How to Make Mint Tea

At this time of year I always have loads of Mint. I have a patch growing in an old stone trough and every year it comes back with lovely fragrant lush green leaves. Nothing says summer’s here like some fresh Mint from the garden in a tall glass of Pimms and lemonade.

But…while I could spend my days drinking Pimms in the garden (and believe me sometimes I really want to!) I fear it may impede my skills as a mother. One has to stay focused and totally not inebriated when one is looking after one’s child – I’m sure I read that somewhere.

So what to do with all the Mint? Mint tea of course. The ladies in the book I’m reading ‘Larkrise to Candleford’ say it’s good for the soul. And so it is. Not in a medicinal way, although I’m sure Mint tea has many claims, but in a ‘aaah that’s nice and gosh aren’t I clever because I actually grew it myself,’ sort of way.

So here’s my Mint Tea recipe – less of a recipe, more a bunch of instructions. Stand by.

Mint Tea

  • 2 long sprigs of Mint (the more you add the more minty it will be)
  • 2 cups of water
  • Honey
  • Slice of Lemon
  • Your favourite teacup and saucer (optional)

Put the Mint leaves (or the whole sprig) in the water and bring to the boil. The water will turn yellowy green. Then strain into a teacup. Add some honey and a slice of Lemon. Drink it while sitting in your garden, you deserve it!

Anyone else got any Minty recipes?

Category: Herbs, Recipes     Tagged: ,

41 Comments on “How to Make Mint Tea”

  1. Your photography is so good – been anticipating this post since you twittered about taking the photos! Will have to plant some mint in the new garden… Good for Pimm’s also!

  2. Must try that! The mint you gave me last year is doing really well.
    Of course, I primarily have it for mojitos! I even bought my own ice crusher last summer to get them just so.

  3. Hey, I was just wondering what I should do with my own mint… I will have to make myself some tea tonite!

  4. i am loving you’re blog! thanks for this. i planted lime mint this year, in a container, but was thinking of making it into lime mint ice tea, i guess i could just follow your recipe then but put it in the fridge and add a bit of sugar…its been a few decades since i’ve made iced tea!

  5. Peppermint tea is good for the stomach. It is soothing and has mildly antiseptic properties. Very good for indigestion, or after a meal to aid digestion. Great with or without honey (or sugar). Mint doesn’t go well with lemon or any citrus fruit in my experience.

  6. I use the mint for tea but don’t boil the leaves. Just pour boiling water over the leaves in the pot and leave to brew for about five minutes. You can do the same with lemon verbena….

  7. What’s the trick to getting that shot without steaming the lens? Lovely post – I’ll have to try it. BTW, blackberry leaves make a nice tea also. They’re available by the ton here right now – if you can brave the thorns.

  8. It also looks really pretty, left as it comes on the stalks and brewed in a cafetiere. ( And tastes nice too !)

  9. Wow, thanks ever SO much for sharing this. I promptly went out to MY tiny plot, snipped a few mint sprigs and made half a gallon of mint tea. My family was impressed, drank it all before I’d finished my first glass. Absolutly wonderful feeling to enjoy delights from my own gardn. I love your blog and thank you for the time you devote to inspiring me.

  10. You can dip larger leaves in chocolate and make your own after dinner mints.

    I used up a handful of mint this weekend making Vietnamese spring rolls – very refreshing and light for warm summer days. Just wrap up some rice noodles, lettuce, prawns, chopped up basil, coriander and mint, and wrap up in rice paper. Yummy!

  12. Karin – thanks, I will try it without lemon next time to see if I like it.
    David – the trick is to use a macro lens so that the lens is not even close to the steam :)

  13. Thank you so much for this! I’ve been looking for something to do with all that mint in the garden :)

  14. I will surely try this over the weekend. I am a first time gardner and I have quite a bit of mint (just from one plant). I am really looking forward to using it in drinks and in cooking. Thanks.

  15. I love Pimms! I first fell in love with it two years ago when I went to London for the first time. And fresh mint tea, there’s nothing better especially when iced in the hot summer months! I love your blog and check in all the time. Greetings from Vermont, US.

  16. My favourite use for mint is this Beetroot, Squash and Halloumi Salad with chilli-herb dressing. It is soooo tasty and I got thoroughly addicted to it last summer, so this year I’m growing mint, chives and parsely for the first time just so I don’t have to buy those stupid little packets from the supermarket :)

    http://helengraves.co.uk/?p=464

  17. As an aside from the mint, I take it you know that they are filming L to C just up the road at five ways?

    Also, how do you find the time to update your blog? I barely have time to keep the allotment going!

