.
   • Once the mint cubes have frozen, remove them from the tray and place them in a plastic bag in the freezer. (Now you have your ice cube tray back!)
   • When it’s time to use your mint, pull the ice cubes out of the freezer (as many as you need for how much mint you require) and place them in a bowl to thaw. When the ice has thawed, drain the water and pat the mint dry.
2. Dry your mint. Dried mint can be used to make teas, and can even be put into the reusable cups for single-serve coffee machines. Take the fresh sprigs of mint and loosely bundle a couple together with elastic bands. Hang them upside down somewhere warm and dry until the leaves are dry and brittle.
   • Mint contains more moisture than some other herbs, which means it can take anywhere from a few days to a couple of weeks to dry, depending on the climate. The warmer and dryer the room you use for drying, the less time the process will take.
   • When the leaves are dry, place them in a bag or between sheets of wax paper and break them up. Store in a spice jar.

Tips

• Honey and lemon added to the tea can help soothe a sore throat.

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Sources and Citations

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