    K U T G W

    (Keep up the ….)

    Richard

  18. Pingback: Tea, Mint and Mint Tea « Gumboot Adventures

  19. Just browsing SmittenKitchen and came across a recipe for Lemon-Mint Granita based on the idea of Israeli Lemonana –
    frozen slushy lemonade with fresh mint.
    I will try and post the link but just in case – it’s June 3rd post on smittenkitchen.com. It looks delicous and perfect for the hot summer we might just have !?

    http://smittenkitchen.com/2009/06/lemon-mint-granita/

  20. came to this hoping it would be about making your own dried mint teabags – but actually, this is probably better. Will give it a try!

    Yes, Pimms and childminding don’t get on. Wish it weren’t so.

  21. Hi. I thought I’d sent you a reply but can’t see it so perhaps it got lost in the wires.

    I saw this post and went to make some immediately as my mint was looking good. It was delicious but it was such a hot day I decided to add the juice of a lime and put it in a big glass jug in the fridge. It made a lovely cool drink too.

    I then followed it with a lunch of my broad bean shoots with butter, salt and pepper. Then I saw your PDF on how to put together a Blog and you inspired me for a 3rd time that day, this time to put together a blog for us: http://thingswemake.wordpress.com/.

    I love your blog and want to thank you for galvanising me into action on all these things!

  22. When I was in China last year, we drank alot of herbal teas. These usually consisted of putting whatever flavour you wanted into a cup, and then adding water. So for mint tea, it was a bunch of mint leaves into a cup and pour water over the top. Yum! Smee for ginger and honey. A piece of ginger and a spoon of honey into a cup, and add hot water. Easy.

  23. I was wondering if you ever made “sun tea” — instead of boiling the water, you just put 2-3 teabags into a jar (like a Mason jar), add fresh mint, put the lid on, and put outside in the hot sun for 2-3 hours. (I turn my jar upside down, just habit). When done, take inside and refrigerate. It’s really wonderful.

  24. I’m a huge fan of citrus with mint, but I’ve also found blackberry or apricot to be a nice pairing with mint as well. In fact, I may have to get some fresh mint in a while to go into some apricot iced tea I have on hand! (I even have fresh apricots, too!)

  25. I once had mint tea at a Lebanese restaurant and it was fantastic. They used a combination of black India tea and mint but I’ve never been able to get it right.

  26. I love mint tea especially with a nice little slice of baklava! It’s heaven! Thank you for this!

  27. I make mint tea for my husband by muddling the leaves with a little bit of sugar to help break them down. Then I let it steep in recently boiled water for at least 10 minutes before straining it.

    I have a variety called Cotton Candy mint which is quite nice. It isn’t as harsh as some other varieties and makes a very smooth cup of tea. It is available from http://www.richters.ca

  28. I love your blog. I just made some chamomile, lemon mint, peppermint tea and couldn’t be happier with myself for planting my herb garden this year. I will use your tea recipe after work tomorrow.

  29. This seems like a very easy a quick recipe :)

    I’ve tried it and i like it alot :D

    you can definitely taste the mint essence (depending on how much you put in)

    i used 12 leaves and made 2 small cups.

    (but i like it strong and it depends whether people only like a small hint of it or not.)

    I’ll definitely try it again :)

  30. Anyone have any idea of the phosphorus content of mint tea> i know< there has to be one in every crowd….i’m on dialysis and have to watch both potassium and phosphorus like a hawk. But oh, how I love teas!!!

  31. Pingback: My Tiny Plot » Blog Archive » Pruning Mint

  32. This is actually a very good recipe for dieting. Mint has a lot of herbal features in it and it plays great on healthy life style. Thanks for the good post.

  33. Mint tea how refreshing it could be particularly while working? Anybody cared to try? I tried it and its absolutely terrific. Great Post. Cheers.

  34. I just discovered mint tea when I moved to Holland, they drink it all the time to lift sprits on dreary days.

    I love the recipe – here they just put water in a hot water electric kettle, put the whole sprigs of mint – leaves and all in a clear glass (for aesthetics) and pour the hot water over, leaving the mint to seep in the cup.

    It smells so good and is great on a cool summer night to keep the mosquitos a way.

  35. Wow, this is amazing! I was wanting to make good mint tea having grown it this year for the first time, but I never expected it to taste this good!

    Definitely bookmarking this. Thanks :).

  36. I make Turkish mint lemonade all the time. You steep fresh mint in simple syrup for an hour, and then strain and add fresh lemon juice, water and ice. It’s heavenly! Now I also want to try making fresh mint tea. Thanks for the tips!

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